he·ro
noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\
: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities
John Proctor is not without fault. Like every hero, he has a point of weaknesses. He became vulnerable and gave a verbal confession; something he was so strongly against doing. But when Danforth wanted him to sign a written confession, he refused because he didn't want to be another follower who succumbs to the court when put in a desperate position. He chose to hang rather than be humiliated by not upholding his own beliefs. I don't think that Proctor chose this route to prove anything to the town, I believe he chose this route because he felt the the strong urge to stand by his individual values. Self-accountability is, in my opinion, one of his many heroic qualities. Proctor laid down his life in order to lead the town to follow in his honest footsteps. This makes him self-sacrificing. John Proctor is the definition of what is means to be a hero. He proved his bravery by possessing the courage to stand by his beliefs till his death (literally). Though he faltered when he gave a verbal confession, in the end he stood his ground.
he·ro
noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\
: John Proctor
Nice blog! If you were John do you think you would have done the same thing? If not, what might you have done differently? Do you see any aspect in John that may make him come off as a stooge to others? If so, how would you respond to this maintaining your belief that Proctor is a hero?
ReplyDeleteThanks! I probably would not have done what John did mostly because I like to live thank you very much. And I think that he might come off as a stooge to others by not saving his own life. I still think he's a hero. Whenever someone has the guts to do something I couldn't, I see them as a hero.
DeleteThis is a decent post with great points made. A little more evidence from all over the story wouldn't hurt. I believe looking at the other side of the argument would also fuel to your essay. And a minor thing, I don't want to be an @#!, but your title has a typo.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight! I agree that I probably could have argued the other side.
DeleteI'll fix the title. I didn't even notice! Thanks for the mention!
Jill that is a very interesting analysis of the story and mostly concur. I'd like to point out, however, that you said Proctor didn't want to sign the document as he didn't want to be a follower of the accusations nor promote them. But he kind of did that when he admitted to practicing witch craft. That's just my opinion on it, but everything else seems superb. Just out of curiosity what would you do if you were Proctor?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that John Proctor was a hero. As you mentioned,I believe he didn't do it to prove anything to anyone but to satisfy himself and God. I do feel you contradicted yourself when you mentioned this and later said "Proctor laid down his life in order to lead the town to follow in his honest footsteps." But I understand it's easy to do that since both are possible. I personally feel he was trying to prove to himself and God that he could rise above his previous sins and really was a good and honest person who didn't give in to temptations. By the way, good points!
ReplyDelete