John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

There are a multiple of different definitions for the words “Hero” and “Stooge”, so it makes it pretty frustrating on what the two words really mean. In the dictionary, the word “Hero” means a person that is admired for his courage or ability and his noble qualities. In a personal preference, hero would mean a person that has made a positive impact on society or in the lives of others. For the word stooge, the dictionary meaning would be a person who serves only as an assist or support for others in wrong doings. In a personal preference, stooge would mean a fool or an idiot from the context that it is used in. From the definitions of these two words, John Proctor is closer to the hero’s definition compared to the stooge definition.

I’m sorry make this blog post really boring, even if it isn’t still, the tone of the whole blog right now is just gloomy and sounds like I don’t like to be doing this, but I mean this is homework so it isn’t that really fun. In order to raise the tone of this blog, I need to have you; the reader read this in a really funny manner or in an upbeat manner, you can use accents or use hand motions when reading to make it interesting. This is a blog! A place where reading becomes fun and interesting and you learn…stuff.

Back to the topic now, John Proctor in my opinion isn’t either a hero or a stooge. In The Crucible, John Proctor didn’t stop the witch trials and didn’t save anyone from dying from the witch trials, but one thing that he did do was that he put the most effort into not only saving his wife Elizabeth Proctor from the witch trials, but also all the other wives and towns people that were accused of witchery. Most of the other men that had their wives accused of witchery by the girls- Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Susanna Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, and the others, only tried to save their wives from getting hanged and not the others wives that were accused of witchery. Bit selfish don’t you think? The only way to avoid death of hanging for the accused victims was to confess and say that you saw the devil, you signed the devil’s book, you sent your spirits on innocent victims, now you want to be with God and want to walk with Jesus, and you say that you saw so and so with the devil. This was really the only evidence that you can use to save from death, since Salem, Massachusetts during the times of the late 1600s is a theocracy (a system of government in which the government is ruled in the name of God). A confessed person in Salem, Massachusetts has more trust over someone that says that they have never sent spirits on people in the town or either that they never worshipped the devil. Why? Because now that you have confessed your sins and God has forgiven you, it means that you will not lie anymore since now that you’re by the side of God and you will help God fight off the devil that lurks within the townspeople. It also means that you will not break the Ten Commandments since a true Christian doesn’t do that. All the girls confessed that they have seen the devil, danced with him and signed his book with their blood. They have also randomly accused another person. Which I believe that the girls accused whoever they didn't like, or either in some way stirred up hate for them and wanted to see them dead since there is over 100 people in the town of Salem and they only chose that certain person. Doing the confession to the high authorities of seeing the devil and all, gave the accused victims of witchery or being with the devil a get out of death card, which makes you a stooge to the girls because you are assisting them in getting tension off of them for dancing in the woods by including more people into the situation, and soon people will forget what the girls did in the woods, which it was true. When death is involved, mostly every human being will at some point lie or go against their religions laws to avoid  death or pain. Would you want to die or suffer pain for no apparent reason just because someone used you as a scapegoat? Many people will say no and do whatever it takes to avoid it like the townspeople and the girls, while some people will say yes because they either don’t want to break their religions laws or believes that what they are doing is the best option to stop the drama that is happening. For example, Rebecca Nurse didn't confess and decided to die as being honest and a true Christian than to live as a liar, she wasn't a stooge. Same thing for John Proctor, John Proctor did say that he will confess, which he did, but then he didn't want to live as being an even not a good man, Since he already couldn't forgive himself for the committing of adultery with Abigail Williams, and believed that his wife Elizabeth was judging him for doing that, but really his heart was just thinking that his wife Elizabeth was judging him. John Proctor doesn't consider himself to be a good man, but his wife Elizabeth Proctor, well early on in the play, she didn't really consider him to be a really good man, but had a small shred of goodness, but now she believes more that he has more than just a shred of goodness, but he has a lot since he stood his ground and became honest and didn't become a stooge for the girls like mostly everyone else that was blamed for witchery. The standing of his ground and dying as a man that still has a shred of goodness, was really all that John wanted, and he got that at the end of the play. John Proctor wasn't a stooge or a hero but was closer as being considered as a hero than a stooge. Since his wife Elizabeth and Rebecca Nurse did admire his will to not lie to save his life.