Hero or stooge? I decide.

Although some people might argue that John Proctor was a hero in the crucible by confessing his affair with Abigail, I think he was a stooge that got “played” by the girls at the court.  In my opinion, a hero is a person that has the ability to save others while at the same time not putting themselves in harm’s way which was untrue in this play.

In the play, John Proctor at first tried to use Mary to convince the judges that the girls were pretending to be possessed by the people who were convicted. Although Mary was able to tell the truth, she was mentally broken down when Abigail and the other girls pretended they were attacked by spirits sent by her. Due to their well-planned strategic maneuver, Mary’s words were considered as lies forced upon her by John who was on the Devil’s side. When Mary was thought to have lied to the judge, her words were discarded summarily but on the other hand, John Proctor was deemed a liar so now his words doesn't have any persuasion anymore.  

The next approach he used to try to save the victims was confessing to having an affair with Abigail which would reveal her motive of taking revenge upon Elizabeth to have John all to herself. When people in that court first heard him say it, they were shocked and in awe because they just couldn’t believe that a man as respected as John could ever commit such a monstrous sin in the light of God. To convince them to believe it, John belabors the point and describes to them when and where that sin was committed. In order to prove his word, the judge demanded to have Elizabeth come to the court to testify which she denies such an event had happened. Due to her words, John was shamed as a liar and a sinner. Next the girls put their scheme of being chased by spirits sent by the devil into motion in order to convict John of siding with the evil one which the judge believed. No matter what words John try to say afterward, he had been “played” by the girls and was sentenced to execution if he doesn’t confess.

          Overall, John couldn’t save anyone and gotten himself killed which is similar to a stooge in a drama who isn’t successful at anything and always getting himself/herself into trouble. If he was a hero, he should have confessed sooner so the girls couldn’t gain so much trust/power in the court and predicted their reactions/schemes before going to court. Throughout the entire process, his fate was tossed around in the hands of those malevolent females and with the movement of their bodies and mouths; they were able to toy with him until he walked straight to his death.