Tragic Heroes

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" to establish a parallel between the unjust Salem witch trials and the Second Red Scare when Communists were believed to have quietly infiltrated American life and security. The paper discusses how Miller, like his character John Proctor, kept his silence and refused to testify to the Committee in protecting his business and personal friends and was thus blacklisted by the American government. The paper also examines "The Death of a Salesman" where Miller centers on the attainment of the American dream in the main characters, Willy Loman and his son, Biff. The paper discusses how Willy, unlike John Proctor, does not attain the status of a tragic hero because he does not come to a full self-realization.

From the Paper:

"John Proctor, as Arthur Miller's tragic hero in "The Crucible," is essentially an honest and upright and honest man with just one weakness, a secret affair with Abigail Williams, which he at first hides in order to protect his public reputation as an honorable man and husband to Elizabeth (Miller 1953, Wikipedia 2006). The witchcraft hysteria occurs at this time when the spurned Abigail expresses her jealousy and vengeance by implicating Elizabeth as a witch to the court. John presents Mary Warren to the judge as a witness in an attempt at saving his wife but without exposing his adultery, but the attempt fails and John finds himself trapped in the turmoil when Mary accuses him of being a wizard himself."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Miller, Arthur. The Crucible (1053). Paperback. Penguin Classics, 2003
• ----------------. Death of a Salesman (1949). Paperback. Barnes and Noble, Jan 1998
• Wikipedia. Arthur Miller. Media Wiki, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller
• ________. Death of a Saleman. Media Wiki, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman
• -----------. The Crucible. Media Wiki, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucible

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