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John Proctor: Tragic, or Pathetic? "I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" (138). This is the disturbing vision we are left with at the end of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. This scream is let out by the main character John Proctor; ....

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... instead of being hung chose to live the rest of his life as an outcast he would at least still be able to teach his children the error of his ways. Thus because John Proctor had a way out of his trap and opted not to take it because of selfish pride he is not tragic. Tragedy has been said to be the "progress from ignorance, through a cycle of suffering, to enlightenment" (Merle 4). But what exactly does that mean and who would fit this bill of tragedy? Arthur Miller was quoted by the essayist Koon as saying "The common man is apt a subject for tragedy as kings" (Koon 5) And the same idea was reaffirmed by George Lillo who said "that trag ...