John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

It is hard to say wether John Proctor is a Hero or a Stooge. He did some bad things, but also he was upright man.

First of all, it was not fair of him to betray his wife with Abigail Williams. If you are married you have certain responsibilities and one of them is defenetely to not being unfaithful. But as I said, he has also some good character traits.

In front of the court, he sees through the lies of the girls, who accuse women of being in pact with the devil randomly. He warns the court to believe in such lies. With the aid of Marry Warren, his maid, he tries to get his wife Elizabeth Proctor free, who is also accused of witchcraft. So he is maybe not that bad, as he seems at the first look.

Since Marry Warren cannot stand the pressure of the other girls, she soon breaks down and accuses proctor to be with the devil. Because of that, Proctor gets arrested and convicted to death. He gets a chance to free himself by confessing his devilish pact.

And this is the point where I would say that he is rather a hero than a stooge. Proctor does not take this chance. It does not agree with his consience to buy his life for a lie. In my opinion, Proctor is a good man who has his failures but also has strong principles.