The Crucible Tragedy

We all have heroes. It may be an athlete, a movie star, or an animated cartoon hero such as the Hulk or Iron Man.   But there are other types of heroes too, tragic heroes. Tragic heroes are defined in Arthur Miller’s essay, “Tragedy and The Common Man”, which defines his tragedy theory. One would also define “The Crucible” as a tragic story. It is n o surprise that Arthur Miller also wrote the crucible after writing his, “Tragedy and The Common Man” theory. Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” to conform perfectly to his, “Tragedy and The Common Man” theory.



Heroes aren’t always the ones flying around with capes, they don’t always wear tights, and can't always lift cars like a feather, according to Arthur Miller they're   the common man.   In his theory of tragedy he expresses his believe that the tragic hero doesn’t have to be some divine god or king figure.
In his “Tragedy and Common Man” essay he says, I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were”. He believes the hero should be an average, common man, because that way everyone can relate to their feelings and situations. The charter John Proctor, in the crucible is our everyday hero, the kind that doesn’t fly or have laser beams. In “The Crucible” ,Arthur Miller created John Proctor perfectly to fit this average, everyday man description. Arthur Miller created John as a farmer, an average profession, he was also thirty years old, and was married, he wasn’t rich or dirt poor, just average, and “even-tempered”.   Here Miller supported his theory that the tragic hero can be any average Joe, they don’t have to be rich, or royal, that is why Proctor was created and pretended as a common fellow.


Heroes fight for justice, and tragic heroes in a way do the same. Arthur Miller believes tragic heroes fight for what they believe is right, and stick to their beliefs, challenging what they find wrong and corrupt. He defines it as “The flaw, or crack in the...