Ms. Hafer
Honors English 10
November 5, 2014 Heroes of The Crucible
Heroes are everywhere in society. Some are more wellknown than other, some get treated like royalty, some are treated like dirt. Some of today’s greatest heroes were treated horribly; for example, Martin Luther King Jr. was a target for racist people and he was put in jail for protesting. Just like MLK Jr. some of our heroes were treated horribly and you may not even realize that they are heroes. In Arthur Miller’s, “The
Crucible” the heroes were treated poorly. John Proctor was accused of witchcraft and hung, Giles Corey was pressed, and Reverend Hale was viewed as an accuser in the beginning then changed to a hero by the end of the play. Some of our heroes may have not been praised and shown as heroes but they were definitely the heroes of our play.
Even though John Proctor was a hero and did everything he could do, not only for himself but for others; he was not treated like a hero at all. The main person that gave John the motivation to do his acts of heroism was Elizabeth Proctor; John’s wife.
His love for her fueled him to do all he could to try and protect her. “Let Rebecca go like a saint; for me it is fraud.” John risked getting in trouble just so that his wife didn’t get arrested. He believed Elizabeth was innocent and he felt guilty because he’s the one that committed adultery. Even if he was putting himself at risk he told Elizabeth he
would do the right thing. “I will fall like an ocean on that court.” John promised Elizabeth that he will march into the courtroom and defend her because he knew that she would never do such a thing as witchcraft. John showed that he was definitely a hero when
Judge Hathorne asked him if he has seen anyone with the Devil; to which John said, “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.” John could have put the blame on others and made it easier on himself, but he knew that was wrong. He refused to blame anyone else, and he risked his freedom and life to protect those who were innocent.
John Proctor is clearly a hero because he never once spoke a lie or soiled an innocent name. He tried to protect the innocent, much like Giles Corey.
Giles Corey was a wise man with a brave heart. He risked his own life to save others. Giles was a silent hero, literally. He refused to speak about another person if he knew it would put them at risk. While Giles was at court defending his wife Judge
Hathorne asked Giles who told him about what Putnam said, but Giles refused to name the man because he knew that the man would get in trouble. “You know well why not!
He’ll lay in jail if I give his name!” Giles could have named the man and gone on defending his wife but instead he chose to not give out the name and instead protect the man from getting in trouble. “I will give you no name. I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute.” Giles again refused to say any names because he already named someone once and he saw that they got in trouble because of him. So now he stands mute to protect someone who is innocent. Near the end of the play, they began putting rocks on Giles Corey’s chest in order to get names out of him. They added heavier rocks every time he refused to name anyone. Giles kept
refusing to name anyone and sat silent. He wasn’t going to name anyone that was innocent and get them in trouble. “More weight.” were Giles’ last words; he stood silent until the moment he died. He swore not to name any names and that’s exactly what he did. He chose to die instead of soil the name of