"I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"
             Do you consider John Procter to be heroic?
             John Proctor was a farmer in Salem, Massachusetts in America and, because he had a lot of land, he was a well respected in the village. He was married to Elizabeth and they had three children together. He was involved in the 1692 Salem witch trials, which provoked mass hysteria amongst the people of the village. At the end of the trials, twenty people innocent of witchcraft were hanged. John Proctor was an ordinary farmer - how could he possibly be considered heroic?
             Although Proctor was respected, he was also somewhat feared. People reacted to his air of authority. For example, Mary Warren, the Proctors' servant, begs: "Pray, pray, hurt me not," which, to me, suggests she is afraid of her master. On a previous occasion, Mary is said to have leapt up in fright when Proctor enters the room.
             Proctor is strong willed and he has an inner belief in his own views and morals. He is a principled man, not a hypocrite. He generally will not do something he doesn't believe in. This point is illustrated by the fact that he will not go to church regularly because he does not respect the minister, Reverend Samuel Parris. Parris wants to replace the current church candles with fancy new gold ones. To Proctor, this seems like a very materialistic attitude to take - especially for a man of the church. It seems to me ironic that Proctor is the one objecting to Parris's desire for the candlesticks because typically the minister is meant to set an example for his parishioners to follow. Proctor is not easily led and so he will not 'bow down' before Parris as he does not respect him and so he thinks it is not right to go to church if he does not approve of the minister.
             Also, he does not suffer fools gladly. He finds even the mere suggestion of witchcraft completely ludicrous. He is not afraid to speak his mind. The fact that he is not afra...