John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

In “The Crucible” the character John Proctor can be viewed as a deeply conflicted character, but whether or not his final actions before his exaction can be viewed as heroic and noble or dumb and pointless is questionable. We've all read the book in class, so don’t complain about spoilers; Proctor lies to authorities by signing his confession to witchcraft and is to be kept from execution and eventually let free, but by doing so his confession will be posted for the whole town to see his guiltiness. Despite being urged to bear with this by his friends so he can escape certain death, Proctor refuses to allow his name to be sullied for a crime he did not commit and instead tears up his confession papers, which he sees as a final act of defiance against the law system of Salem, and is left to his fate, much to the chagrin of his peers.
            While this is meant to be seen as one last heroic stand, it is easy for today’s readers who have very different views on things like pride and chivalry to see this action as a very dimwitted move. Though this can be easily argued for, I view Proctor’s decision to be a respectable one of courage. Because many of the other accused did what Proctor did not and feigned their criminal actions to save themselves, Proctor went against the stagnant and corrupt flow and fought for something he believed, sort of in a way to give himself retribution for his other heavy sins. Since he did such a bold thing, I feel that his end was that of a hero.