John Proctor is not your everyday puritan farmer of the 1690's. He has a deep secret he would do almost anything to keep hidden. Not only does he live with the shame of his lust, but also chooses to live with a wife who can show him no forgiveness for his actions. Even this he does to secure his family will not suffer hardship. John Proctor fits the description of a tragic hero because of his suffering and inevitable death for a greater cause than his own.

John Proctor like any tragic hero has great strength in status and character. He is powerful in stature with an astute mind. He is his own man and lives by his own convictions without much regard for the practices of those he sees as wrong. His outward appearance is described in the passage," In Proctors presence a fool...