John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

At the beginning of The Crucible, I immediately thought that John Proctor was a stooge. Learning about his affair with Abigail justified my thoughts. As the story progressed, I began changing my mind. It became evident that Proctor really cared about his image and what others thought. Although he made many mistakes, he always tried coming back from them. Proctor would always try to make up for what he would do wrong. After the affair, John felt guilty about the whole situation, he had an extreme internal conflict. He wants to be known as an honest man, but by keeping this secret to himself, Elizabeth, and Abigail, he is being everything but honest. If he were to tell the truth, he would be tried for adultery. There is no win-win situation for Proctor.

Later on in the story, while John Proctor is trying to finally be honest and confess, things go completely wrong. As John is telling of his affair, he says that his wife is an honest woman. When they bring in Elizabeth, she says that the affair never happened. She tells Danforth that she jumped to conclusions and assumed things were going on between Proctor and Elizabeth, but she never had actual proof. This being said, Danforth and Hathorne believe Elizabeth and John is accused of lying. Proctor tried coming clean, but it just turned around and stabbed him in the back. This did, however, save Abigail and Elizabeth's name in the town. In the end, Proctor dies but he stuck to his word, he didn't confess to witch craft and he's told of the affair, so he decides to be hung. Thus, explaining why he was a tragic hero.