In both George Orwell’s 1984 and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a tragic hero is presented who despite his efforts, and the suffering experienced, in the end cannot overcome the external force against him. The two literary works are tragedies in their own respect, as in both their doom is resisted not passively accepted, however never surmounted. The reader is able to see the human suffering and courage in both texts as they attempt yet fail to overcome their character faults.
In The Crucible, John Proctor is caught in a conflict that pits individual versus society. Proctor is a common and religious farmer in a devout, purist culture that has committed the sin of adultery. This tragic flaw, coupled with his unyielding pride, hinders him from reality and eventually leads him to the socially controlled and manipulated noose of the rope. Proctor conforms to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy; his d
In Orwell’s 1984, the protagonist Winston Smith struggles under the oppressing social surroundings of the totalitarian government and it’s leader ‘Big Brother. He secretly opposes it’s inherent principles and doctrine best summarized by their slogan “War is peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”[Orwell, 29]. Winston is charged for thoughtcrime resulting in his torture that breaks him back into conformity and, as a tragic ending to the already suffering experienced, is killed. He remains throughout this a tragic hero and epitome for the nihilistic ways of the oppressed proletarian. 1984, is respectively a tragedy in the Aristotelian sense. The protagonist Winston is set in unimaginable circumstances in which the environment encompassing him: his home, friends, strangers and government especially, are of such hostile and untrusting nature that his inward revolt to the system is no
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