According to dictionary.com, a stooge is "any underling, assistant, or accomplice" and a hero is "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities." John Proctor, in my opinion, is neither a complete stooge nor a complete hero.
Had I only read the last Act of the play, I would definitely say John Proctor is a hero. The fact that he refused to allow the chain of blame to continue was very brave. I think he understands that, chances are, no good will come to him through this but he accepts this and decides to confess to witchcraft without blaming anyone else anyway. He seems to be a martyr for the truth.
However, knowing about John Proctor's previous actions make it harder for him to be categorized as just a hero. Proctor doesn't instantly decide to stand up to Abigail and tell the truth. He doesn't instantly decide to confess and it doesn't initially occur to him to just end the continuous blame. It seems very possible that if John Proctor had just said up front that Abigail was lying, the story could have turned out very differently. He does, at least for a while, stand as an accomplice to all of the craziness that occurs in Salem when he doesn't say anything.
This also brings up the question of what really makes a hero, or a good person? Is it something people are born with, or do you have to make a conscious decision at some point along the way?
I really liked how you included the definitions of hero and stooge. I feel like that helped you better explain your thoughts on Proctor. Also, I definitely agree with you that John Proctor was both a hero and a stooge. I feel like as you mentioned, he really progressed as the story went on.
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