Tragedy of The Common Man

 In Arthur Miller's passage, "Tragedy and the Common Man," he outlines his ideas on what a tragedy and tragic hero are today. He argues that the tragic hero does not have to be a king or of a noble background, but instead, the common man can be considered a tragic hero. Miller makes the point that the tragic flaw is the idea that the tragic hero is unable to accept anything that may affect their status or self-image. Miller also states that tragedy is not supposed to be pessimistic, but rather an optimistic display of human qualities. In his first argument, Miller states that the tragic hero does not need to be royal or noble, for the common man can fit the role as aptly. Miller explains that this is now obvious through the concepts such as the Oedipus complex, which were originally "enacted by royal beings, but which apply to everyone in similar situations." He believes that if tragedy were to only apply to kings, then it would be impossible for everyone else to cherish and comprehend it. The only quality needed for a character to be a tragic hero, according to Miller, is the readiness to "lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing-his sense of personal dignity." This concept of the average man being a tragic hero is evident in The Crucible, for it is portrayed through John Proctor, a local farmer. Proctor makes use of the same mental processes as kings in previous tragedies when making his decisions, and he fights to keep his name, which holds his sense of dignity, from being ruined. The common man, according to Miller, is capable of "questioning [...] what has previously been unquestioned," which is the key quality that gives them this tragic flaw and sets them up to work dynamically in a tragedy. John Proctor exhibits this quality throughout the novel when he resists the ideas of the Puritan community around him. In the end of The Crucible, Proctor's tragic flaw is completely exposed when he tears his confession in order to preserve his good name, even at the cost of his life.