John Proctor : Hero or Stooge?

After reading The Crucible, I believe that John proctor is more of a hero. We think of a hero as a person who stands up for what he believes, does what is in his reach to help others and has many other desirable characteristics. In the story, John stood up for what he believed in when he defied his superiors when they talked of witch craft. John, being incredulous of such happenings, didn't go along with it even though that would cost him being judged by many of the towns people.
Another example is when Hale comes to his house and questions him about his Christian life and Proctor is sincere about his feelings toward Paris.

In the book, Proctor also ends up going to the court and declaring that his wife is innocent. When he did this, he was given the option of having her love only until her hold is born. Proctor does by accept because be wishes to help the many other innocent people who have been accused of witch craft. He did not only think of helping his wife and himself, but also of the others who he had known to be good people. I think this proved him to be a hero. Another thing he did was admit to have committed adultery with Abigail, even though it would cost him his reputation. This proves him to be a hero because he accepted his fault in public, ignoring what others would say after finding out. He did this for the sake of his life and having justice made for the innocently accused.

One could argue that he was a stooge because before taking action he second guessed himself a lot. I understand this but I also understand that as humans, we come to a point where we can't always be 100% sure of what to do. It takes a lot of bravery and effort for one to build up courage in order to stand up for what they believe. What makes John a hero to me, is that even though he had a money of weakness, he was able to pick himself up before it was too late. An example of this is when he had finally given in to confess to witch craft even though he knew that that was totally outrageous. He had arrived to the point of giving up the little respect he had for himself. He had felt that all was lost anyways so he turned to the easy way out. That is a very common thing for us humans to do. So I don't judge him for that moment of weakness but I look at the good side which is when at the last minute, he took it all back and decided death over living with his lies.