Proctor...Hero or Stooge?

          Definitely a herooge. Stooro? Whatever you might call it, I think John Proctor was both a hero and a stooge.
          John was a stooge in the way that all men are stooges. He was an idiot, not cognitively but in his mindset. He did foolish things without thinking about the later consequences. However each (well, maybe most) of his actions were brave and were done with good intention.
          Proctor's affair with Abigail? Foolish. I'm not sure what went on before Act I between them or how she may have been appealing. But she was not at all attractive while wildly accusing her rivals of witchcraft. Abigail was crazy bonkers no doubt about it. Like I said though, men are generally idiots so maybe Proctor just couldn't help himself and couldn't see past her pretty face. His wife was pretty cold and whether or not all of her shrewdness resulted from the affair, their marriage didn't seem all that happy. So this could be another factor of John running into another's arms.
          Standing up to the unfair justice system for himself as well as countless innocent others? Heroic. It's clear that no one who was accused was really guilty of witchcraft. However, everyone was encourages to admit to it anyway to same themselves from hanging. Obviously there's something wrong with that logic. When Proctor was accused he remained vigil and would not confess. He had a last minute panic and falsely admitted to performing witchcraft but he soon saw how he could not live with the lie and would rather die with the truth. Although Proctor was murdered, he spoke up against the insane court system and the people who confessed to a crime they did not committ and then blamed an innocent person to save their own skin.