John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

The Crucible was an incredible play. But one controversial character that everyone could agree on was John Proctor. Stubborn and a breaker of one of the ten commandments that those Puritans valued so deeply, he was definitely a very different kind of Puritan. I believe him, despite his sins, to be a hero. When he was faced with the opportunity to betray his friends in order to become a free man, he didn't. He had a chance right there to not die, and he also said that he would want his life and to once again be with the love of his life, Elizabeth. However, he didnt. He valued his friends lives more, and he sacrificed himself for them. He stayed true to his ideals to the very end of his life. And a hero is the type of the person who does that! They care about the well being about others above their own. A stooge is someone who is mean and cold and cares only for themselves
 Even though we see that side of him earlier on in the play, it disappears along with our thoughts of him being that way. Would someone who was a stooge die for some else? Or want to get out of jail and go to court to save his life? No, a stooge wouldn't. John is sorry for his faults, and he knows what he did was wrong. He even admitted so to the court, to his wife, and even told so to Abigail. More people could of died had he saved himself, and Abigail probably would not have stopped to continue to try to get John to be with her. However, he knew much better than the others. But now he makes up for it by being a hero, by dying to save the others that would be sure to follow to the hysteria of Salem.