John Proctor, a Hero or a Stooge?

     When we define people, we must be careful with our words. Words have multiple meanings to different people and if we don't have the same understanding of a word, then what we mean could be mistaken for another meaning. An example of this is when I say John Proctor is a stooge in the Crucible. When I say stooge, you might think of a fool or idiot. I thought that when I first heard The prompt for this blog. But if you look at the dictionary definition of a stooge you get "a person who serves merely to support or assist others, particularly in doing unpleasant work." John Proctor does not fit the definition word for word, but he does serve/assists others. You see this when he helps his friends, being their voice when they are scared/unable to use their own. He does the dirty work, he stands up for his friends and the wrongly accused. John, in the end, helps his wife, sacrificing himself for her. He gives up his life for his friends and family. And when asked repeatedly to confess, he holds out until the end, and even then he maintains his name. But there is a problem with just saying that John Proctor was a stooge. The word stooge is a derogatory term, and John Proctor deserves something better than being called stooge. He might have served others but he did so with the best intentions at heart. He deserves to be more than just a stooge.  So I'll call him a heroic stooge.