John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

John Proctor is a very interesting character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. I believe that Proctor is both part hero and part stooge. Proctor has some "heroic" moments when he questions the rules and values of the town, such as when he questions Hale about how the accusers are always considered innocent and not questioned. He has put some of these ideas into the mind of Abigail and seems to not have much hesitation when he wants to speak his mind. I consider these his "heroic" moments, but Proctor acts like a stooge in some moments too. He is a stooge to Abigail and to Elizabeth sometimes too. Abigail has him by the neck with their affair and controls him with that, up until he admits to the affair, but then Elizabeth contradicts him and makes him look like a liar when she says the affair never happened.