John Proctor... Hero or Stooge?

Throughout Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", we see different characters develop in such ways that I didn't know were, well, humane. There was Abigail, who turned from a lovesick girl to a power hungry abomination who used her innocence to manipulate the others in Salem. Then there was Minister Hale, who's vision was cleared of the lies and tried to fight to protect those who were convicted of these false accusations. Many others developed in a good or bad way, some didn't even develop. which in itself is very frightening to me, and then there was John Proctor. John Proctor was a man of practical beliefs, one who saw these witch hunts as frauds from the very beginning, a man who's pride and reputation was everything to him. During these witch hunts, John Proctor knew he was practically the only man who could stop these events from reaching its fatal end, but he was stuck in his own internal conflict. Proctor knew, and he wanted to change these things happening in Salem, but he knew that if he did, his "dirty" secret would be revealed and his name soiled as a result.

In the end, Proctor did tell Judge Hawthorne that this was all a fraud and his affair with Abigail, which was a significant factor in the witch hunts, but it only resulted in the jailing of John and his wife, convicted of witchcraft. In his final hour, Mister John Proctor did not confess to witchcraft and was hanged, along with the truth. As for the question, hero or stooge, I don't think he is either. Personally, I don't believe heroes exist among humanity, as every person has some sense of corruption in them, but John Proctor was no stooge. In my eyes, John Proctor was simply a man who fought to bring out the truth, and that in itself, is beautiful. Hero or stooge? Simply a man, but many may argue he is a hero, as that's the way the story depicts him.