John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

So, the question is: John Proctor, from "The Crucible"-hero or stooge? Well I would say he is a hero, even a martyr. During the Salem witch trials, you sort of had two roads to take. You could either, one, lie and confess to being a witch and live, and maybe accuse somebody else while you're at it, or you could tell the truth, and be hanged. We never find out who is to blame exactly in The Crucible, but what I'm sure most people came to is that Abigail  and the girls are who started it all. Abigail is the ring leader and the other girls follow her. Maybe Tituba did have more to do with it, but as far as we know, the problem wouldn't have escalated as high as it did, had Abigail not put on the first performance by Betty's bed. Anyways, there were several people who confessed to witchcraft, which could be the right thing to do if it saves someone else, however it was usual to put the blame on another person after confessing, therefore putting them in danger of death. That cycle of confessing and accusing just went on and on and didn't get anyone anywhere, in fact the blame might come back to the first person eventually. Plus, they were lying! I totally get why- they want to live, and honestly I would do the same probably. But, what we're all told and taught as we grow  up is to stand up for yourself and your beliefs, and no one in The Crucible did that; except John Proctor. He wasn't ready to give the court what they wanted like everyone else just to live. The fact is, there wasn't much else he could do if he did confess. His wife was bound to be hanged in a year, he didn't know if there would be a way to prevent that ultimately, and the other people who were accused-well he couldn't control. Some of them didn't confess and were hanged, but the others were persuaded by Hale to confess a lie in order to live, and there wasn't really much way of changing their minds at that point. Therefore, what John Proctor did was heroic. He stood up for the truth, and hopefully changed other people's minds in doing so. He showed the court that they couldn't control the town anymore with their presumptions and accusations with false evidence. He showed the town what it means to be religious, not to the Puritan religion, but to his own beliefs and the truth; to be honest.