There are several reasons why Arthur Miller had John Proctor chosen to die at the end of the play. To start with, Arthur Miller wants Proctor to die, because he wants to make a tragic hero out of John Protor. Miller always argues that "The common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were." According to him, heroes are not born, but may well be made simply because of the circumstances of their life, especially when a man has to be faced with a challenge to persomal dignity, which is certainly the case with respect to John Proctor. Next, John Proctor has to die in order to be reborn. He needs to die to get back his relationship with his wife and to recover his good name and self-respect. Moreover, in a town of sins and wrong doings, Sinners are always trying to punnish others, there is no place for the innocent. John Proctor stands for a good cause, he dies so that others may survive, that the town may have the chance to see the truth, he is a scapegoat chosen and his death may work on people as a rude awakening. Finally, "The crucible" is an allegory for the McCarthy era, during which innocent people were accused, jailed, blackened and persecuted. Similarly in Miller’s play, in a time where religion dominated, John Proctor would not be likely to survive the crucifixion.
