Bad Name or The Truth Reputation is how you are viewed by others and that will stick with you. In the Crucible reputation plays a huge part because everyone has some sort of reputation good or bad. Having a good reputation means that you are expected into the society. Therefore when people are being accused of witchcraft, people will do anything to protect how they look to people. Even if it means letting innocent people die for crimes they did not do. Arthur Miller makes it clear that having a good name is more important that the truth, Proctor, Parris, and Danforth all decided their name and reputation was more important than the lives of innocent people. Their decisions went deeper and deeper and made things get worse. Having a good name effected how Proctor acted because he doesn 't want to tell the truth about things he knows just to keep his name. Reputation effects Parris because, he doesn 't want to go against the bible and be accused of working with the devil. Lasly a good name affects Judge Danforth 's decisions because he sees that later he has killed innocent people, but does not want to come forward because he 's killed to many innocents and people will look at him different. John Proctor is a model citizen. A Lot of people have …show more content…
In the Crucible having a good name and being accepted into society, is more important to Proctor, Parris, and Danforth then the lives of innocent people. Proctor being a model citizen and well liked does not want to tell the truth about his affair with Abigail. Next Parris is looked at as a churchly figure, he does not want to go against the bible and speak out. Lastly Danforth is viewed as making the right decisions in court, but he later sees that he has sentenced the wrong people to death, he says nothing so he can protect his name and not be questioned. Based on their character decisions in the Crucible, it 's clear that keeping your reputation is very important if you want a good name and to be accepted
In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", John Proctor is our passive protagonist as he tries to save his wife and others that were accused of witchcraft. Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain and his evidence had backfired. His knowledge did not stop the witch trials because of his self-respect, and the children's high reputations, and Abigail's tactful nature. John Proctor valued his self-respect because it made him confident and helped him stand up for what he believed in. John proctor's name was synonymous with honor and integrity and was most respected in Salem.
During the Salem Witchcraft Trials, hysteria spread in the quaint little town of Salem, ruining people’s lives and reputations. The Crucible perfectly illustrates that a person 's reputation is important in most aspects of their life. Although the perspective of what is a “good name” has evolved throughout the years, it still remains as significant as it once was in modern
John Proctor didn’t want his name to be the ruined because he felt that was all he had left. John Proctor was tragically killed for a sin he had not committed but was found a hero because people followed in his footsteps by not confessing to something they didn’t do. “A tragic hero is a character
Based on the tragic events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, The Crucible is a hard-hitting tale that reflects upon the subjectivity of goodness and virtue, sparking the reflection of the importance of moral behavior during times of hardship and crisis. In an unyielding and restricted Puritan community like Salem village, a bad reputation could result in social exclusion and scorning from the community. As a result, many members of the community would go to extremes to avoid tarnishing their reputations. The Crucible asserts that those who are concerned only with protecting their standings are dangerous to a society, as they are willing to blame and hurt other people in order to protect themselves.
In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.
Because I cannot have another one in my life!... Proctor tears the paper and crumples it. ”(143 & 144) This quote proves that John Proctor preserved his dignity and soul, and followed his moral compass in doing the right thing. Contributing to the previous detail, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor...
The Crucible Essay What others think about you is all people seem to care about. So when your reputation is good and is on the line, you will do almost anything to protect that. Reputation is the main value that the characters in The Crucible are trying to protect.
For example, Deputy Governor Danforth knew the truth behind witchcraft, but he refused to announce it because he feared that his reputation would be destroyed. Next, Abigail caused many people to be hanged so she denied the truth and kept her name clean. On the other hand, John Proctor died because he valued dignity, and decided not to live with a dirty name. All things considered, many characters in “The Crucible”, valued their reputation among other people more than the truth, which caused other people to get harmed and die. The Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the cause of the death of a lot of innocent people because having a good reputation was very important to some characters in The Crucible, like Judge Danforth and Abigail.
Proctor!" (-Parris Last Page in Crucible) By sacrificing his integrity in the beginning of the story for wealth and power he created an image of a villain for himself, but by the end once he realized the state of his integrity he attempted to save John helping restore his integrity and made him less of a villain. Integrity is an essential piece of heroism, this can especially be seen in the novel "The Crucible" as the two ideals of integrity and heroism collide. This is seen through such characters like Abigail, John, and Parris all of whom exhibit the polar opposites as well as the in
By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller one can see that the characterization of John Proctor reveals the theme of reputation and integrity, which is important because refusing to tell lies to protect his reputation and stop delirium from spreading throughout Salem. John Proctor states that the woman of Salem who have been locked up for witchcraft:”Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation”(3.1.305-309). Proctor represents reputation because he would rather die than have his reputation downed to a victimizer. Protecting his reputation motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. All he hears is crying out of screams and wailing which is a cause of the Devil 's work: “What 's she doing?
It Proctor values his reputation, albeit in a positive way (unlike characters such as Abigail) when he says"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name?
He gave his life for his family name making sure that the people who are going to kill know not to say anything bad about his name. Proctors option of getting hung over telling everyone, which was a act of honor. It was a act of honor because he decided to get hung over letting the whole town know, and see what he had to do to keep his name good and not bad. Proctor did do some bad things, and did try and blame things on people which they did not do because
In Act It shows that everyone accused was either a witch or innocent, and that evidence did not have to be brought up to prove any source of credibility. Without a good reputation would provoke unjust accusations being placed upon you, and no one to defend you. The protectiveness of self-image reflects on Arthur Miller's message on unfair government practices. The reason the people of Salem were so protective of their reputation was because the government in Salem did not have any uniform limitations. This made the government in Salem very biased towards more respectable and powerful figures in the town.
In The Crucible, logic and reason play an active role as the counterpart to the fear that fills the Puritan society and the characters themselves. The characters Proctor and Hale represent the voice of reason against the voices of fear. Though they are outnumbered by those who give in to the paranoia, they stick with what they believe is right despite knowing they will become a pariah. On the other hand, Danforth and Parris represent the driving forces of fear and paranoia that plagues the minds of the people in their society. Society’s reaction to their driving force is to comply because to do otherwise is to be an outcast, and to be an outcast could get one killed.
In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, symbolized truth and justice by displaying honor and pride in his name. The change in balance between those two attributes acted as a catalyst in defining moments of the play. In the beginning, Proctor equally reflected both pride and honor in separate events. However, when forced to make a decision, he chose honor over pride. Ultimately, both his honor and pride pushed him to commit the ultimate sacrifice.