Honor And Integrity In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s play, the Crucible, many characters are faced with a quandary that involves their honesty as well as their reputation. They have the choice to die nobly, or survive and be a stigma to the community and God. Reputation and good social status is a central concern in the town of Salem. Many characters found their actions based on their individual character, sometimes leading to negative choices. The protagonist, John Proctor, shows how truthfully confronting oneself requires bravery and sacrifice.

The reputation of an individual affects the way one is seen in a community and can negatively affect one’s life, which can result in difficult decisions that can define a person’s life. In the town of Salem, reputation and integrity defined who and what a person will be in the given future. The integrity of a person refers more to the moral side of one’s life, whereas the reputation is the physical side of one’s life. Both determine who an individual is going to be, not who they actually are, which refers to one’s integrity. There are not a lot of specific events concerning the reputation and integrity of someone in modern times, but a good reputation in today’s times is how you communicate and thrive within a community; whether that be in

John Proctor starts off in the play as a guilty man who is self judging and the ends the play finally saying that he is a good man. John's wife, Elizabeth Proctor says, "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him" (134). Elizabeth's words explain that John has finally realized although he did a bad thing he is still a good man and not a witch. John changes from a self judging character to a forgiving one.

I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 143). Proctor is giving significant credit and recognition to those who did not give into lying to protect their lives but rather died truthful. He is saying he is not worth even the dust on the feet of those that were hung simply because he even for a little gave into the confession. Miller’s element of tragedy that emphasizes a man laying his life down for his integrity is clearly evident in this scene.

Throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are few examples of characters that choose to uphold their own integrity rather than save their life, such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. However, there are many characters, such as Mary Warren, who choose to sacrifice their honesty and integrity in order to save their own life. Overall, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible speaks for both types of people in this situation: those that are honourable, and those that are dishonourable in their actions. Both types of characters draw upon different aspects of human nature. For example, self preservation is evident in those that chose to accuse rather than be accused themselves as well as those that lied and made false confessions in order to save their life.

Integrity and reputation are values humans have cherished ever since the beginning of time. In excess integrity and reputation can lead to hubris having an unwarranted amount of self-importance. Integrity affects not only adults and celebrities, but also young children. But what will one do to keep their integrity and reputation upheld is the real test, a crucible that will take their whole strength to confront. Some may be willing to die and suffer to keep their name and pride.

Respect and reputation was important to the people of Salem because it was a way that people know that they could do business with and be social with. When the movie begins Reverend Parris is scared that with Abigail’s bad behaviors or actions and the hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughters coma the Reverend is afraid for that all of Abigail’s actions will ruin his reputation. Towards the middle of the movie John Proctor has the chance to stop the girl’s from creating more accusations and ruining their good name but he does not come forward because he does not want his affair with Abigail to come out again. At the end of the movie John Proctor has a chance to save himself from being hanged by signing a false confession. John signs it

He was given the choice to either confess to being apart of witchcraft and be spared or not confess and get hanged. He is allowed to talk this over with his wife and at first they decide it would be better to confess even though they know he didn’t do anything! At this point in the play John realizes that it is not the right thing to do. He says “ How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul now give me your name.”

As the one of the most important characters in the Crucible, John Proctor symbols common human nature and goodness of a person. He is a very respectable man of the Salem community, and because of his human nature, he did make a mistake that violated the adultery sin of the Ten Commandments. Whatever the sins of others, John Proctor’s publicized position robs him of his credibility. But John still has his goodness, he feels sorry for his wife, still loves her, and he makes the right choice in the end of the play. He was going to confess himself of the witchcraft to being alive, but he is aware that what such a shame to protect himself instead of refusing to sacrifice soul to save his life by admitting being with devils.

I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(Miller 140). At the end of the play The Crucible John is confused weather or not if he should admit

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.

It is ironic that the innocent people such as Nurse are punished, while the wicked go unpunished. The Salem witch trials can be compared to a crucible. A crucible is a pot used to melt metals and other substances. However, a crucible also symbolises a difficult test or trial. In the context of the play,

Many people would argue the character of John Proctor showed the best judgement in the play, but his desire to maintain an image of a good man took away any semblance of discernment. To truly have enough wits about him to save himself, John Proctor could have turned away from desperation to not sully his name and saved his own life: a decision albeit forced onto him because of Abigail’s decisions, but a poor choice nonetheless. Sometimes, pride can be as deadly a sin as confidence is is a virtue. Proctor’s vanity did not lie in his looks, but in holding to his appearance as a Godly and innocent man --- an obsession that lead to his death. While the play itself states it was for his family, one can infer that his own selfishness -- one that did not benefit him as Abigail’s benefited her.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is a play about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Many people were accused of witchcraft in the Salem “courts”. Their corrupt political justice system was demonstrated through the use of false accusations and spectral evidence. Spectral evidence was the driving force of how people were accused of witchcraft and working with the devil. Abigail in open court accuses Sarah Good of working with the devil, “I saw Sarah Good with the devil” (Miller, 189).

Anyone can be a hero or a victim, depending on the perspective through which one views the situation. The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The outrageous influenza of witch accusations spreads rapidly through the Salem community. Revenge flows through the society as neighbors turn or neighbors and jealous girls turn on wives. One character, John Proctor, is reluctant to care about anyone besides himself at first, but after witnessing the absurdity of the witch accusations, he changes his attitude and upholds the truth.