Preview

Importance Of Reputation In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1140 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Importance Of Reputation In The Crucible
Reputation is one of the major themes in Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible”. People must always act morally, in public and private. Reputation affects their actions and majorly influences the choices they make. While all the people in Salem are concerned with keeping up a good reputation, three stand out above the rest. They are controlled by their need for a good name. John Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris are all extremely concerned with their reputations, which affects their actions throughout “The Crucible”.
All three of these characters decisions are influenced by a desire to have a good reputation. John Proctor is a farmer who lives outside of Salem. He is stern, has a strong set of morals and hates hypocrisy. He is a good, and respectable citizen in the eyes of the town. However he has a hidden sin. His affair he had with Abigail is his one fatal flaw. In the witch trials, innocent people were being hung, and put on trial for being falsely accused of being witches. At the very beginning Abigail revealed to John that there were no witches, and none of the girls were practicing witchcraft or made any deals with the devil. He knew all of this and could of put an end to the hysteria and madness of the witch trials with a confession. But if he …show more content…
It’s clear that John Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris are all very concerned with their reputations. It drives them throughout the play and has a major affect on most of their decisions. Their situations are very similar, innocents at stake, and the choice between the truth or a good reputation. The importance of a good name in Salem causes them all to value a good reputation over the truth. They all were to concerned with their own with reputations and it drove them to conceal the truth. Concern for their reputation dictated all their choices, making it a very key aspect for John’s, Parris’s, and Danforth’s
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Crucible John Proctor Reputation Analysis
    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Crucible John Proctor Reputation Analysis

    To John Proctor saving his good name was everything. In his society you have to have a good name to be considered as respectable. After confessing to participating in witchcraft the court proceeded…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On John Proctor In The Crucible
    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Essay On John Proctor In The Crucible

    John Proctor in The Crucible is seen as a respectable upstanding man in the town of salem, a farmer who has a respectable wife and kids. Also a faithful man who states in the play that he was one of the men that helped to build the church. Seen as respectable by those in the town throughout the whole play. Parris proves Proctor’s respectability in act four when Proctor is confessing to witchcraft and he says to Judge Danforth “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess.”(Miller 184) Proving that John Proctor hereby has a noble birth because he is seen as a good puritan man in a great social position in Salem. Though he is greatly respected he is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw and that flaw was lust. Abigail Williams was the proctor’s servant until she was fired by, Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John Proctor, for being a harlet. John lusted for the young girl Abigail, who thinks that the two of them are in love, and had a short affair with her. John has the affair and after Abigail is fired he tries to avoid AbiGail's affectionate touch beginning in act one.Such a flaw would be considered hamartia, and how he acts after he was caught by his wife would be considered…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of John Proctor In The Crucible
    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Role Of John Proctor In The Crucible

    He becomes selfless and sacrifices his reputation and his life to save everyone else in the court by the end of the Crucible. John Proctor said "You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail. And I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your own husband anymore. I have forget Abigail" (pg. 918.) In the beginning of the book, he knew he was going to hurt his neighbors from hiding what he did with Abigail, but he was so afraid about the citizens of Salem find out about his affair. John was afraid to tell the judges about his affair with Abigail because Abigail is going to ruin his reputation by charge lechery. John proctor said " I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another." (Pg. 968.) John Proctor tried to speak his own sins, confess he saw the witches to survive, and ask forgiveness for Elizabeth because it will save the others. John Proctor signed a written confession that will be hung on the courthouse door. He knew that will ruin his name and reputation in the society, but he sacrificed himself to save people who are in the prison.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor Essay Example
    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor Essay Example

    First off, John Proctor is an honorable and noble character. He always finds the truth. For instance, when he confronts Mary Warren about the poppet and she says that it was just for sport, then John says “You’re coming to the court with me, Mary. You will tell it in the court.” (80) This shows how nothing will stop him from getting the truth, and helping others with it. He will also do anything to save somebody else. In Act III, Proctor made a “petition” that 91 respectable people signed and was “... a sort of testament. The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca, and my wife, and Martha Corey.” (93) Also in Act III John says “She (Abigail) thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it…” (110) In this quote he is admitting to having an affair with Abigail, he admits to having the affair to explain why Abigail would want Elizabeth dead. As you can see, John Proctor is a very noble and honorable character because he will do anything to help somebody else, even if it means he has to sacrifice.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Reputation In The Crucible
    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page

    Examples Of Reputation In The Crucible

    Reputation is the source of motivation. It motivates a person to adjust their way of thinking. Everyone has some type of reputation that describes how they are as a person. People judge and view others based on a person’s name and how they see that person. The Crucible is a play that was a masterpiece, written by Arthur Miller during 1953. It centralizes on the witchcraft trails that occurred during the 1600’s, in Salem, Massachusetts. It all started out when a vengeful girl named, Abigail Williams, tried to falsely accuse Elizabeth Proctor for doing witchcraft. This vengeance came from the girl’s jealousness and from when she was kicked out of the Proctor house for having an affair with Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor. The accusations later…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is John Proctor Strong In The Crucible
    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Is John Proctor Strong In The Crucible

    John Proctor appears to be an authentic, honorable, and candid man. In act one, Proctor exuberates love for authority and exercises his power to the best of his ability. Readers see through Proctor’s witty persona and analyze his fatal sin that fills him with guilt, his affair with Abigail Williams. In the midst of the play, John Proctor undergoes a plethora of self-torment and guilt. Meanwhile, the witch trials continue to be investigated. Only John can free innocent men and women tried for practicing witchcraft, but in the process will ruin his reputation. Proctor later confesses to his act of lechery and rests in the gallows with his neighbors. By doing so, John is perceived as a…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reverend Hale's Decisions In The Crucible
    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Reverend Hale's Decisions In The Crucible

    Even though being discovered was a concern it was lesser a problem to Proctor than the fact that innocent people, including his wife Elizabeth who was accused by Abigail, could be and are being accused of witchcraft. Despite John’s previous efforts, Abigail and her band of young women have the courts convinced, forcing John to tell the courts “I have known her” (to know meaning to have sexual relations with) in order to establish Abigail’s motives, seeing as the affair would establish Abigail as a liar in the sense that she lied about Elizabeth stabbing her (this was the way Abigail accused Elizabeth), discrediting Abigail once and for all (Miller 189). Discrediting Abigail would be a big deal since she was a great driving force to the mass hysteria. Had it not been for his love for the truth and strive for justice, these events would not have never been known. John had quite valid reasons to make these decisions, and seeing the background to these decisions and the hoped outcome, the reason was obvious, he could not see such injustice…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Crucible John Proctor Character Analysis
    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Crucible John Proctor Character Analysis

    Proctor’s hubris caused the problem in the first place and this led to his tragic flaw. Proctor believed that he was untouchable; he believed that he could have an affair, but as long as he apologized afterwards, everything would be all right again. But as the play unfolded he soon found out that his life with Elizabeth and life in the village would never be the same again. Proctor’s affair drove Abigail to plot to get Proctor’s wife Elizabeth out of the picture, so that she could take her place. But she was intelligent enough to realize that if she excused the wife of a well-respected man of the village of conspiring with the devil, no one would believe he and she would be thrown in jail for lying to the court. For she has broken the commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness” and this was as serious a sin as murder. Because of this Abigail decided that if she filled the jails with people not so respected such as tramps no one would notice one more person passing through the courts. Abigail did all this because Proctor had slept with her. This caused her to believe that he made a promise to her by doing so; she believed that if Proctor did not have Elizabeth he would then love her instead. Because Proctor slept with Abigail he did not just cause his own downfall, but also the downfall of others. One thing Abigail did not think would happen and ruined her conspiracy was for Proctor to stand up in court, blacken his name in the village, risk being hanged, and expose her as a harlot she was. Proctor’s proof of this was his statement of “I have known her.” By doing this he ruined his reputation in the village, but Proctor realizes that his reputation was caused by the illusions people had of him and that he was a really a fake. This was one of the noblest things he done during the play when he tired to save others by destroying himself and was one of the turning points in the play. This also meant that…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is John Proctor Important In The Crucible
    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is John Proctor Important In The Crucible

    As a character, John Proctor values his reputation and stays honest with himself through the play. He undergoes lots of internal and external struggles but yet, never changes his character. At the end he gets accused for witchcraft. In the story, if you confess to being a witch, you live and if you don’t, you die. Proctor values the Puritan faith and in the end, the “court” makes him admit to being a witch and sign saying he confessed. He doesn’t sign because he unwilling to sign his name to something he doesn’t believe in. He would rather die than to tell more lies. "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Proctor: A Tragic Hero
    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor: A Tragic Hero

    John Proctor is a tragic hero in the efforts to save his wife’s life but sacrifices his life to preserving his pride, dignity, and truth; dying as a man with many flaws but a good man in the eyes of God. John Proctor is the common man who's making an honest living as a farmer in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many describe him as a virtuous, stern man who speaks his mind and is well-respected. He is a man of integrity; a harsh-tongued man whose lust led him to an affair with Abigail Williams, his former servant. This leaves a strain in his marriage and he can’t seem to forgive himself. When introduced to the story, John Proctor is a passive protagonist who does nothing to affect the main plot of the story. During this time, he is motivated by staying out of the witch hunt hysteria to save himself and his reputation. John says to Elizabeth, “I’ll think on it”(Miller, 27); John is trying to avoid getting involved in the witch hunt. His self-serving desire to be silent leads many innocent people to their deaths, leaving those responsible unaccountable. It is until Elizabeth is arrested for “witchcraft” he get involved in proving her innocence and exposing the…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Integrity In The Crucible
    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Integrity In The Crucible

    Proctor is arrested on charges of witchcraft along with his wife, Elizabeth. The people that are arrested for witchcraft live if they confess, but hang if they deny the charges, even if the charges are not truthful. This plays an important part in the testing of John’s integrity later in the play. In the beginning, we find out that Proctor had an affair with the niece of the town reverend, Abigail Williams. This displays a lack of integrity for John, but nobody knows about it until later. John shows his integrity when he confesses to this affair later in the play. At the beginnig of the play, the Proctor’s want no part in the witch trials. They get dragged into the proceedings when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of hurting her with a voodoo doll. John has integegrity when he tries to save his wife from being hanged. He gets depositions from others in the town that show how good his wife was. He has Mary Warren, who was working in the Proctor house, confess that she was the one who made the doll and stuck the needle in it. This does not work though, and Mary turns on Proctor and gets him arrested. When Proctor is in jail, he shows his integrity once again. He knows that he has the…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible Reputation Analysis
    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Crucible Reputation Analysis

    In The Crucible, reputation is an important aspect to each character because it shows one's ability to follow their religion. Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor demonstrate the nature of Puritan Idealism and how it affects the decisions they make about their religion, family and self.…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Importance Of Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Importance Of Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    Arthur Miller, in his play The Crucible, tells the story of the Salem witch trials that took place in…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Integrity Important In The Crucible
    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is Integrity Important In The Crucible

    John Proctor lost his integrity a couple of times throughout the play. He first lost it by cheating on his wife with Abigail. He also lost his integrity by letting the witch trials go on even thou he knew that the girls were lying. By doing so, and not stopping them while he could, he allowed many innocent people to die. John Proctor tried to regain his integrity back by going to the courts and telling the truth about his affair and by also telling the courts that the girls are lying and there were no witches. In the end he gains his integrity back by choosing to die rather than having his name attached to a lie. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!... I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(Miller, The Crucible IV. 1. 910-917). John Hale also began to lose his integrity throughout the play. He lost his integrity by going along with the witch trials and signing accused witches to death, even though he wasn’t 100% sure they were truly witches. But once Rev. Hale noticed that that the girls were lying he gained his integrity back by quitting the courts. “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!”(Miller, The Crucible III. 1.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible
    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Crucible

    Reputation can be a great deal to some and not that great of a deal to others. Parris, the minister of the church, has a great reputation and self-respect. As soon as the book starts off he is walking through the forest. While he was walking down he came upon Tituba and the girls dancing around a witch’s pot, nude. Later, Betty gets sick, and Parris wants the truth, “Now tell me true, Abigail. And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you …” (9) this quote clearly states how much of a concern it is to Parris that the truth is to be told; It shows how worry some he is about his self, and his ministry. “. For surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” (8) Parris is very worried about his reputation in Salem because he has worked really hard for it; he would do anything to save his church as well as his name and position in the church. Although Parris was concerned about his reputation, he took this concept one step to far. In Act III, Parris lied to Judge Danforth stating that the girls did not dance ‘nude’ in the forest when in reality, they did. This shows that Parris has a sense of selfishness attached to his self-pride. Parris is not the only one who has these traits, Abigail does as well.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics