Preview

Integrity

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
588 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Integrity
Morals reflect both the being you strive to become and the individual you truly are. The value morals hold in both society and our own minds are vastly immoderate. The degree to which we hold ourselves to our own moral determines our integrity. An adherence to a code of moral or artistic values, incorruptibility, is what’s known as integrity. A lack of integrity is often recalled far longer than actions within integral standings. Both John Proctor, from The Crucible, and Ed Murrow, of Good Night, and Good Luck, share this admirable trait to a great extent.

I look for a lot of things in people before I fully bring them into my life. Those whose decisions have a kind of inner uniformity and integrity that makes them morally unassailable, those who I can trust. I want to associate myself with a person who I know would never betray me and always do what’s right, because if not your word than what have you? I define integrity as holding true to your own beliefs and standards. Living your life in a way that makes you proud or content is crucial, as John and Ed lived.

The Crucible showed a large variation of characters with an even more significant variant of personalities. John Proctor was accused of witchcraft after a cruel manhunt plagued with lies and deception. His integrity was highlighted throughout the play, for example, when he confessed to the sin of adultery to save his wife. In another instance, John agrees to save his life and confess to witchcraft by post his name on the church, but when it comes to it, he cannot, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my whole life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of those who hang! How many may live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller 1166). His integrity could not allow him to sacrifice the identities of those close to him. He gave his existence to preserve the integrity he made for his name. John Proctor was a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Integrity is having a standard of morals and ethics, and living by them. It is a willingness and ability to do the right thing even when it is hard. The story To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with integrity. For example, many of the characters show different traits of integrity through doing what is right, and others show traits of integrity for doing what they believe in. Some of the characters portray no integrity at all.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Proctors attempt to maintain his good reputation caused his death in the end of The Crucible. He always tried to do the right things, and protect the innocent. He was deeply attentive on not allowing anyone to know about his affair with Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth insisted on him telling the court that the girls were lying. He responds with, “I’ll think on that.” ( ). He is afraid that if he tells the court about his private conversation with Abigail, everyone will find out about the affair. He fears it because it is a great sin for lechery and adultery, and give up his good name. He then finally admits to having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth did not know that so she lied to cover him up. He then was going to sign a paper…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One of the characters in “The Crucible” that undergoes a major change is John Proctor. Proctor is one of the most important characters and he gradually changes throughout the course of the play. At the start of the play John Proctor has a strong willed personality and shows good leadership and authority. Through the changes that he makes, Proctor becomes a better person who finds a sense of goodness in himself. John Proctor goes from being someone who only cares about himself to a person who cares about what is really important to him. In the beginning, he has an affair with Abigail Williams, which causes all the problems because Abigail believes that if she can accuse Elizabeth Proctor, Proctor’s wife, of being a witch, than John Proctor will love her. This does not work out because towards the end Proctor realizes that his wife is the most important thing and confesses to having an affair with Abigail. He also tells everyone that he would rather die than have his name be ruined. Proctor almost gives in to saving his life by signing a confession that confirms him being a witch but at the end of the play he is more concerned with what is important than his public reputation. Proctor claims that God will save him for telling the truth and he will go to heaven. When Hale is begging Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess, she says “He have goodness now. God forbid I take it from…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Once Goody Proctor discovers that Abigail is a fraud, she wants John to go to Salem to confess what he knows on Abigail. “I would go to Salem now, John- let you go tonight.” (Proctor 56) He didn't go to Salem because he’s afraid to be charged with adultery, and the truth doesn’t come out until later in the story. At the end of the Crucible John Proctor's impact was selfless and honorable. “...Because I lie and sign myself to lies!... How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Proctor 150) He refuses to confess what he knows isn’t true. That he would rather die than tell another…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Integrity is a character trait. It is the willingness to do what is right even when no one is looking. It is the "moral compass" the inner voice. . A person of integrity possesses moral courage and does what is right even if the personal cost is high. The drama; A Few Good Men and the poem; O Captain My Captain by Walt Whitman are two different genres with the same theme of integrity and loyalty. Loyalty is primarily a function of trust, and that trust is usually given if integrity is perceived in the object of one's trust. Although they have the same theme the themes use or way in which the theme portrayed in each artistic work is different. The diverse definitions of the themes loyalty and integrity are put into play in order to fit the different roles they presume in both artistic works.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crucible Quote Blending

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Proctor is a very dynamic character in the Crucible. He is someone who appears to be righteous to the general public/townspeople but is actually someone who harbors a deep secret: he has committed adultery with Abigail. Proctor is one of the few in the play who firmly believes that Abigail and the girls are frauds and he is strongly against the witch trials. He knows that once he confesses to committing adultery, Abigail’s testimonies will be questioned and that he can save a lot of innocent people, but he is afraid of tainting his reputation of being a righteous man. At the end of Act III, he is found guilty of witchcraft and is arrested; in Act IV, he is given the chance to “confess” and save himself from hanging. He does end up confessing for Elizabeth and his children. However, when Danforth tells him to sign his name, Proctor agrees. Proctor no longer has his soul; his reputation is gone; all he has left is his name. He proclaims that “[he] cannot have another [name] in [his] life” and refuses to “sign [him]self to lies” to save himself (Miller 1333). He seems to have issues with his pride and his pride gets in the way of him saving himself. Although he admits he is not a hero, he dies with his integrity intact and his name still his. Arthur Miller displays how far people will go to keep their reputation and name clean through John Proctor’s character.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Integrity is a virtue that has always been around and it is an important characteristic to have. In the play, The Crucible, Tituba finally confesses to who all saw the devil. When she fessed up, Betty, Abigail and Parris all joined in and were being honest to Mr. Putnam. This started a whole other issue in now punishing those who encountered the devil. The virtue of integrity is still so present today in society. Integrity is to be honest about something even though it may hurt you. It is also doing the right thing even when no one is watching. In today’s society, people have to have integrity. This makes other people want to trust you when you have a trustworthy quality. Sadly, it is less common now but there are still people who are full of integrity and it is such a great thing.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As human beings, we each display specific traits and qualities that define our character and shape our personalities. The way in which we carry ourselves establishes our reputations, as well as how others identify us. We are each prone to making mistakes, and unfortunately, the mistakes we make can affect the way people see us as well. The struggle to regain a good name can be difficult and uncertain once someone’s reputation is tarnished. In Arthur Miller’s timeless play, The Crucible, a well-respected man named John Proctor betrays his wife and struggles to gain her forgiveness and his good name in the village of Salem. Although John Proctor betrays his wife, he remains the tragic hero of the play for he recognizes his faulty actions and dies with integrity and honesty in the end.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    To have integrity means adhering to a strict moral or code, being undivided, completeness, or being honest with yourself. Having integrity is doing what you say you are going to do and believing in what you say. If you go ahead and do something else, chances are that you lack integrity. For example, you value honesty in a person, but when they tell you their honest opinion about something, you become upset. This shows a lack of integrity. Integrity is important to a person because it leads to high self esteem and self respect. If you cannot respect yourself, and you cannot trust yourself, then how can you expect others to trust and respect you?…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What truly shows an individual’s integrity? For some, the answer can be their actions, mindset, or passion. This answer can be the subject of multitudes of discussions, but to learn exactly what integrity is, the best method is to observe people who are distinguished for having integrity. For example, look at the character Marcus Brutus in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” Throughout the play, Shakespeare depicts Brutus as a loyal and noble Roman senator who has the best intentions of Rome at heart.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An example of Personal integrity vs survival is found in “The Crucible” when John Proctor stood up for what he believed even though the consequence was death. John stood up to the courts and called out Abigail for lying. He also admitted to his affair with Abigail and that's why his wife Elizabeth kicked him out of the house. He admitted this even though he knew it would ruin his reputation. When John was arrested he was offered freedom if he would sign his name admitting he saw spirits and the devil. John almost signed his name, but he couldn't morally come to it because it…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays