Definition Of Honor In The Crucible And High Noon

“Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!” (IV. 249). In this quote, the protagonist is expressing how he would die before writing a confession of witchcraft. It expresses how meaningful the theme of honor is in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. The theme of honesty is expressed various times through the actions of characters, such as the confessions of several actions, beliefs that are being shared, and the act of sacrificing for others.

Socrates once said, “Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again”.In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Miller utilizes the Salem witch trials as inspiration for a parable of McCarthyism of the 1950’s in which the HUAC would decimate one’s reputation on the grounds of suspicion as a communist. Miller reflects this in his story of trials of townspeople suspected of witchcraft. Miller develops the theme of the importance of reputation in society through the contrast in characterization of his characters Reverend Parris and John Proctor, who are most concerned with their good name in the eyes of their community and god, respectively.

“I have made a bell of my honor!” (III.221). Honor, by simple definition, is high respect, but to an individual, the word has a greater meaning. In choosing to be honorable, a person can feel a large sense of satisfaction, though sometimes being dishonorable can still reap benefits. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, he displays how sometimes the dishonorable benefit, and the honorable are persecuted. Honor continues to be reverent throughout the play in the actions of protagonist and antagonist, the opinions of others, and accusations against the guilty and innocent.

John Proctor shouts in Act 4, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!” (4.910). In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the idea of one’s reputation is displayed in many scenarios. Reverend Parris values how people perceive him because of its effect on his job. Judge Danforth values his reputation because it grants him a level of esteem and control. John Proctor, on the other hand, values his reputation because he believes it is a direct representation of himself. Although the motives of these characters vary, they all highly value their “names”. Miller uses the theme of reputation to show that people will make great sacrifices to shape other’s perception of them.

He tries to confess to the court about his adultery with Abigail by stating, “ I have known her, sir. I have known her” (John Proctor 193). Proctor does not want to formally state that he has committed adultery because it could hurt his name greatly, his family, and cause him to be put to death. Hale is trying to get Proctor to confess about his lie than die for pride. God cannot forgive a man who dies for pride, yet can forgive a liar. Thus, Proctor should confess to witchcraft. However; Proctor cannot do this because he cannot blacken his name. He would end up revealing his sin and it would be the end of his name. At the very end of the play, Proctor is sent to death, and Hale implores to Elizabeth, “Woman, plead with him! Woman! Its is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper! -what profit him to bleed” (Hale 212)? Hale yells this at Elizabeth, because he wants her to go and convince John to plead guilty, but prideful Proctor chose to die instead with his honor intact. He chose to die as repentance for his original sin of adultery. This emphasizes proctor has overwhelming pride, and not even with the fear of death will he dare to try and let go of

What is the difference esteem pride and honor? Survivors of difficult times may have different interpretations of pride and honor, foolishness rather than nobility. While the casualties are left to receive judgmental comments from the living. For John Procter in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, his intentions were questioned in the end of the play when he payed the untimate price; while some deemed his actions idiotic and other believed he was a noble man. In the end of the play John Procter made a decision to give his life rather than sin. Superficially, his actions may display foolishness or pride however, beneath the surface, his actions displayed large counts of honor and nobility.

John Proctor is one of the main characters in this play, he is a noble and honest man who places great pride and emphasis on his reputation. Proctor is a good man with one secret fatal flaw, his past lust for Abigail Williams, which lead to an affair. Throughout the play John never fails to speak his mind or stand up for what he believes in, seen through his belief that his wife is innocent, is belief that his name is worth more than his life and his belief that he has done wrong in his past and Elizabeth is the one he truly loves. John so strongly believes that Elizabeth is innocent that he condemns himself to the court saying that he committed adultery with Abigail in order to prove it. He was willing to risk his own life to save the one he loves, Elizabeth. He stood for what he believed in, which was the innocence of his beloved wife. John also strongly believes that his name is worth more than his life no matter the consequences and when Hale tells him that if he falsely confesses he could live another day all he had to do was sign his name away he could not. He would not let the court have a signed document saying that he was affiliated with witchcraft; he was morally uncomfortable with it, saying, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot

Honor Separates the Good from the Great Honor is talked about a lot in society. When these stories show up on the news, in headlines or and across social media, they are usually about someone that stands up for what is right or someone risking their life for the greater good of someone else or another group of people. In The Crucible a character by the name of John Proctor displays these acts of honor, by standing up for his family and friends, by exploiting himself in order to do the right thing, and by being loyal to his friends and his faith; therefore he is an honorable man. Firstly, John Proctor is an honorable man because he stands up for his family when they need him most. For example, when Herrick and Cheever come to the Proctor’s

In Act I, John Proctor arrives on the scene as a man of solid character, but it “does not spring from an untroubled soul,” (Miller 468). He is a man with a past. Abigail his former maidservant, reveals how he “clutched [her] back behind the house and sweated like a stallion when [she] come near, (Miller 470). Proctor previously had an affair with Abigail, a fact he is not proud of due to the way he sacrificed his integrity and hurt his wife, Elizabeth as a result. In act two it becomes apparent that John and Elizabeth’s relationship is strained.

Proctor is a “good” man, who is a religious, law-abiding citizen; hard working and who’s integrity is one of his best attributes. However In act 1, we find out that Proctor has committed adultery with a young woman named Abigail Williams, a servant in the Proctor household. This is the first glimpse that we see of Proctor, and it’s not a favorable one. According to Proctors religious beliefs, having broken his marriage vow’s, he has become a sinner and considered to be “evil”. When Abigail tries to convince Proctor to continue their affair, saying “Give me a word, John.

Reputation is very important to the characters in the theocratic town of Salem in The Crucible. John Proctor mentions that he cannot “live without a name” (143). His life is meaningless if he does not have a good reputation. For many characters in the play, including Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor, tries to protect their reputation.

At the beginning of the play, he is, at least in public, an honorable and honest man. When Abigail Williams's jealousy of Proctor's wife Elizabeth sparks witch-hunting hysteria in Salem, Proctor is faced with a difficult decision of whether to admit to his affair with Williams and ruin his name or to remain silent and lose his own integrity. Ultimately he chooses to admit his affair and is condemned as a

Miller writes about him as, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.” (21). Proctor knows he is something influential to the town. After his affair he loses sight on who he is as a person. In act two, Proctor admits to being alone with Abigail, albeit “for a moment.” (54). Elizabeth is slightly perturbed by it, but she tells John to to go tell the court to testify against Abigail. Proctor hesitates, unsure himself. Elizabeth sees this sand says, “John, if it were not Abigail that you must go hurt, would falter now? I think not.” (54). Elizabeth sees through Proctor’s shade. She knows that he will struggle with going to court over Abigail not only because of the affair, but also because he has no control over what is said in the court. Abigail can say anything and there would be nothing he could do about it. Within Proctor’s identity is the town’s identity. They are tightly interlaced with each other. After Elizabeth is accused of trying to murder Abigail, Proctor tries to keep Elizabeth from being arrested. When Reverend HAle tries to make the situation a little less tense, Proctor gets upset, saying, “Is the accuser always holy now?? I’ll tell you what’s walking in Salem-vengeance is walking Salem.” (77). Proctor knows that Abigail is doing this to plot against him. Proctor starts to open his eye to what is going in the town. The whole trial now is intensely

Before the play starts, it is found out that Proctor had an adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, and this has caused a cold atmosphere between him and his wife, who knows what he did. His wife, Goody Proctor, is one of the first to be accused by Abigail, and John knows that she “means to dance with me [Proctor] on my wife’s grave!” (page 116), meaning that Abigail in her jealousy wished to kill her so that she could be with him. Proctor knew that their affair was the root of the witch hysteria, but he hesitated to expose Abigail because he was afraid that his secret would be revealed and his good name be ruined. Proctor was, above all, a proud

Good morning and welcome to the public seminar about ‘The Crucible’. Today I will be evaluating and exploring how reputation and integrity are evident throughout the play and how it is relevant to all of us still today. Through Arthur Miller’s intelligent use of setting and the usage of the character John Procter, we learnt about reputation and how important it is to people during this time. In the play, Miller shows the importance placed on a person's reputation through John Proctor and his actions. Reputation is tremendously significant in a place like Salem, where the social hierarchy is connected to a person’s ability to follow in the footsteps of God.