Tyler Iacona Mrs. La Pierre English III 02 December 2015 Principles of Life True integrity manifests itself into those who have sought and successfully claimed redemption without fear. Such quality is demonstrated throughout the entirety of Arthur Miller 's, The Crucible, as Miller emphasizes that even the most kind-hearted people, could commit ruinous acts when involved with false accusations/hysteria. A complete contradiction is present in Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” due to the lack of integrity and fear protagonist, Tom Shiftlet possesses. Throughout The Crucible and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, motifs of integrity, fear and lack of both are prevalent throughout the plot of the narrations and are used …show more content…
Tom swung his body forward, thrusting his, “short arm up slowly” as to indicate, “an expanse of sky and his figure formed a crooked cross" (O’Connor 1). Shiftlet’s unique opportunity at redemption is manifested by the crooked cross in his figure. As he deliberately planned what actions he was going to undertake next, Tom suddenly began to smile as it “stretched like a weary snake waking up by a fire" (O’Connor 6). This example of literary elements suggests that Tom is following the mindset of the devil, in contrast to his possibility at redemption. Tom’s immoral behavior or lack of integrity forces him to surrender himself to the devil and take over his thoughts as he abandons Lucynell at their local restaurant, Hot Spot. Supposedly to go on their honeymoon, Tom drives off with Lucynell, while her mother, hesitant of their departure, realizes both Tom and Lucynell will be back within a day or two. As Tom is driving, the weather had been cloudless and neighboring by “a pale blue sky”, thus indicating Tom’s last opportunity at redemption and to ponder his thoughts before making another move (O’Connor 8). But, after all Tom’s integrity was lacking as he abandons Lucynell at the diner, therefore he has lost all chances at redeeming his immoral behavior. This is personified by the weather as it begins to down pour and “drain every drop of from the earth before it
Integrity and honesty are virtues that are highly valued within the society we live in today. Society honors those that do the right thing and those that show integrity. Most of the population perform acts of righteousness in the hopes that they would be rewarded for their actions. However, there are some who still perform good deeds and maintain their integrity, knowing they would not be rewarded for their actions. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is the most admirable character because he always does what is right, damaged his reputation to end the witch trials to save others, and stayed true to himself in the name of human dignity and justice even if it meant his death.
People’s true character is revealed through their actions. Their morals and ethics can be told from how they choose to act in a situation. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible; the character of John Proctor is an honorable man despite having committed wrongful acts. He was able to redeem himself through acts that is considered courageous, such as when he refuses to contribute to the lie of witchcraft in Salem, when he fights for the people who were convicted of witchcraft and when he regrets being a dishonest man.
In the Crucible written by Arthur Miller, he essentially talks about “courage, weakness, and truth.” Arthur Miller gives multiple scenarios when different characters have their time to shine and take the reader's attention. They’re multiple examples to prove this statement. For example would be when Thomas Putman stated, “he felt that his own name and the honor of his family had been smirched by the village, and he meant to right matters however he could.” In this specific quote he is very courageous to say something like this and take the law into his own hands.
“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.
The uncontrollable desire for self improvement often clouds a person’s judgement to differentiate between right and wrong. In The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Tom’s morals vanish once he sees the increase in money by making a bargain with the devil. Abigail Williams in The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, has a similar mentality but instead of admiration for money, she has a desire for a married man named John Proctor. Throughout these novels, both characters go to great lengths to acquire what they want which is motivated by greed but most likely results in guilt followed by karma. The feelings of guilt and karma are created by a person’s deceitful and malicious actions. An individual has the capability to unintentionally
A person chooses not to take good care of his/her car, and as a result, the car malfunctions, resulting in the person having an accident. Every single action that a person commits leads to either a positive or a negative consequence. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a book filled with mistakes and the outcomes of those mistakes, and this piece of literature provides readers with an opportunity to analyze some causes and effects. Every character in the crucible created a situation that gave place for a negative consequence to take place. This led him or her to endeavor to protect the virtue of their reputation. Three most significant characters, whose actions are greatly emphasized throughout the story, are Abigail
Authors often depict their characters in a story through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization is simply portrayed through the author or speaker of the story stating actual facts of a character, such as, “She was kind and plump.” In the case of indirect characterization, many authors will use the dialogue of other characters of the mannerisms and actions of the character to display them. This is exemplified by the following: “Lucille then grabbed her napkin for fear of appearing messy.” These different types of characterization are used together and a part. These character identities are often what bring about the end of a character in a story, the demise or the survival. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “The Life you Save May Be Your Own,” she relates the title, different types of characterization, and the plot to bring about the end to each character, while much of this end can be assumed or found out by the reader. There are three major characters in “The Life you Save May be Your Own,” they are Mrs. Crater, Lucynell, and Mr. Shiftlet. Mr. Shiftlet is given a name very appropriate for his character, as he is very shifty. Lucynell is recognized for her innocence, which the dainty and little-girl-like name display. Last, is Mrs. Crater, who is also recognized for her name because of her momentous acts throughout the story, which could be referred to as a
At first glance the book The Crucible can look like an ordinary book that is dramatized and fictionalized, but when you look further into the story you will find that it has a much deeper and underlying message. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era because people accused others of witchcraft with no evidence, they believed whoever had this spirit in them were sinful, and whoever were accused it affected their lives horrendously.
In the book the crucible, it is about courage, weakness and truth. THroughout the book there are times where a character may either need to stand up and fight back or break under pressure. Some examples of what i am claiming are when abigail and tituba break under the pressure and say they were with the devil. Truth is also a big part in the book because all around were lies and more lies. A main example is when john proctor stands up to the little girl's claiming these things. When he shows courage against the children they know that what will happes is not going to come out in their favor. They create more and more false rumors but that is because they are too weak to tell the truth and face their punishments. I mainly believe that the
"There is a higher court than the courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts." (Mahatma Ghandi). In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, John Proctor and several others face a severe injustice, having to decide what is more precious: vitality or virtue. John believes your name is the most important thing you have, but Reverend Hale thinks otherwise. Hale concluded life is God's most cherished gift, and it shouldn't be carelessly wasted or sacrificed. An ultimate sacrifice, though even if it is your own life, is worth being made if it is to protect one's reputation, to preserve one's moral values, or to guard others from harm.
Sometimes people are very afraid of telling the truth, their fear makes them live in discouragement. Sometimes, their fear also affects others around them because they lack self confidence .When this happens, important relationships suffer. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller has a dramatic storyline the characters struggle with the Puritan authority and the town people having to make a decision on who is telling the truth and who is hiring. The girls make false accusations because of their fear of the Puritan authorities because they torched Tituba and they can do that to them, also by doing this it may make their lives miserable.
In the story, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, many of the characters show a sense sacrifice. "Never sacrafice who you are just because someone has a problem with it" a quote from the baseball player Alex Rodriguez. Many of the character is The Crucible exercise this quote, such as John and Elizabeth Proctor.
John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Giles Corey all show extreme courage in very intimidating situations in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. It is not easy to have courage, especially in life threatening situations. What if a reputation is on the line? More importantly, a life? The Crucible teaches everyday people to have some courage in bad circumstances.
Sometimes people are very afraid of telling the truth, their fear makes them live in discouragement. Sometimes, their fear also affects others around them because they lack self confidence .When this happens, important relationships suffer. The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller has a dramatic storyline the characters struggle with the Puritan authority and the town people having to make a decision on who is telling the truth and who is hiring. The girls make false accusations because of their fear for the Puritan authorities because they torched Tituba and they can do that to them, also by doing this it may make their lives miserable.
“Image is what people think we are: Integrity is what we really are.” (John C. Maxwell). In the play The Crucible, John Proctor exemplifies this quote perfectly. Proctor is a man who will not live a lie and will die to preserve his good name. Integrity means following your moral and ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, possessing this quality means that you are true to yourself and would do nothing that dishonors you. One of the biggest and most evident themes in The Crucible is integrity, this is not only displayed in the play but in everyday life.