The Crucible Reputation Essay

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In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the people of Salem, Massachusetts prove time and time again that they care more about their reputations than the events that are taking place and how these events are affecting the people around them. Having a good reputation can be a good thing but when being concerned about your reputation clouds your judgement, that is when it becomes a dilemma. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses having a good reputation, the character of Parris, and how reputation and The Crucible tie into modern life to enlighten the reader that even though having a good reputation is great, it should not cloud one’s ability to see the harm they are doing to others.

This is later confirmed when she threatens to “come to [them] in the black of some terrible night and … bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder” (Pg.175) Mary Warren and Betty Parris if they dare to tell the truth. This shows her determination at killing Elizabeth Proctor and securing her own reputation. Unlike many naive villains in other literatures, Abigail sets out a meticulous scheme to frame Elizabeth. First, she witnesses Mary Warren leaving a needle in a doll. Then she “[sticks] two inches [of a needle] in the flesh of her belly”(pg. 203) to frame Elizabeth of performing witchcraft. So mendacious is Abigail that she is willing to injure herself to accomplish her plan. Under her beautiful appearance also lays a manipulative heart. She is capable of manipulating not only the girls into doing things her way, but also the members of the court to her advantage. When questioned by Danforth whether the spirits she has seen are illusion, Abigail steps it up a notch by making the members of the court feel sorry for her and madly refutes, “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people—and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a—” (Pg.210) This, following by Elizabeth's failure to tell the truth and the girl’s verisimilar acting toward the “yellow bird”, further demonstrates her manipulative power which brings the court in her favor. Altogether, many

Abigail Williams struggles to show that she has a good reputation throughout The Crucible. On Pg 111, Danforth asks Abigail did you ever have a sexual relationship with John Proctor? “If I must answer that, I will leave and I will not come back again” (pg 111 Abigail). Everybody in Salem is starting to find out about Abigail and John, but when she is asked if it is true, she lies. It tarnishes her reputation because she is seen as a whore now. She doesn't want her name to be blackened in Salem. Once you have had sexual relationships with someone and your not married, it will be hard for Abigail to find someone else to love her because she has already been with someone else, so who would want to be with her? “ Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sister’s. And that is all. And do not speak of the other things” (pg 20 Abigail). Abigail and the other girls, were dancing in the woods, getting naked and making charms. The girls knew it was wrong but they blamed it on witchcraft rather than taking a punishment for it. This destroyed Abigail's reputation because she did not tell the full truth on what happened in the forest, but instead, she blamed it on witchcraft. She also threatened the other girls to go along with her to not make her look bad. Abigail does not take ownership of her downfalls and like to place the blame elsewhere.

Proctor 's decision to tell the court about his affair ironically demonstrates his goodness. He also spoke up for the innocent girls that had their names branded. He willingly sacrifices his good name in order to protect his wife and others who are wrongly accused. Only through his public acknowledgment of the affair does Proctor regain his wife 's trust. At the end of the play, Proctor refuses to slander himself by allowing the court to make him make a false confession. The court told him to lie, and that if he lies that he would not be sent to the gallows. He did the right decision by telling the truth about his affair with Abigail. He honestly told the truth about the affair, and that he was not part of the witchcraft. His response further exemplifies Proctor 's integrity. But John was not guilty. He had nothing to do with witchcraft, he admitted to his own mistakes. Proctor knows that if he confesses that he will be damned himself, yet again, if he agrees to confess, he will also be free from the torment from the demon inside him and set others free too. This realization, along with Elizabeth 's forgiveness, enables Proctor to forgive himself and finally regain his good name and self-respect. As the court

As we all know reputation is a really big deal in today’s society. Hardly any kid can be themselves because they are so scared they won't fit in or be popular. Many adults feel the same way. If there neighbor buys a boat, they feel like they should buy one to just fit in. In “The Crucible” it is the same way reputation is very important to them and they don’t want to ruin there reputation even if it is gonna sacrifice them being alive, they want to make sure they keep their good name in the community. In this novel there were a bunch of characters who cared about their reputation. Parris, Abigail, Rebecca Nurse, and John Proctor. The main two who cared about their reputation would be Abigail and John. Many characters in “The Crucible” are concerned about their reputations. Two of the main characters especially concerned with the betrayal of their reputations are Abigail and John.

He overcomes these conflicts by deciding to testify against Abigail and confessing to the crime of lechery. It is at this moment that he realises that he must participate in the community and that his individual needs might have to be sacrificed for the good of all. Another motivation for Proctor could have been that he wanted to replace his wife's alleged guilt with his own and that he wanted to be redeemed of his sin.

At the moment, Proctor is content to sign a confession stating he is a witch, though he is not; but once judge Danforth explains that it will be put onto the door of the church Proctor refuses. He cares for his name so desperately and because of this he is okay with townspeople speculating about him, but he will not stand for tangible proof being accessible to the public. Steven R. Centola concludes that Proctor wishes for his name to “not be used to damage [his] reputation,” so that his name will remain clean in the ears of his children and family (Centola). These different displays of pridefulness demonstrate how his own character flaws bring about his downfall.

Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: “Abby—you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie.

Throughout the play, Proctor struggles with his honor as he changes from viewing it as his reputation to believing it is based on his own private moral of truth. The isolated Puritan community in which Proctor lives forces him to try and achieve a pious and perfect lifestyle, which ultimately pressures him into lying about his affair with Abigail in order to maintain a good reputation. This view changes in the courtroom, when Proctor becomes extremely frustrated with the lies and deceit that Abigail is telling the judges, Proctor screams in anger, “I beg you sir, I beg you - see her what she is… She 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

We see a profound shift in Proctor’s idea of himself as he faces his death, claiming: “for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). With his final decision to not confess to a false accusation, he has redeemed himself by preserving his highly revered honesty, reducing his intense internal guilt, and ultimately restoring his personal honor. Despite being given the opportunity to escape this accusation, Proctor’s honor code compels him to give up his life, thus preventing the accusations against other members of his community from gaining any credibility.

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.

Have you ever done something that might hurt your good reputation that you wouldn’t want anyone who you cared about to know what you did; and will lie and do just about anything just to make sure they think of you as this perfect person. Well, in the play THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller; a group of little girls were caught in the woods committing witchcraft and so they lied and blamed other people just so that their names would go back to being pure. Their lies cost the lives of a lot of people. Arthur Miller is trying to communicate that these characters will do anything to keep their name good in the village.

Before he rips his confession into pieces, Proctor proclaims that he wants to have a good reputation: “I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (143). John Proctor committed adultery with Abigail. The Puritans believed that all sins are equally as bad. Proctor broke one of the ten commandments and was already destined to go to hell. His reputation is the only thing that he has left and he does not want to ruin it. Just before he is hanged, Proctor states that he sees a “shred of goodness in [himself]” (144). By not lying about witchcraft, Proctor restores his good reputation before he is hanged. He wants a good reputation because his reputation affects the reputation of his wife and his children. Proctor gives his life up, not only for himself but the name of his

He is faced with extreme conflict due to the fact that he committed one of the biggest sins there is: adultery. Proctor then has to decide whether he wants to confess his sin in order to save his wife or to be selfish and live a slandered reputation. Just as John Proctor makes the decision to save his wife’s life and his family's reputation, so too will any person that believes it is more important to put their family above