The Themes Of Reputation In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Reputation; what significance does this one word have that a Spanish proverb states, “He who has lost his reputation is a dead man among the living”? According to the townspeople in theocratic Salem, an individual was to become prestigious and sacrifice everything for a good name. There was no such thing as private moralities, instead, a person’s reputation was a public matter showcased for the town to judge and discern. Nothing is more unimaginable than having to lose an influential position. Throughout the play “The Crucible”, individuals base their actions on safeguarding or earning a standing. Miller uses the characterization of Reverend Parris and John Proctor to demonstrate that when one exclusively focuses on the preservation of their reputation, one is more likely t o use outrageous actions and deception to hide one’s faults.

The Crucible is one of the most notable classics in American literature. Written by Arthur Miller, the story takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. It’s a story about witch hysteria that caused the trials and executions of many innocent people. Furthermore, it’s filled with many intriguing characters, symbolism, and themes that keep the book on the shelves of American high schools everywhere. Similarly, the Second Second Red Scare in the United States during the 1950s was also time of hysteria and fear of communism. Intriguingly, to consider that Arthur Miller lived during most of the twentieth century, there must be a correlation between The Crucible and the Second Second Red Scare. Therefore, other than the fact that Arthur Miller’s

“Hale: Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws away for pride” (206). Reverend Hale’s eye-opening words make Elizabeth realize that John Proctor should do the right thing for God, even if that includes lying. This quote relates to the Salem witch trials because during this time, the court was getting involved with the town, so everybody had to constantly tell the truth. Overall, the play gives a feeling of the Salem witch trials by using facts and events relevant to the time period. On a similar topic, Arthur Miller feels that everybody is vindictive, manipulating, and betraying each other; therefore, Miller uses his troublesome experience to commemorate the demeaning investigations of witches. Miller’s high disapproval of the American government, especially how the court handles situations, is greatly represented in his play. The characters change throughout the story, and they start to realize that it is not all about what the government wants for their life. They soon enough start thinking and speaking for themselves which leads to big decisions and disapproval from the American government. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he artistically manipulates the authentic facts of the Salem witch trials’ victim John Proctor to fiction in order to similarly represent his interrogation during the Red Scare while also putting a spin on the trials through his style, characterization and tone.

Reputation is something that one holds above their head to keep their good name safe. Everyone has their own reputation that they have made up for themselves in their own mind. Not only have they made one up for themselves but others make one for them too. There are several people in the Crucible who value their reputation over the truth. Having a good reputation on one’s name is good in the small town of Salem. It helps to have a good name because it makes people want to help with business. There were three important people in the Crucible who valued their reputation the most, John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Parris.

There are strong parallels between Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the history it depicts and the reign of terror that the 1950's era of McCarthyism repeated. These two historical events are linked by several commonalities: a lack of intelligent discussion, public hysteria, threats, fear and finally, the presumption of guilt rather than innocence. Miller convincingly uses fiction and dialogue to recreate a very real moment in history, which due to the timing of the play's release may also have been purposely created as a response to the actions of Joseph McCarthy.

like a judge versus a prisoner. Reputation is also a very big thing in “The Crucible” by Arthur

Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. He wrote this because certain events had happened to Arthur Miller during the 1950’s that he is trying to explain and expose. Miller was put into jail for being a communist because he was once seen with a communist; and would not give out information about other communist. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the start of history some-what repeating itself. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the one who started the communist witch hunt. The witch hunt started because a lot of innocent people were accused of witchcraft, or the practices magic spells and use evil to make things happen. People would be accused of witchcraft and executed or put in jail with no solid evidence.Through The Crucible; which is a serve difficult

In the 1953 allegorical play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller exposes many complex and transhistorical topics, of which relates the the playwrights experience living under the Red Scare. Miller deplores his audience to examine their own personal truths, which he insinuates are more morally legitimate then societal truths, the effects of a rational man’s paralysis, the circularity nature of law and the incongruous state it creates. When we equate the opposite side of any spectrum with a moral truth we falsely associate its opposition with malignancy, the enigma in which The Crucible is born. Supposing that legitimacy and substantial truth are secondary to partisan justice it is the rational man’s duty to inaugurate justice. In order to stimulate

Arthur Miller made sure to point out that having a good reputation was very important in The Crucible. After all, they are Puritans. Puritans always felt the pressure to succeed. They were on a “city upon hill” (Winthrop 1). They believed that everyone look up to them-- that they were always on the spotlight. If they ever slacked off, it would feel like the end of the world for them. It is shown in the book that if one does not have a good name, then they’ll be rejected by the society. They might as well do anything to make sure they have a good reputation. The Puritans’ hyper concern for reputation was a driving force behind the witch trials as dramatized in The

In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, the notable writer successfully argues that the people in Salem rely too much on their reputation by creating a connection to the audience in order to convey the message. He does this in hopes of informing the world that in times of hysteria, reputation means nothing. To prove the argument, Miller uses ethos by developing his credibility when he explains his very own knowledge of the historical situation. Also, the appeals of logos and pathos are evident when illustrating the value of reputation within the play through the characters’ tones.

Is preserving one’s reputation important? In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, one of the themes is expressed through characters trying to keep their good reputation. . The characters that try to preserve their reputations are John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Judge Danforth. Some characters try to preserve their reputation because they want to keep their name good or do not want to lose something important to them. Having a good name is important to have in The Crucible, It lets people know who can be trusted.

“The Crucible,” a play by Arthur Miller later turned into a major Hollywood movie, explores the politics of fear, social norms, and the fight to recapture a man’s moral compass. Miller paints his story using the small tight knit community of Salem circa 1692 as his canvass, brilliantly weaving historical fact and fiction to portray a scenario not unlike events seen since. The infamous witch hunts of 1692 and wild accusations of a subversive culture that threatened to tear away at the fabric of society are at the center of the film. Originally conceived in the 1950’s during the red scare, it is well known and accepted that Miller sought to highlight the similarities with the ongoing persecutions of accused communist sympathizers. The

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible the theme of having a good reputation is crucial to the story and holds more significance in my opinion than any other present theme. Miller presents the importance of reputation to us through the direct statements of characters and also through the fact that a character may represent an idea that pertains to reputation. As an example one of the leading characters John Proctor makes it very clear throughout the play that his name or reputation means the world to him. This is showed very clearly towards the end of the play where instead of follow the other characters and give in to the idea of witchcraft only to blame another person and save himself Proctor holds

In The Crucible a lot of stuff happens. A girl controls the whole village with her bad reputation. A families life gets messed up. Also alot, a lot of people die just because of this girls actions. Every bad thing leads to another and that is what happens in this play. In this play it shows who people really are when a person gets power they don't care about others they get what they want. Repetition is everything in that time.Reputation and integrity is a big role in this book just because everyone's reputation changes dramatically over and over again. With a bad reputation you can do bad things. If you have a powerful reputation you can get whatever you want and when you want it. In The Crucible By Arthur Miller, Reputation and integrity was shown by the characters actions.

As stated by the great Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” (braniyquotes.com). Burke’s words are proven true in many facets of the human experience. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, a shift of power is portrayed through Abigal’s sly manipulation. Arthur Miller takes a historical context, that of the Salem Witch Trials, and shows how simple actions can alter the course of history. The disintegration of an orderly Puritan society into one that is governed by chaos and hysteria is caused by a radical change in the normally male dominated power by a woman whose pride has been bruised.