Preserving one’s reputation is a prevalent theme in The Crucible. Several of the characters are concerned about their reputations. Do you think a good name is more important than the truth? Write an essay with at least four paragraphs explaining your response to this question. You may use personal experiences, observations, or examples from previous readings in order to support your position.
In an unyielding and restricted Puritan community like Salem village, a bad reputation could result in social exclusion and scorning from the community. As a result, many members of the community would go to extremes to avoid tarnishing their reputations. The Crucible asserts that those who are concerned only with protecting their standings are dangerous to a society, as they are willing to blame and hurt other people in order to protect themselves. Many counterparts can be drawn between good and evil in The Crucible, and Miller’s juxtaposition of the characters shows the audience how one person acting with integrity can influence a society for good, and vice versa. Reverend Parris is an example of somebody who is extremely concerned with his standing in Salem village. He is afraid that when the people hear
By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller one can see that the characterization of John Proctor reveals the theme of reputation and integrity, which is important because refusing to tell lies to protect his reputation and stop delirium from spreading throughout Salem.John Proctor states that the woman of Salem who have been locked up for witchcraft:”Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation”(3.1.305-309). Proctor represents reputation because he would rather die than have his reputation downed to a victimizer. Protecting his reputation motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. All he hears is crying out of screams and wailing which is a cause of the Devil 's work: “What 's she doing? Girl what ails you? Girl what ails you? Stop that wailing!” (1.1 620-621). John Proctor is saying that Abigail is crying out in nonsense to protect her by making people think she was cast over by witches rather people finding out about the adultery that she committed . Proctor motivates to learn how the truth can still not matter if it is not what the court wants to hear causing people to be killed and put in jail.
In a setting of Salem, Massachusetts 1692, religion is the direct reflection of one's social standing. Reputation is extremely important for the town, as it is your only way to get a fair hearing and respect from the people. The protectiveness of reputation is necessary in The Crucible to justify yourself when presented with fallacious arguments. In this play the importance of reputation is revealed though the uses of ethos, logos and pathos.
All things considered, many characters in “The Crucible”, valued their reputation among other people more than the truth, which caused other people to get harmed and die. The Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the cause of the death of a lot of innocent people because having a good reputation was very important to some characters in The Crucible, like Judge Danforth and Abigail. On the other hand, some people died because they chose dignity over bad
What others think about you is all people seem to care about. So when your reputation is good and is on the line, you will do almost anything to protect that. Reputation is the main value that the characters in The Crucible are trying to protect.
Power and influence in society have a huge impact on the way things happen and affects perception. A prime example is the power that presidents and prime ministers have. Given this power they can effectively influence and persuade others. Power and influence is often associated with gender, conflict and roles and relationships. The importance of the power and influence can be thoroughly examined using texts that demonstrate ideas presented as truths. Some of these texts include, The Crucible, Macbeth, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and many more. The text being examined is The Crucible by Arthur Miller, set in Salem during the 1692 witch trials. The theme of the importance of name will become apparent by studying John Proctor and Abigail
One’s reputation is gathered by the honor bestowed on them. Throughout the ancient and modern world honor is envied by many. During the study and read of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearian play following the death of Pompey and Caesar’s downfall, many characters are tested to being honorable. The merit of having honor and being honorable are central themes within the play. Characters are affected by their decisions because of their lust for reputation. The play, Julius Caesar, makes of honor as accepting self-responsibility and wrongdoing towards Brutus, Portia, and Antony’s actions, intentions, and values.
One’s identity can make or break you. This is being demonstrated in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, “Half- Hanged Mary” written by Margret Atwood and “The Lessons of Salem” by Laura Shapiro. The play The Crucible is about how reputation impacts the puritan and Salem society, while “Half-Hanged Mary” is a woman who is accused of witchcraft when innocent and is hanged but does not die. “The Lessons of Salem” is about the Salem witch trials through Americans history that has to do with the inequalities of the people when these texts are examined together they indicate that reputation is the most important thing a person can have in life.
In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist, symbolized truth and justice by displaying honor and pride in his name. The change in balance between those two attributes acted as a catalyst in defining moments of the play. In the beginning, Proctor equally reflected both pride and honor in separate events. However, when forced to make a decision, he chose honor over pride. Ultimately, both his honor and pride pushed him to commit the ultimate sacrifice.
Reputation is something that can be left to linger around, haunting people 's lives for years. In the Crucible, Reverend Parris feels the effects of reputation first hand. Parris is a godly man who wants nothing more than to preserve his image. Parris’s motives are portrayed throughout the story when he catches his niece and daughter dancing the woods, a sign of witchcraft. Yet, after this he is more concerned with how he is being viewed instead of their well being. His own worries are expressed when Parris exclaims, “But if you trafficked with the spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will and they will ruin me with it”(Miller 1131). He knows that if people were to find out, he could lose everything he worked for. Therefore, Parris does everything in his power to at least prove someone guilty, and in the process, completely goes against the morals he teaches. He is seen as a Godly man who is supposed to teach integrity. However, instead he becomes a man that cares less about the truth and more of preserving his own
Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Reputation can directly correlate with pride, which is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one 's own achievements. Reputations are very important to the characters in The Crucible and if they want to preserve their reputation, through pride, they do whatever is necessary to keep it. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the characters John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Judge Danforth all show dramatic actions to preserve their reputations, each of these characters either hurt themselves or others by being prideful and dishonest for the sake of their good name.
In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, John Proctor demonstrates courage by speaking out for what he believes in while knowing his consequences, admitting his wrong doings with Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life, and choosing to be hanged over having his name posted on the church door because the second his signed confession is posted, his and his loved ones reputations will be ruined.
The Salem witch trials were a series of court trials held during the colonial times in Salem Village, Massachusetts. Up to twenty people were executed by hanging after being accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play that retells the stories of the Salem witch trials while incorporating some a few of Miller’s imaginative ideas. One of the major driving forces in The Crucible is coveting a good name because in the town of Salem, one’s good name holds him at a high status and ties in to his credibility. With that, reputation has proven to be a vital theme in the play, shown by John Proctor’s actions in court and Reverend Parris’ fear of a tarnished name.
In life, there are many people that have a different opinions about reputation being important or not. Reputation was very important back in Shakespeare’s time and even today in modern world. Everyone is concerned about their reputation because people’s opinion matter in our lives. Critiques, compliments, and our surrounding have a major effect on our reputation. We all, no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves that we don’t care about what other people say or think about us, but the truth is that we do care about other people’s opinion. When someone talks about you and you pretend like you don’t care but it affects us in some way, and also hurts us. The reputation of three main characters in the play Othello by Shakespeare plays important role in determining the last