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Importance Of Reputation In The Crucible

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It is Better to Die for What You Believe in Than to Live for What You Do Not In The Crucible, Arthur Miller makes one of his particular beliefs vehemently clear: the preservation of one’s reputation is more important than the preservation of one’s life. This notion is most distinctly presented through the setting he chooses, the culture he depicts, and the characters he develops. Using such elements, a tug of war between wanting to survive and wanting to protect their “good names” is created within each character. The Crucible takes place in early 1690s Massachusetts, where Puritanism is expected to be both the law and livelihood of everyone living in Salem. The community that the story revolves around believes in following their doctrine to the point of perfection, creating a society in which people can only exist as reflections of their reputations. In this society, faith seemingly leads directly to existence in the eyes of Salemites. If everybody believes that someone has sinned, then that person might as well have; they will be treated with great disdain, regardless. This in mind, worthiness to enter Heaven can not be assessed based on what people do, but rather, on what they are speculated to have done. This leaves reputation being equated to salvation and, as far as Puritans are concerned, survival is not nearly as precious as eternal life. The commencement of the underlying conflict, the Witch Trials, relies upon the shaming and damning of women with poor

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