Reputation has an immense influence on Puritans' social interactions in the town. The Crucible written by Arthur MIller, represents that one's in the Puritans’ society believes that God created a plan for everyone and it shows that having patience is receiving a valuable serendipity. In doing so, reputation plays a remarkable role in shaping the actions and behavior of the characters. Throughout the play, the one’s that are accountable for keeping this act and not falling through would be Parris, Danforth and Proctor; these people have fought to keep their name, role and importance in the town. Reverend Parris the minister of the Salam’s church; he doesn’t want to let the town folks down along with the position he holds in the community. One …show more content…
He arrives in Salem to oversee the trials of the accused witches and proceeds to have to understand and have a clear ability to judge clearly. Throughout everything going on in the play he oversees it and still considers himself as the best judge. Towards the end of the play, Salem starts to fall apart, from Abigail running away, to having stolen Parris’s life savings and Danforth still cannot agree that the trials were a lie to endanger others. He believes that he didn’t make any wrong accusations, they were all for the right reason in his thoughts. Soon after that, when John refuses to give permission to Danforth about posting the confession in town. Danforth states, “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption!” (Miller 144). He says this because he wants to condemn John to death for taking back his false confession. Danforth’s impotence to understand that the witch trials were a false accusation and that he has taken part in the murder of dozens of innocent people is horrifying. Danforth believes in following the proposition despite all evidence that his belief is …show more content…
The story starts off with the affair between Abigail and John, which leads to suspicions towards his current wife Elizabeth Proctor. Arthur Miller states, “He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but of his own version of his decent conduct” (Miller 20 ). This quote is stated in the book because it demonstrates the fact that Proctor didn’t know all the commandments, nor followed them. When the trails begin, all John can think about is if he confesses to adultery, then it would stop Abigail in the town. In doing so, an admission would ruin his good name and a proud man who views highly on his reputation, just to lose it in trial. Durning Mary Warren’s testimony, he makes an attempt to accuse Abigail as a fraud without revealing the affair. Then eventually confesses to the actions he took, but doesn’t realize that it’s too late. Proctor’s confession went so far that it led to his arrest and the confession of being a witch. Soon after that, Proctor tries to justify the final denouncement of the witch trials. Proctor was given the opportunity to make a public announcement of his guilt, regrets of feeling capitulate when appealing his ceremonial confession. His vast emotions of pride and fear made him withhold telling the court about adultery. Towards the end of the play he focuses on his personal empathy, rather than the public's standards. Proctor still views his name as a piece of treasure.
John Proctor is another character who encounters the effects of groupthink trying to define him. John is a local farmer who is married to Elizabeth Proctor and is a very strong and independent man. He also fears that people will associate his name with sin, which may impact his decision not to plead guilty to witchcraft. Acknowledging that he tries to be a man of God, he confessed to having an affair with Abigail, which jeopardized his marriage and put his reputation of being a man of God at risk.
Reverend Parris wants to be known as the church figure that lives by the bible’s guidance and as the perfect minister of Salmen. Judge Danforth want to be known as the dependable and trusty judge, who makes the right decision and gives the correct punishment for the crime. Abigail Williams
Closely following his act of adultery with Abigail Williams, we begin to see the cracks in Proctor’s persona and personal image. A veil of secrecy is apparent in John and Elizabeth’s marriage, with John covering up the truth whenever he needs to, and as Abigail catalyzes the witch hysteria, John is forced by society and self-preservation to continue with his incessant mistruths. Eventually we begin to notice that John grows heavy with stress and anxiety, and as he walks more deeply into this dark chasm of dishonesty, it gets more difficult for him to find his way out. One thing that remains constant, however, is Proctor’s sense of honor and the importance of his own
Throughout Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the characters are portrayed to be good citizens and how important it is for them to keep a good name. A good reputation is hard to achieve but even harder to maintain. Judge Danforth wants to be known as a righteous man, as well as john proctor, who strongly fights for his beliefs and others. Abigail is known for believing nothing was beyond her grasp. Reverend Paris is puritan minister, who lives by bible and it teaching.
Parris is anxious about his reputation because of the church and village. If he does not have a good reputation then the village will not believe him and stop coming to the church since he is a big part of it. Parris says, “I want a mark of confidence, is all! I am your third preacher in seven years. I do not wish to be put out like the cat whenever some majority feels.”
He is quickly framed by the guilt of betraying his wife and community, setting off a chain of events that leads to his execution. Proctor’s guilt spreads as he tries to uncover the truth about the witch trials and Abigail’s motives. At first, he fears that his news will damage his reputation, but he later confesses the affair and accuses Abigail of the witch trials to get revenge. Although the truth is later revealed, Proctor’s guilt and complicated moral decisions lead to his tragic end.
Matthew Raeter LA ll Honors Mr. Novak December 5 2022 The power of Reputation Throughout the historical fiction story “The Crucible” we see Arthur Miller uses difference in ideas Mr. Proctor’s world crumble, from the outside while he can do no more than just watch. Nearly everything we see Proctor cares for gets hurt or damaged in some way, First his wife begins to distrust him and hate him because of an affair he had with Abigail Williams. In The Crucible Proctor deals with the guilt of the affair he had with Abigail and how this sparks Abigail's control of Salem through her Manipulation and her given power of the people by them because of their misguided trust.
He embellishes this story by showing different ways the character's reputation was affected and the consequences of the lies. One theme of The Crucible is reputation. Reputation is showcased in the play in many different ways. Moreover, Reverend Parris, a character in the
He believes strongly in his ability to judge the character of the informants. This comes into play when others question his judgement of Abigail and the girls from the woods. Danforth has a great deal of authority over the verdict of the accused, he has the power to judge them as not guilty. Danforth being the primary judge means he could have admitted to his foolishness and told the community that the accused people were not witches, and it would have made the townspeople believe that there was no witch problem in Salem at all. Danforth is too concerned with his reputation to admit that his judgement, at first, was clouded.
In conclusion, Abigal Williams, Judge Danforth, and Reverand Hale are
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.
The Crucible - Conflict Analysis John Proctor Internal: John Proctor’s most eminent internal conflict is over the sin he has committed, adultery. Proctor cheated on his wife with Abigail Williams, and this makes Proctor feel incredibly guilty because in the town, he is “respected and even feared” (19). He tried very hard, and succeeded, with keeping this moral crime to himself. He still walked about Salem as if he was “an untroubled soul,” (21) however, avoiding the sin again would be a difficult task. Abigail flirts with him, in attempt to have him for one last night, and it’s obvious Proctor has an arduous time pushing her away.
Another viewpoint, maybe that Judge Danforth was just trying to get the Salem witch trials to blow by quicker, but if this was true, he would´ve accepted John Proctor´s evidence showing that the girls were just playing tricks them. This would make the witch hysteria go away much quicker. Instead, he benefits himself by letting the Salem witch trials live longer. If Danforth was a good Judge he would not have acted so adamant and did his job as a judge to interpret the
Danforth: Judge, Jury, and Executioner Judge Danforth’s position in the crucible is the Judge assigned to the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. Instead of treating this immense responsibility with the respect and restraint that is needed, Danforth abused his power by betraying the people of Salem and the Law. He did not listen to the people of Salem defending themselves before inevitably being sent to death; and he cared more about his reputation and the law than he did about peoples’ lives. Danforth was a ruthless power over the people of Salem he demanded respect for himself and the court; and nothing was more important than that.
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. The protectiveness of reputation is uncovered through various characters such as Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, and John Proctor.