Why Did John Proctor Want To Have A Good Reputation In The Crucible

The Crucible: GOOD NAME

Reputation are the beliefs or opinions, that a group has about someone. People are willing to lie and go to great lengths to have a good reputation and a good name. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the characters have a lot of pride. All of them want to have a good name and be know as good citizens in front of the church. John Proctor wants to be known as a good husband and a good man that always does the right thing. 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

He is known to have good morals, and as a good husband. Over the years, he has gained a lot of respect for his name. It is very hard for him to give up his good name, when everyone sees him as the good guy. For example, he had an affair with Abigail Williams. He could have used this as evidence to show that she is guilty and the many accused as witches or for witchcraft are innocent. Proctor was reluctant to admit adultery, since it was considered a very high punishable crime. He tries to find other evidences that would keep his name clean and prove Abigail is wrong. Another example that shows that Proctor deeply cares about his reputation, is that he was able to get free if he says he had committed witchcraft and is an ally of the devil. Proctor was having trouble lying because it would ruin his good name. Then he is asked to sign the paper saying that in writing, which would hang on the church door for everyone to see, he couldn’t. His reputation would be ruined. Therefore he stood up in court and said the truth to save other people’s lives, but it didn’t work. He was able to save his own life, but the price when his reputation, which he valued a lot and he believes lying is bad. So he tears up the papers and hangs with others, because Proctor could not live with the guilt that his name would be tainted

The people of salem trust and respect Judge Danforth for making right decisions and never doubting them. By the end of the trials, he realizes that he is hanging innocent people that had nothing to do with the devil. He would not risk losing his good name and the respect of the people, even when he knew Abigail was lying. He tried to get the accused to admit to witchcraft, so they wouldn’t be hanged, but the accused refused and chose to die as noble men and woman. Unfortunately, Judge Danforth did not back down either because many innocent people had already died and he would be saying that he was wrong. Since he is known for being just and right, saying he had hung innocent people would ruin his good image and he could do nothing about it. Furthermore his previous trials and sentence would be questioned, and he would lose his