...The tarnishing of one’s reputation and personal integrity is something that many people fear and this is shown through the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Cotton Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World and John Hale’s A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft. The Crucible is a play about the Salem witch trials and the characters who are accused and judged based off of their reputation. Each character’s perception is different than what the actual reality is of the witchcraft because they have their own views about this trial. In Cotton Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather is warning the townspeople about the devil taking control of their lives. He encourages them to take action and do something about it,...
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...Individuals, subject to human frailty and motivation, exhibit inconsistencies among the greater collective human experience. In turn, preconceived notions of the audience are challenged by the exposition of humanity’s complexity to invoke personal assessment and reflection. As such, it is presented within Arthur Miller’s tragedy, “The Crucible”, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s romantic fiction, “The Scarlet Letter”. Both works explore the contradictions of judgement and consider the inconsistencies of personal integrity, encapsulated under the guise of Puritanism within New England America, political agenda, and historical calamity. Therefore, audiences foster introspection and reflection by developing nuance surrounding the inconsistencies of human...
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...Integrity in Salem Would anyone ever believe that one’s own personal integrity could outweigh the common opinion? In some cases, integrity will be so strong that an individual is willing to die for his or her own beliefs. There were three situations that tested three individuals’ integrity in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. These challenges were fulfilled by Giles Corey, John Procter, and Rebecca Nurse. Integrity occasionally modifies how a person views the world, and these views can permanently impact one’s decisions. Giles Corey was one of the characters in The Crucible who showed integrity and proved his personal integrity was stronger than the opinions of the court. He said, “I will not give you no name. I mentioned my wife’s name, and...
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...John Proctor is faced with obstacles that he must overcome to develop his character in The Crucible. John Proctor’s change in his character is an important part of the theme of The Crucible. John Proctor is a farmer that inherited the family tradition. He is married to Elizabeth Proctor and has three young boys. John Proctor dislikes hypocrites and does not trust the authority in Salem. John Proctor committed an affair with a seventeen-year-old girl named Abigail Williams. Throughout the story he is challenged with the guilt of committing adultery. John Proctor’s personal integrity is challenged in multiple parts of The Crucible. Proctor is challenged by the affair with Abigail, Hale questioning him about his relationship with God, giving up...
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...Crucibles of leadership. We often wonder of what makes a leader. Why is it that certain people are successful, while others (who may have just as much vision and smarts) stumble, again and again? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Recent research shows that one of the most reliable indicators and predictors of true leadership is an individual’s ability to find meaning in negative events and to learn from even the most trying circumstances. In other words, the skills required to conquer adversity and be stronger are the same ones that make for extraordinary leaders. In interviewing more than 40 top leaders in business and the public sector over the past three years were able to point to intense, often traumatic, always unplanned experiences that had transformed them and had become the sources of their distinctive leadership abilities. Examples, like Harman with a story about difficulties he faced, met the challenge, and became better leader, points to some characteristics that seem common to all leaders - characteristics that were formed in the crucible. A crucible is, by definition, a transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or an altered sense of identity. And through it, people gain a clearer vision of who they are, the role they play, and their place in the world. Accrued experience greatly helps to gain a clearer sense of personal strengths and capabilities, preparing for other difficult situations. Fortunately, not all crucible experiences...
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...Proctor also having a name in society, land, power, and at first having fear of his social status but instead chooses honesty and integrity. Danforth's motivation is to preserve his status as a judge good in the town before the cause of justice "…, interfere with an exact loyalty to his position and his cause." (Miller 79) Parris's motivation continues to be his reputation. Proctor motivation is to save his wife. Their attitudes towards the witch trials are all different which is how they view law/order/authority as well; Proctor sees it as being extremely irrational but as for Parris and Danforth they see it as a way to bring back order ironically. Miller shows through Proctor that integrity is not putting one's life before group of other out of false allegations and that's what he shows through Parris and...
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...Literary Analysis: A Character from The Crucible By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller, one can infer that the character, John Proctor, reveals the theme of reputation and integrity. These are important because refusing to lie to protect one’s reputation can stop hysteria from spreading. In The Crucible, John Proctor was more worried about his reputation for his family to live with than he was concerned with his own life. Basically, the idea of John Proctor protecting his reputation motivates him to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. Proctor had stated his worry by saying, “The town is mumbling witchcraft” (1.1.511-512). Proctor says this in reference to Reverend Hale walking through town with a stack of books for researching...
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...------------------------------------------------- Character Progression and Development of Reverend John Hale in The Crucible The character of Reverend Hale, in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, experiences a profound, dramatic and transformative personal evolution from when he comes to Salem in Act One through the climax in the third act. In the final act, in this progression, his identity by profession is challenged when he is confronted with the realization of an unjust, immoral community, and he responds with integrity and moral truth by abandoning his assigned mission of “witch hunter” in order to truly save others. When Reverend Hale first comes onto the scene, he is a pious and revered minister who was summoned by Reverend Parris because of his expertise on uncovering witchcraft. Reverend Hale presents as a strict and dedicated professional; he is confident, even arrogant as to his education, knowledge and, his authoritative role as expert, and falls back upon the fact that Salem needs him to resolve the unrest and chaos in the community. The hysteria in Salem is clearly exacerbated by Hale’s investigation; but initially, Hale is fueled by his charge to rid Salem of witchcraft and his self-assurance in that role, Hale finds himself, in the end, questioning his own integrity and his moral beliefs when he realizes that the witchcraft accusations were false. He has to battle his own internal guilt and regret for the needless suffering of other accused and persecuted which...
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...Within the confines of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many of the conflicts—including the more indirect conflict of John Proctor and Reverend Hale—hinge upon the theme of the importance of reputation. In a time when ones good reputation is the cornerstone for a content, healthy existence, it makes sense that reputation is an important recurring theme in The Crucible. John Proctor’s reputation is built upon his willingness to argue for what he thinks is right while managing to stay just this side of being a reputable, upstanding Puritan citizen. This is shown when Proctor is quick to come to verbal blows with Reverend Parris, culminating in Proctor dictating, “I like not the smell of this “authority”” (29). Proctor’s reputation of integrity and...
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...indication of a person’s perception of right or wrong, there is a fundamental thread that connects morality to everyone. Whether these morals are in relation to a religion, culture or the law, society has developed universal moral standards. However, individuals are capable of abandoning morality as a whole, resulting in significant repercussions. William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller show evidence of this in The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible, when their characters step away from their morals and carry out wrongful actions. Although the underlying reason for the characters’ social demises is similar, the motives for their actions are specific and personal. By carrying out actions fueled by revenge, both Abigail...
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...John Proctor as a Tragic Hero In The Crucible, John Proctor is an example of someone who would rather live and end his life with pride rather than live with the humiliation. John is portrayed as a man with good intentions and morals, from the beginning to the end of the play he managed to stick with how he felt, make sacrifices for his wife to prove he loved her, and stay true to himself. Although, in the beginning of the play he cheated on his wife and struggles to win back her forgiveness he did everything he could, so he could gain redemption from her again. In the beginning of The Crucible John Proctor had an affair, the girl he had an affair with, Abigail, struggles to tell John that she still loves him and that they love each other,...
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...Abstract An essential component of leadership is to articulate and exemplify the organization's core values. These values must be clear, compelling, and repeated. The leader must both "walk the talk" and inspire his/her colleagues within the organization to also live these values. Values are at the core of individual, group or organizational identity. Values are relatively enduring conceptions or judgments about what is considered to be important to an organization. Agreement between personal and organizational values result in shared values which constitute the benchmarking of a successful business practice. Thinking We, Not I Leadership today is a full contact sport and as people’s plates are overflowing, leaders are doing more with less daily. To create a healthy, sustainable organization, there is a need to create a culture where others are motivated to give their discretionary energy. Productivity and success depend on healthy leaders and employees who are not caught up in disruptive behaviors such as blame, victim thinking, excessive control, silo mentality, and internal competition. When such behaviors surface it is necessary to take proactive steps to pinpoint the cause and what must be done to turn the culture around. Re-visiting the organizations mission statement is a good place start. Leaders of healthy, sustainable organizations excel in three activities: 1) clarify goals and expectations; 2) help employees to see how their responsibilities align...
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...of a society, morality tends to take a vital role. In the book, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the author is able to show a distinction of personal ideals, and/or moral standards of two men with high reputations amongst their town. Although initially protagonist John Proctor is portrayed as unethical, and Parris as a man who is moreso respected, the author is able to manipulate Parris as a character foil to Proctor, in order to convey the true meaning of moral integrity, and the value of a good name. Initially, it comes to show that Proctor may be considered unethical, while Parris goes on to be portrayed as a man who is moreso...
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...Power in The Crucible Power can be influential and critical to society, but when people have too much power they have a sense of determination and fearlessness. When their power is threatened, it enables them to do anything and everything to maintain it. The Crucible by Arthur Miller describes the Salem witch trials. The play begins with Abigail Williams and her friends dancing in the woods. In an attempt to get John Proctor, after he ended their affair, Abigail curses his wife Elizabeth. The rumor of witchcraft is triggered when Abigail’s friends, Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are both unable to move or talk when they became frightened when Reverend Parris found the group in the woods. Reverend Hale, a believed expert in witchcraft...
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...In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many people of Salem were accused of committing witchcraft. These accusations were brought by Abigail Williams and several others girls in the community. While the court of Salem tried determining the credibility of these allegations, many questioned the characters of those accused. Arthur Miller was able to depict that the people of Salem had clear Christian reputations that they wanted to uphold and sustain in their society. In Act 1 and throughout the play, Proctor claims that he never had an affair with Abigail. He wanted to maintain his reputation as an ethical and honest citizen in Salem. If John’s affair with Abigail becomes public it would jeopardize his reputation in the community. John Proctor makes an effort to ensure that Abigail knows to stay away from him. In Act 1, he says: “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for...
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