...Arthur Miller’s The Crucible gives an insight into how reputation is one of the most crucial parts of colonial living in the 17th century. When living in a small colony, one’s reputation is linked to quality of life. Having a good name is necessary to do business, have friends, and, for the Puritans, being known as a religious person. Someone without a good name in the community would be rejected, and avoided by all other townspeople. This is noted in The Crucible, where characters like John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and Abigail went at great lengths to keep their reputations pure. But, is reputation, how other people see you, more important than integrity, how you see yourself? The Crucible’s protagonist, John Proctor, is a perfect example of how keeping one’s good name can lead someone to extreme actions. When the witch trials began, and John Proctor went to court to protect those he knew were innocent, he went as long as he could without admitting he had an affair with...
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...One’s reputation is one of the most important things in life. People in life can treat you in many different ways just based on one’s reputation, and it is needed when it comes to trust and respect. It can cause one to become successful, or it can cause the complete opposite. In The Crucible, reputation is an ongoing theme in the story. It is extremely important to many of the people in Salem. During the witch trials, many did not lie and confess to witchcraft, such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. They would rather die with their honest integrity than to live with a tainted one. Due to this, many innocent people were hung. However, the strongest example that supports the theme of reputation would be one of the most corrupt men in Salem, Reverend Parris. First of all, in the beginning of the story Betty Parris is in a strange coma. The doctor had not the slightest idea of why Betty would not wake up, and due to this, the town spreads a rumor that witchcraft had caused Betty to fall into the coma. Parris finds out about this, and he immediately recalls when he found her and Abigail in the woods. If the townspeople were to find out that she was dancing in the woods, they would deem her a witch, and that would surely taint his status among the town. His attention shifts from his ill daughter to figuring out ways to keep his daughter and niece’s dancing a...
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...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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...It is evident that reputation in salem is important. Every character in Salem cares to show their moralities during witch trials. There are those however, who try to preserve it more than others, particularly Parris, Danforth, and Elizabeth. All three uphold themselves to be the truth, and are well respected individuals. Knowing its importance, all three want to maintain a good reputation. A good reputation in salem can be defined as having proper discipline and the following of “God's Law”. without these central traits, you are seen as unworthy of going to heaven, which terrified the people of salem. Parris leaned more towards his job as minister rather than family. The only reason for such attention to his daughter, Betty, was because she was involved in an activity that could have potentially ruined his job as minister of salem. He goes on to tell his niece Abigail that his ministry is at “stake” if his enemies come to find out whether there is witchery happening in his own home, and they will “ruin” him. He makes Abigail feel guilty for her potential involvement in the woods. As well as stating to her how her actions will affect his character in the...
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...Many people’s reputations throughout The Crucible come up to discussion. When accusations start, Hale receives comments from Giles Corey concerning Martha Corey. Giles Corey mentions the strange actions: “Martha my wife. I have waked at night may of time and found her in a corner, reading a book: could not say my prayers”(Miller 480). Hale and others suspicion grows when they hear the strange actions made by Martha. Accusations against Martha rise in the town. People in Salem lose confidence in Danforth because of the fact some believe he inaccurately condemning the innocent. Danforth protests his name, “ I have until this moment not hte slightest reason to suspect that the children maybe deceiving me”(Miller 509). Accusations toward Danforth...
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...Alexis Wauford Mrs. Hollewell The Crucible 11 May 2017 Importance of Reputations in The Crucible The desire to maintain an upstanding reputation greatly affects characters in The Crucible. During this time period, people were very concerned with their positions in society. They were in a very judgemental community where everyone knew each other, and because of this, people were very worried about how others perceived them. A poor reputation could cost someone their social life and many characters made decisions based upon this. The decisions that the characters made affect not only themselves, but the characters around them. A few examples of characters who worry about their reputation are John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Reverend...
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...A constant theme of “The Crucible” is the importance of reputation. Danforth, Proctor and Giles all have the motive to keep their reputation, even if it kills them. Judge Danforth makes a point how important his reputation is with his power in court. John Proctor refuses to confess his adultery and sentence innocent people under his name to death. Giles Corey ends up dying because he speaks up for his wife who is innocent. Every single one of these characters keeps their importance of reputation until their death or the end of “The Crucible”. Judge Danforth is the regular judge of the court in Salem. He accuses Giles wife of witchcraft and many others. If he doesn’t execute them, that will prove that he is wrong which will ruin his reputation. So he has to get rid of anyone else that may question his motives and why he does what he does. “Danforth: In that case, I have no choice but to arrest you for contempt of this court, do you know that? Giles: This is a hearing; you cannot clap me for contempt of a hearing. Danforth: Oh, it is a proper lawyer! Do you wish me to declare the court in full session here? Or will you give me good reply?”(Act...
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...Reputation of the Crucible (Examine three characters on detail who are concerned about their reputation in the Crucible) Throughout history, the concern of one's reputation, has dictated the character or actions of a person. A reputation is a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular habit or characteristic. So a reputation can affect the way the community sees another. The concern of their reputation has had quite a positive effect on a main storyline. Although, it could also have a negative side effect on the characters way of life. In the book the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, reputation has affected many characters in the book such as: John Proctor, Abigail, and Reverend Parris. In the book Crucible by Arthur Miller, one of the main characters that happens to be concerned about their reputation is Abigail. From the start, Abigail had a vendetta against Elizabeth Proctor. In the Crucible, by Miller, Abigail states to Proctor, “She is blackening my name in...
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...Courtney Ruffini Mrs. Harris English 11 17 December 2015 Reputation over Truth Reputations are the beliefs or opinions generally held about someone or something. Throughout The Crucible a persistent theme is keeping ones reputation clean. The characters want to be perceived as a prestige character throughout the course of the book. Quite a few characters throughout the book do anything they can to save their reputation. Having a good name in the village is more important than telling the truth to these particular characters. One of the characters that want to protect his name is Reverend Parris. Throughout the acts of the play Parris makes comments that prove he is only about having a good name carried throughout the village. When Parris...
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...Pride and reputation have prominent role in all societies. Often times, maintaining one’s reputation can influence how a person act. This theme is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s play, the Crucible. Miller presents a 1690’s town with a rigid system and an extremely religious-oriented people. In this Puritan society, private and public integrity interweave and the threat of tainting their names is ever present. The stressed importance of maintaining pride and reputation results in influencing many of the characters within the play. The importance of reputation is instantly apparent, when Reverend Parris is more concerned about the hints and rumors of witchcraft and how that might blemish his good name, rather than his own daughter’s health....
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...There are several characters in “The Crucible” who choose to protect their image instead of defending the people in Salem. Beginning with Reverend Parris, he only cares for his reputation. After discovering Abigail might have committed witchcraft, Parris is not worried about his daughter lying motionless on the bed. Instead, he comments, “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character” (Miller 11). This remark goes beyond being selfish. Instead of caring for his ill daughter, Reverend Parris is more worried about his loss of position as a minister of Salem. He cares more about his status that he fails to realize the burden he places on everyone in Salem, thus, showing the dangers of maintaining a reputation....
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...In "The Crucible" one of the major themes Arthur Miller present are Respect and Reputation, Arthur Miller stated that Reputation is extremely important in the town, he also stated that following religious rules are important. Reputations wasn't very important when we come up with the witchcraft staring you in the face. Reverend Hale was made of reputation because the Reverend Hale begin to doubt when he was accusing individuals who were guilty by the way John Proctor refused to sign a false confession because he didn't agree with the fact accusing people who were guilty he rather to die. According to Act III it says, "do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature." Furthermore, Arthur...
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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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...In the play, “The Crucible”, Preserving one’s reputation is a prevalent theme. Some characters tell the truth and others lie to protect themselves or for the people they care about. Three characters from the play that lied to preserve their’s or someone else’s reputation was Thomas Putnam, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris. John Proctor told the truth but didn’t want his name soiled. After he told the truth, he refused to sign his name on a confession paper. The paper would have been hung on a public wall for everyone to see for forever. He didn’t want his bad name to be known by everyone who looked at that wall. Thomas Putnam lied, unlike John Proctor, to protect his reputation. His family was always known for their good name. Thomas would...
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...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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