...image that society demands of him,” (Miller 1962) is a common theme throughout the works of the famous playwright, Arthur Miller. Respect and reputation is a widely dispersed theme throughout The Crucible. Its many different occurrences that are displayed from start to finish of this play, make this specific theme one of the most important. In The Crucible, the idea of one’s reputation and their social standings swayed the thoughts and actions of many individuals. When the witchcraft accusation was brought about in Salem, “it was the ideas of reputation that determined whether or not the accused individuals were actually guilty of the crime.” (Shoop Editorial Team). One of the occasions that the theme of reputation took place was in the very beginning of the play. In act 1, when Reverend Parris caught his daughter Betty and his niece Abigail dancing in the woods, he was worried about what the other people in the town were going to think. He was anxious to discover what the people of Salem were going to say about him when they discovered that his daughter and niece might have possibly been performing acts of witchcraft. This is proven when he said, “Now look you, child, your punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.”(The Crucible. Act 1. Scene 1.) Parris was also worried that the people who already disliked him were going to ruin his name further. His thoughts...
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...The Crucible in that it shows how that people have the tendency to lie and be deceitful. For instance, Abigail ends up getting eighteen people hanged when she lies about “drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife” (p. 12) and “never saw no spirits” (p. 54). Furthermore, the book shows how doing the right thing leads to dignity when John Proctor will not “lie and sign [him]self to lies” and hangs innocently. Finally, it shows how dark Judge Danforth’s lies are when he says “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just” (p. 80). The Crucible shows how it is a human tendency to lie and not have much integrity. Greed is the second most important theme in The Crucible and is apparent through many of the main character’s motives. For instance, Abigail shows greed and jealousy when she tells John Proctor “I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be” (p. 14), which shows how she is jealous of Proctor’s wife and is greedy in trying to get Proctor. In addition, greed is revealed in Parris when he asks, “where is my wood?” (p.16) and when he says I am paid little” (p.17). Furthermore, Putnam and Proctor fight over a “tract of land” (p. 18) and Putnam starts accusing innocent people of witchcraft in order to gain their land, which shows how greed only makes people do evil. Miller shows how greed is a instinctive trait in humans in his play The Crucible. Respect is the last theme that is important in The Crucible. Everything...
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...Meghan Marasti Ms. Kelly Survey of American Literature 16 October 2015 The Crucible Analytical Paper “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it,” Benjamin Franklin once said. Reputation has a large impact on the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts in the play, The Crucible. John Proctor is most affected by the thought of maintaining an acceptable reputation for his name. Throughout The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor made many mistakes, one such as committing adultery, which made his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, lose his trust. Although he made mistakes, the town still saw John as a respectable man who cared immensely for his family. In the end, John did admit his sin of adultery and was hanged. Through “Aristotle’s Poetics” it is proved that John Proctor is the tragic hero of The Crucible because his true character comes out and he becomes a good man in the end by admitting to his wrong-doings, committing adultery, in order to save his reputation and family. John Proctor ruins his reputation within the change of fortune, or catastrophe, appeal of “Aristotle’s Poetics”. A change of fortune is explained as “occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce…”(McManus). John Proctor did not want his reputation ruined or his relationship with his wife ruined, however the complete opposite happened to him creating a major problem. The change of fortune is when John is finally forced to admit to...
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...Icelic 1 Marija Icelic Garica, Joshua English III 19 October 2015 Reputation in the Crucible The characters in the play The Crucible have a lot of things about reputation. They are all known as good citizens, for one reason or another, and they all would like to keep their good name. John Proctor would like to be known as the man who sticks up for the little person and always does the right thing. Judge Danforth wants to be known as a good judge who always makes the right decisions. Abigail and girls want to be known as good girls who are not witches and believe in God. All of these characters choose to keep their reputations rather than do the right thing or saving their lives. The importance of having a good name is a one of the biggest thing in Crucible. John Proctor is the model citizen. He has good morals and tries to do the right things. He protects the innocent people. He has built up a lot of respect for his name. That is why it is hard for Proctor to give up his good name. Everyone sees him as the good guy. For example, Proctor had an affair with Abigail. He can use this evidence in court to show that she is guilty, but he doesn’t want to. He tries to find other ways to prove her guilty without losing his respect. Also, Proctor is able to get away free if he agrees to sign a paper saying he was an ally of the devil. He struggles to lie that he did work with the devil. When he is asked to sign a paper saying this, he can’t.This is the quote from the book that...
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...The Revolution in Salem: John Proctor The Crucible was a pay that was written by Arthur Miller in 1952 because he was accused of being a communist and he didn't agree with McCarthyism. During the Cold War many were accused of McCarthyism, which is making accusations without proper evidence, and Arthur Miller was a victim of this. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to McCarthyism. Arthur Miller wrote about people being accused of involvement with witchcraft. Throughout the play The Crucible many of the characters are changing because of what is happening around them, with everyone getting accused of witchcraft. One of the main dynamic characters, a character that has a significant change in attitude, personality, or behavior, in this play is John Proctor. John Proctor is a considered an honest man in Salem. In the first two or three acts we see that John Proctor could be considered non-religious. John Proctor wasn’t very religious...
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...The Crucible The play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller in 1952. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts when the witch trails started a paranoid frenzy. “The Crucible evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation.”(New Yorker). Arthur had inspiration from the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. He was also inspired because this was written on the tail end of the World War II. Arthur wanted the audience to see how similar the government was treating Americans. Compared to the 1692 paranoia of Salem witch craft era. How people was getting treating was inhuman respect and reputation goes a long way. Salem took this and Religion very seriously. “When in 1950 McCarthy addressed the Ohio Candy Women’s...
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...Many of the characters in the play, The Crucible, all have a lot of pride. Most of them are considered good citizens who would all like to keep and maintain their good name. Reverend Parris is known for living by the bible and its teachings. Judge Danforth is known as a persistent judge who always make the right decisions. When put between the option of life or death, all of these characters chose to keep their reputations by doing the right thing and saving their lives. The importance of having a good name is a very important theme in The Crucible as shown by these characters. John Proctor was a very courageous man. He was the town’s model citizen and the person that everyone looked up to as a leader. For many reasons it is hard for Proctor to give up his good name. One being because he has a lot of respect for it and everyone sees him as the good guy. When Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams he tries to show that she is guilty although he is hesitant...
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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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...Abigail Williams drives The Crucible. She is Reverend Parris’ niece who initiates witch trials by falsely accusing others of witchcraft. She acts as though she sees spirits along with instructing the other girls to act as well. Abigail at first wants to avoid punishment. When she sees how the adults react to others crying witch, she sees this as an opportunity. Once things get started, she sees an opportunity for self-interest (John Proctor). Abigail is the most responsible for the girls being in the woods. Once the girls were caught by Reverend Paris, Abigail tries to hide her behavior because it will expose her affair with John Proctor if she admits to casting a spell on Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail found herself attracted to Proctor while working in their...
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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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...Putting oneself on the line, and willingness to sacrifice oneself for the greater good of the community is an attribute borne by very few people in history. However, such people do exist - and they are the individuals that transform the world for the better, through their unfailing belief in goodness. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, this elusive quality is displayed by John Proctor, and over two centuries later in 1955, we see it again in an African-American Civil Rights Activist, Rosa Parks. John Proctor is an honourable farmer from Massachusetts, USA, who after making the mistake of committing adultery with Abigail Williams, becomes caught up in the mass-hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Rosa Parks is a Coloured-Rights Activist from Alabama, USA, who’s defiance of American Segregation Laws features as an important landmark of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Themes such as justice and community, found within the play The Crucible and Rosa Parks’ story are universal, and apply as much today as they did in 1955 and 1692. In The Crucible, a single, small accusation of witchcraft escalates into a full-blown witch hunt, in which dozens of innocent citizens are accused and persecuted on the basis of false charges. This opportunity for allegations becomes a way for people to express their grudges and upset towards others, to show them how they feel by muffling it with all the similar claims around the community. Similarly, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat once,...
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...In Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible it provides realistic information about the Salem witch trials. Miller relates the Salem witch trails to the 1950’s issue of accusations of Communism in the United States. Within this book our understanding of the witch trials increases and we can relate the issues to problems world wide. In The Crucible many characters are hung for being a witch. There was not enough accurate evidence to say that there cases where fair. Current events can relate to this situation if there is a place where there are unfair and false accusations against innocent people. Parris the Reverend of Salem, is responsible for bring the witch trials to his town. This also affects his reputation in Salem, which he is very concerned about. The amount of power he has shifts over the course of the play along with the trust of the citizens of Salem. Throughout the book many people become frustrated with Parris which leads him to put fear in himself. Parris is now responsible for the tragedies in Salem because he brought the witch trials to Salem. Many people turn on him throughout the whole entire play. Parris’s reputation in the town of Salem and his position within the...
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...during McCarthy era, Communism haunted America. During the McCarthy era and the Salem Witch Trials, people became so scared of accusations of witchery or Communism that they proceeded to try almost anything to keep themselves out of harm. The Crucible shows a symbolism of McCarthyism in the 1950’s In the beginning of The Crucible, flaws in the Puritan religion shine through Parris. Parris, too drawn up in himself, worried only about his reputation, so when Abigail won’t tell him what happened he yells to her, “I have sought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people...
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...English 11 AP The Crucible Literary Analysis The Crucible, a novel by Arthur Miller is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the year 1692. The novel is written in the format of a play and takes place in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The town consists of a tight knit highly religious society. The situation and circumstances that the community is in encourages the development of several different themes in the story. Religion, integrity, and respect and reputation are all important themes in the novel. Religion is one of the main reasons that the novel its self is able to play out and develop. The main plot of the story revolves around religion and the actions that the characters take out either for or against the things that they are taught and that they are expected to follow. The community is a group of extremely religious Puritans; in their minds and opinions there is only one thing that is important: God. To the community the only thing that should matter to people is being on God’s good side and being the best Christians they can be. The only things that have an important value are upholding religious beliefs and developing the best relations they can with God and the church. If the people of Salem hadn’t been so religiously uptight then the Salem witch trials probably wouldn’t have even occurred. Also, during the witch trails the only thing that people had as proof of innocence or guilt was religion without religion their points would have...
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