Arthur Miller’s renowned play, The Crucible, was written at a time of mass hysteria within America, scripting the parallel between the McCarthyism era and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Throughout his play, the concept of reputation and good name was emphasised significantly through the importance individuals placed on their social standing and reputation in the village. Many characters, including John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, believed their reputations were of paramount importance as they lived their lives with integrity and valued its stronghold. Others, such as Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth, struggled to earn and maintain a good name within society and were prepared to do whatever it took to defend their reputations, irrespective
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Early in the play, while speaking to Elizabeth about his relationship with Abigail, Proctor commented through dialogue, ‘…an ever-lasting funeral marches round your heart…Let you look…for the goodness in me, and judge me not (Act 2, Page 55).’ Their discussion indicates that in Salem, even between husband and wife, a good name and integrity was valued. Miller’s use of visual imagery and metaphor in this quote shows that because his past indiscretions had tainted his purity in Elizabeth’s eyes and he discussed this, it bothered him. Word choice of ‘judge me not’ displayed Proctor’s attempt to salvage his name in order to redeem himself with his wife, implying the importance he placed on having a good repute. Further on, when refusing to sign his name to witchcraft, Proctor stated in monologue, ‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!…How may I live without my name? I have given my soul; leave me my name! (Act 4, Page 124)’ The repetition of ‘name’ emphasises the significance of John holding on to the little integrity he had left and how much keeping it pure in the public’s eyes meant to him. Additionally, the recurrent use of personal pronouns, including ‘I’ and ‘my,’ accentuates his desire to keep his own reputation of a high …show more content…
This was exemplified through Miller privileging John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse who upheld their good names through their unwillingness to sacrifice their integrity. Reverend Parris and Danforth had unhealthy obsessions with defending their reputations so their authority and societal power had no platform to become jeopardised on and as a result, were disadvantaged by
Early in the play, while speaking to Elizabeth about his relationship with Abigail, Proctor commented through dialogue, ‘…an ever-lasting funeral marches round your heart…Let you look…for the goodness in me, and judge me not (Act 2, Page 55).’ Their discussion indicates that in Salem, even between husband and wife, a good name and integrity was valued. Miller’s use of visual imagery and metaphor in this quote shows that because his past indiscretions had tainted his purity in Elizabeth’s eyes and he discussed this, it bothered him. Word choice of ‘judge me not’ displayed Proctor’s attempt to salvage his name in order to redeem himself with his wife, implying the importance he placed on having a good repute. Further on, when refusing to sign his name to witchcraft, Proctor stated in monologue, ‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!…How may I live without my name? I have given my soul; leave me my name! (Act 4, Page 124)’ The repetition of ‘name’ emphasises the significance of John holding on to the little integrity he had left and how much keeping it pure in the public’s eyes meant to him. Additionally, the recurrent use of personal pronouns, including ‘I’ and ‘my,’ accentuates his desire to keep his own reputation of a high …show more content…
This was exemplified through Miller privileging John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse who upheld their good names through their unwillingness to sacrifice their integrity. Reverend Parris and Danforth had unhealthy obsessions with defending their reputations so their authority and societal power had no platform to become jeopardised on and as a result, were disadvantaged by