Living in a small village where everyone knows your name can lead to a very difficult life. Much similar to the life of townsman, John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play is based in a small Puritan village called Salem in Massachusetts, the year being 1692. Salem is lead into an uproar of chaos and fear when one church member’s spectral evidence of a group of girls performing “witchcraft” in the woods, leads to accusations and death for many. In salem, it is very important to keep a clean reputation. During this period of the Salem Witch Trials, telling a lie to keep a good reputation could result in unbearable punishment, or even death. Because John Proctor is motivated to spare his wife’s life and his own reputation, his
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For awhile after the trial, John and Elizabeth are held in jail. Abigail has fled Salem and the rests of the village is in disarray. Reverend Hale comes to plea to Proctor to confess to witchcraft to spare his own life. Proctor refuses. Elizabeth then talks with John. They decide that if John confesses to the lie of residing with the Devil, that he will be spared his life. John is almost done signing the paper to his confession when he suddenly has a change of heart and rips up the paper. He decides that he would rather be hanged for the truth, knowing that he is on better terms with God, than to live for a horrid lie and blackened reputation. As a last argument with Danforth, John weeps and pleads out a cry with his whole heart of why he will not confess; “Because it is my name! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I’m not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (pg 211) John is no longer so concerned with his own life but the lives of innocent others who were hanged before him. He is at peace knowing the the only real judge is God and that the only ones to be saved are those who did not sell their souls to Satan by confessing to a lie to save their own
For awhile after the trial, John and Elizabeth are held in jail. Abigail has fled Salem and the rests of the village is in disarray. Reverend Hale comes to plea to Proctor to confess to witchcraft to spare his own life. Proctor refuses. Elizabeth then talks with John. They decide that if John confesses to the lie of residing with the Devil, that he will be spared his life. John is almost done signing the paper to his confession when he suddenly has a change of heart and rips up the paper. He decides that he would rather be hanged for the truth, knowing that he is on better terms with God, than to live for a horrid lie and blackened reputation. As a last argument with Danforth, John weeps and pleads out a cry with his whole heart of why he will not confess; “Because it is my name! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I’m not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (pg 211) John is no longer so concerned with his own life but the lives of innocent others who were hanged before him. He is at peace knowing the the only real judge is God and that the only ones to be saved are those who did not sell their souls to Satan by confessing to a lie to save their own