John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

A prevalent theme in The Crucible is preserving one’s reputation. There are several characters throughout the story that are concerned with keeping a good reputation; although I am going to focus on only three, John Proctor, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris. John Proctor wants to be seen as someone that always does the right thing. Judge Danforth is known as a trustworthy judge that always makes the right decisions. And Parris is a churchly figure that always sticks to God’s word. All of the characters in The Crucible are good citizens and always want to keep a good name. John Proctor is thought of as a citizen with great morals. John will do anything to save his name. He confesses to the court, but he refuses to sign the confession papers …show more content…
For instance John Proctor and Danforth repetitively lie to keep their good name and respect. Danforth and Parris both know the truth, but don’t stand up and say anything because it will ruin their reputation and they would lose their jobs’. Each situation also has their differences, such as John is getting hanged and refuses to sign as an ally to the devil, while Danforth and Parris are not losing their lives. Danforth and Parris are both causing others to lose their lives by standing up for the truth. Each character has their own way for saving themselves their reputations no matter what the cost. Is a good name more important than the truth? In some people’s eyes they would say that keeping their good name would be more important. These type of people only care about saving themselves, and could care less what other people lose as long as it doesn’t hurt themselves. But my opinion is you should always tell the truth no matter what you may lose. The truth may not always save yourself, but it may be able to save another. If you know someone is innocent or guilty in a situation you should always supply all the truthful information you have because you never know what could help make the final