The preservation of reputation is the major theme in The Crucible. Arthur Miller writes The Crucible in a way that compares aspects of puritan society to modern life and makes the story relatable. Pointing the finger and shifting the blame is human nature and dates back to Adam and Eve. Everybody has witnessed blame and finger pointing in their lives which is why this story is so relatable. Though still wrong in today's culture, adultery and being accused of witchcraft, are not punishable by death or at all by law. The sins committed today are more common and if compared to the setting and time of the story it seems very strict punishment and recourse to an accusation with little solid evidence. A lot of people back during the salem witch trials agree that, even in a society of god, words and accusations carry too much weight and have too much power to ruin people's reputation. Reverend Hale who originally come to salem to investigate accusations of witchcraft later says “I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the lord,and I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of my conscience may doubt it”(Miller 1301). When reverend Hale, a high ranking church official, says that there must be proof and not simple accusations, it shows that people are concerned about their reputations being ruined and being unreasonably blamed.
