Examples Of Being Honorable In The Crucible

Honor can be expressed in several different ways in our lives. Being honorable does not necessarily mean that the truth is always spoken. In the novel, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, accused characters make difficult decisions trying to do the right thing; telling the truth versus lying is one of the tougher decisions they face. Many had nothing to do with witchcraft and just so happened to be singled out because of being different, or abnormal from society. Making an honorable choice differentiated between the various characters based on their values. For some like Rebecca Nurse, lying by confessing to witchcraft in order to stay alive was not what they considered to be honorable. Goody Nurse would rather die an honest woman than confess to something so sinful as witchcraft, which is the exact opposite of her persona. John Proctor felt that if he stayed alive as a confessed witch, his good name and honor would leave him. However, dying solely to save his name was in fact extremely dishonorable. Proctor leaves behind a struggling family and a distressed community, all with this idea that his reputation can never be good again. His obsession with keeping his good name in the novel is identical to the average Puritan’s …show more content…
However, there is solid proof that instead it would have been more beneficial to himself, his family, and the surrounding community if he signed his name as a witch in order to stay alive. He would have been able to raise his children, drive out or persuade the court the antics of the girls were pretend, save Elizabeth and others from being hanged, and regain his reputation as a respected man in the community. On the contrary, many literary critics do not agree with this idea. In this document, this author writes, “The critics argue that by agreeing to die “to preserve for his sons the honor of his name,” Proctor is “one of the few who survive the crucible”