Loss Of Reputation In The Crucible

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, preserving one’s reputation is a prevalent theme that many characters portray throughout the play. Because Puritan towns are so compacted, rumors spread around as swift as a wild fire. If someone does not maintain a healthy image, then the town will lose their trust in them. This will create a factor of fear for the characters who are in a higher social class, or those who already have an outstanding image, because they are scared that the townspeople will revolt against them and force them away from their positions in the community. Therefore, Proctor, Parris, and Danforth are all eager to keep their names pure, which may cause them to be selfish because they will try to achieve their goals through many unfair tactics. Proctor is a very honorable man who starts off by having a good reputation in Salem, Massachusetts. However, he slowly begins to lose it as many events involving witchcraft starts to occur. First, Abigail Williams, a girl whom he had an affair with, convicts Elizabeth, his wife, for performing witchcraft on her. Therefore, their house was searched a poppet was found. Proctor tries to liberate his wife by confessing his sin, the fact that he committed adultery, and by saying that Abigail had set everything up in order to get revenge on Elizabeth since she was kicked out by her; …show more content…
Some characters from The Crucible that shows this are Proctor, Parris, and Danforth. Their actions are not thoughtful of others because only they benefit from it. However, Proctor’s situation was different from both Parris and Danforth because he gains his reputation by telling the truth, while they lie in order to protect their image. These actions wind up hurting more people because dishonesty kills. Therefore, a good name is not as important as the truth because people won’t have to sacrifice each other if everyone tells