America: The Crucible and Proctor Essay

Submitted By kevantlee
Words: 1058
Pages: 5
Open Document
Chichiger Shyy
English 11 Honors
Ms. Keys
September 21, 2013
Crucible Essay In the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by JK Rowling, a fellow family friend of Harry's, Peter Pettigrew, lives a normal life with his good friends. However, when the antagonist Voldemort invades his town, Peter has to either join Voldemort’s forces as a traitor to his friends or die a hero. Peter, who is afraid of dying at the hands of Voldemort, ultimately joins Voldemort’s forces and in the process he betrays his friends. Scared that his name will be blackened in his town and his reputation will be ruined, Peter kills twelve innocent people and places the blame on his old friend, Sirius Black. Peter would rather lie and place his integrity on the line than blacken his own name. Similarly, in the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller writes a story based on the history of the Salem Witch Trials, where the villagers accused each other of practicing witchcraft in order to preserve their reputation. When people placed in a moral dilemma where they can either tell the truth or lie, they will chose what ever option preserves their reputation because a ruined reputation would blacken their image in a society and they would lose the respect of everyone in society. John Proctor's refusal to lie in order to save his reputation conveys the importance of one's reputation. Proctor is an innocent man who is falsely accused of collaborating with the devil and manipulating others to obey his commands. When Proctor is given the choice to speak the truth or lie, Proctor tells the truth to save his reputation. Danforth, the judge who is the head of the trial, prays for Proctor to lie in order to keep the people of Salem at ease, but Proctor blurts out, " Because it is my name! I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"(150). This quote exemplifies Proctor’s devotion to protecting his reputation at all cost. If Proctor lied then he will be absolved of blame but Proctor adhered to his morals and in the process condemned himself. The church wants Proctor to lie so riots will not break out; however, Proctor wants his name to remain clean no matter the cost. Proctor would rather throw his away his life than have the church ruin his name by publicizing his sins. Lying would have saved his life, but his reputation would be destroyed and his image in society would have been tarnished. Reputation in Salem society was as valuable as any amount of material wealth and if someone loses their reputation, they are at rock bottom. To prevent his family from hitting rock bottom, Proctor makes the ultimate sacrifice. Before Proctor is executed, his wife Elizabeth Proctor says, "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (152). When she says this, it exhibits how everyone sees his good reputation and how important it is. His actions not only maintained his image in the eyes of others but his wrongful death by the court led to the eventual end of the Salem Witch Trials.
Reverend Parris did not want to lose his reputation because he is afraid that losing his image in society will give his enemies the power to kick him out office. Parris is the minister for Salem, and he is a proud, haughty person who is always afraid that his enemies are plotting to kick him out of office. He believes that "there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell!" (31). When Parris sees his niece and her friends dancing in the woods, he is afraid that witchcraft has struck their town. However, as holes in the girls’ story start to appear Parris is afraid that the citizens of Salem will revolt after so many people were condemned of witchcraft. Parris says," But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know
Show More

Related Documents: America: The Crucible and Proctor Essay

The Crucible Changes To History Essay

(Tolstoy 391). This may be true for the characters of The Crucible, but not for the play itself. The Crucible is a play published in 1953 by the late playwright Arthur Miller. It is about the events of the Salem Witch Trials that started in 1692. While not really “lies and deceit,” the story of The Crucible is different from the history it was based on. These changes help to make the story of the play more dramatic. In his play The Crucible, Miller changed aspects of the original history to better…

Words 1188 - Pages 5

The Hard Truth In The Crucible

The Hard Truth Behind Proctor Arthur Miller’s play entitled The Crucible, portrays the 1690’s Salem Witch Trials. He wrote this material during his life when McCarthyism was beginning to gain it’s numerous followers to illustrate the similarities between the two. As far as historical resemblance goes, The Crucible, is relatively accurate containing only small amounts of fictional material for entertainment purposes only. John Proctor’s decision to destroy his false confession to save his life…

Words 549 - Pages 3

Essay On The Crucible Abigail Williams

Arthur Miller's play The Crucible shifted the way many Americans viewed the world. During the 1950's, numerous amounts Americans were afraid of Communism. They saw Communism as a threat to their pre-existing free market capitalist systems. America was no longer a place accepting of ideals and but instead put several restrictions on supporters of Communism. Senator Joseph McCarthy pushed for investigations into suspected communist within the U.S. government. McCarthy used random speculation to accuse…

Words 648 - Pages 3

How Does Arthur Miller Present Heroes In The Crucible

dispelled from society, such as in "The Crucible“ it is the Characters betraying their true beliefs in order to not be persecuted. For instance, Marry Warrens despairing plea to Abigail Williams “Abby we’ve got to tell “demonstrates the unjustifiable truths on how humans will do anything to not be banished by society. This also exemplifies how Miller frames history of communism in America by comparing the speed of rumors in Salem of witches to Russian Spies in America and how people abolish their values…

Words 508 - Pages 3

The Crucible Claim Essay

Claim Essay When reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main character John proctor is being accused of witchcraft by the court while John Hale trying to explain says, “‘Proctor, the court is just’”, but then he is cut off. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a metaphor to the Mccarthy Trials in the 1950’s because he believed the Salem Witch trials shared a connection to the trials.. Practices of the Salem Witch trials were almost the same to those employed by the congressional committees where…

Words 638 - Pages 3

Arthur Miller's The Crucible: A True Story

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.The Crucible story is in different versions such as a movie, a play, and a book. With the Crucible being a true story the characters in the different versions should be both historically accurate and believable. One of the “main characters John proctor’s timeline doesn't add.In the book it states “Proctor was a farmer in his mid thirties”. John Proctor was born in 1632 which would make proctor 60 at the time of the trails. Also the crucible claims john only has boys as children…

Words 339 - Pages 2

The Crucible Essay

Nagle Milo Nagle Mrs. Williams 0032: period 5 18 March, 2015 The Similarities Between The Crucible and The Red Scare Accusing someone of false accusations is easy. Seeing that someone face consequences for those accusations is difficult and often unheard of. In the case of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the false accusations made by the girls were carried out causing the victim’s lives to end with a rope around their neck and nothing more than air beneath their feet. A similar connection is found between Sen…

Words 968 - Pages 4

Why Is The Witch Hunt Important In The Crucible

interview. Miller is saying while reading the court case he found a part of himself in the man being accused of witch craft. “I came to cook all this up nearly fifty years ago, in an America almost nobody I know seems to remember clearly.” Miller confessed in his 1996 interview. When Miller wrote this play it was in a America that nobody remembers…

Words 1348 - Pages 6

The Crucible Essay

Author, Title, Type, Time Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Play, America early 1950s Plot The play opens in Betty Parris’s bedroom and her father, the Reverend Parris, is wondering what is wrong with her. The night before he caught his niece Abigail, his daughter Betty, and other girls dancing in the forest. He is worried about witchcraft in his household. Tituba confesses to witchcraft and reveals the names of many other women in Salem who are also consorting with the devil. The girls, led by Abigail…

Words 376 - Pages 2

How Did Arthur Miller Treat The Refugees In The Crucible

even do. In The Crucible people like John Proctor his…

Words 843 - Pages 4