Effects Of Reputation In The Crucible

Reputations have an immense influence on people 's social interactions. The effects the word of mouth has can either leave a detrimental impact or a positive impact on one’s status. People usually decide if they will associate with someone based on what they have heard about a person 's character. Throughout history, word of mouth has affected decisions and events. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays the impact that rumors and gossip can have on a person’s good name. During the Salem Witchcraft Trials, hysteria spread in the quaint little town of Salem, ruining people’s lives and reputations. The Crucible perfectly illustrates that a person 's reputation is important in most aspects of their life. Although the perspective of what is a “good name” has evolved throughout the years, it still remains as significant as it once was in modern

Reputation is something that can be left to linger around, haunting people 's lives for years. In the Crucible, Reverend Parris feels the effects of reputation first hand. Parris is a godly man who wants nothing more than to preserve his image. Parris’s motives are portrayed throughout the story when he catches his niece and daughter dancing the woods, a sign of witchcraft. Yet, after this he is more concerned with how he is being viewed instead of their well being. His own worries are expressed when Parris exclaims, “But if you trafficked with the spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will and they will ruin me with it”(Miller 1131). He knows that if people were to find out, he could lose everything he worked for. Therefore, Parris does everything in his power to at least prove someone guilty, and in the process, completely goes against the morals he teaches. He is seen as a Godly man who is supposed to teach integrity. However, instead he becomes a man that cares less about the truth and more of preserving his own