Whenever people are caught in a dilemma, they always do what protects their reputation. The first thought that comes to mind is which decision will benefit them the most. However, ignoring the disadvantages presented by the dilemma could lead to further consequences. People do not commit to what they truly believe in, but rather make a decision based off of how everyone else would see them. This is seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Originally, John Proctor was a noble, well respected man. Eventually, witchcraft accusations began going around the town of Salem, and Proctor was in the midst of several dilemmas. In every situation, Proctor decided to protect his honour just like everyone else. As the story progresses, more dilemmas are presented …show more content…
Proctor was extremely fearful of ruining his reputation, so he decided to save his honour in every situation. The only choice Proctor had now was to die with honour or live with a bad name. Proctor felt so disappointed, because no matter how hard he tried to protect his honour, he still ended up in this predicament. Proctor was so upset, because his mind was already set on protecting his reputation by dying. Even though he truly wanted to live, he valued his dignity more than anything else. This is the reason he felt so disappointed. Proctor could not falsely commit to using witchcraft, because the opinion of others was more important. His disappointment is displayed when he said , “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor.” (4, 144), which shows how Proctor wanted to live so badly. It displays how Proctor felt that he did everything in order to protect his good name, and still had to die protecting it. Even though Proctor decided to die and save his honour, he still wished for someone to recognize his good name so that he could live. This demonstrates that no matter how disappointed Proctor was, he still decided to save his reputation in a