Honor And Integrity In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Some qualities that are seemingly difficult to come by today in people are honour and integrity, as they are important to have yet challenging to maintain and demonstrate. Having uprightness and goodness may seem daunting when it is more simple to just do what is morally wrong in grim circumstances but it will ultimately prove to be important to maintain one’s integrity. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller that was first produced in 1953 that portrays the events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 when innocent people were persecuted due to mass hysteria and fear, reflecting McCarthyism at the time where communists were persecuted for similar reasons, using honour and integrity as central themes in the play. When individuals are confronted

Proctor is used to show how one’s goodness can still remain intact after faltering and doing what is wrong. Before the events of the play, Proctor lusts and commits adultery with the antagonist, Abigail Williams, and this burden weighs over him during most of the play. However, he realises that he must do what is right when he proclaims “[a] man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything… it is a whore’s vengeance”(110). Here, John is understanding that it is more important to his honour that confess and attempt to put an end to the hysteria that Abigail has ensued because of her affection for John as opposed to maintaining the secrecy of their relationship, which would be betraying his wife and acting in cowardice. When he does this, John leaves his integrity intact but has sacrificed his reputation as a moral man for the sake of honour. Miller also uses John to show integrity when John must choose to either tell the truth and be hanged for the false accusation of witchcraft or lie by confessing and live while others have died. John shows that despite being willing to sign for a brief moment, he ultimately comes to understand that he must do what is right, even when the ultimate price to pay is waiting for him. He realises this when he shouts out that “it is my name! Because I

Giles Corey, who throughout most of the play serves as a sort of comic relief, proves in the end that he was willing to give his life to maintain his honour and put an end to the hysteria that has been plaguing Salem. He is shown to have died honourably when Elizabeth Proctor explains that “[h]e would not answer aye or nay to his indictment… [s]o he stand mute, and died Christian under the law” (135). Giles is shown here that he died for similar reasons as John, in that he died to maintain his name for his sons so his land would not be auctioned off and they could keep the farm. His actions show his integrity in that he was willing to die for the sake of his children, and the way that he died is also significant; he was pressed to death. This means that “[g]reat stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay”(135). Weight is used repetitively and effectively by Miller in The Crucible and in this circumstance, the weight of the stones is significant as it symbolises the weight of the sins of the accusers have due to the dishonourable acts they have committed and how they have fueled the hysteria in Salem. Another character who is effectively used to demonstrate honor and integrity is Rebecca Nurse. Rebecca through her charity and kindness is shown to be one of the most well-respected people in Salem, which