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How Did John Proctor Get A Good Reputation In The Crucible

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During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their good names, or reputation, was ruined. Other people did anything and committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft could get the individual out of trouble and keep their good name. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged. John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams were worried about their reputation in town, and they were willing to commit many sins and harm others to keep their reputation clean. To begin with, …show more content…

He does not back down from his decisions, and he does not listen to what other people tell him to do. He wants his reputation to be good and never questioned. Over the course of the book, he starts to realize that some people are innocent but he still hangs them. To add on that, when Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris asked him to postpone the hangings, he refused to do so and said, “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.” (pg.129) This means that it would not be fair to people who were hanged before. Also, people will start to question the court and his authority. This would not be good for him because his reputation will get ruined and his good name will be given …show more content…

She would lie to get out of trouble and to stay safe, and She made the other girls say what she wants and lie with her. At the beginning of the Act One, her uncle, Reverend Parris, was questioning why she was fired from Mr. Proctor’s house. She replied by saying, “She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bigger woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (pg.12) Abigail did not tell him the real reason of why she was fired, and she lied and put the blame on Mrs. Proctor. Later, she goes on to saying, “My name is good in the village! Elizabeth Proctor is an envious, gossipy liar!” (pg.12) She assures Reverend Parris that her name is clean, and Mrs. Proctor is lying to make her reputation bad. In reality, Mrs. Proctor is telling the truth, but Abigail is denying the truth. Over time, she keeps lying and accusing other people other people in, but when the truth was being revealed, she ran away to a different place fearing her bad reputation in town. Some people only care about how their names are seen, and they do not care about the truth. For example, Deputy Governor Danforth knew that the truth about witchcraft, but he refused to announce it because he fears that his reputation will get ruined. Next, Abigail caused many people to be hanged so she denies the truth and

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254 Words | 2 Pages

This goes for Judge Danforth, too. He worries more about his reputation as a judge that he is willing to hang innocent people in the community. For example, when John Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail and how she hopes to take Elizabeth’s place, Danforth purposely chooses not to believe Proctor. He, even, says, “She [Elizabeth] spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied,” (Miller 114) without holding further investigation of the confession! Danforth believes Abigail and the girls because he does not want to publically admit he was deceived by them, for it will harm his reputation.

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60 Words | 1 Pages

In this quote, Proctor is saying that the accusations of people that are practicing witchcraft are false. He is saying this because the woman being accused has a good reputation. Hale argued back that even the Devil was good before he fell from heaven, and that he had a good reputation with God. Your nature could change with your actions.

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546 Words | 3 Pages

Equally important, Abigail told Proctor that his wife Elizabeth, who knows about their affair “is blackening my name in the village! She telling lies about me!”(Miller 24) , but Proctor finished the conversation with a “do you look for whippin’?”(Miller 24). This event doesn’t seem like much but it’s when at the end of act 1 the girls began to confess that they were doing witchcraft and declare that other people in the village were witches as well, and Proctor knows what really happened in the woods. Moreover, in act 2, John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth have a conversation about the nonsense of the girls accusing people of witchcraft, and she told him to go to court and tell them what he knew, but he only answered with an “I’ll think on it”(Miller 53) because of lack of

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581 Words | 3 Pages

Hale interprets Proctor’s motives as though he is throwing his life away. Hale believes that Proctor is trying stubbornly to maintain his integrity and escape the evils around him. What Hale does not see is the countless lives that John would save in defying the corrupt court. John sees Abigail, Betty, Tituba, Mr. and Mrs. Putnam, Ruth, Mary, and others accusing those around them to save themselves. This ultimately leads to more hangings.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions that lead to the death of 20 innocent lives with over 200 accused of Witchcraft. However, I believe that something similar would’ve happened if the Salem witch trials didn’t happen. Salem was a ticking time bomb ready to explode any moment. The restrictive Puritan society coupled with personal fear of the severe punishments that ensues witchcraft, and people’s natural inclination for survival and power made Salem an ideal setting for mass hysteria.

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756 Words | 4 Pages

Abigail believed that Proctor actually loved her and she waited every night for him. She was brainwashed to think he would leave his wife for her. The witchcraft accusation came from the beginning of the story when Abigail and the girls were dancing naked in the woods and chanting. She made false accusations that people in the village were worshipping the devil to cover what she had done. Many lives were taken but Abigail had no empathy for anyone who was hanged.

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982 Words | 4 Pages

In the late 1600s, early 1700s in Salem there is a seventeen year old girl named Abigail Williams, who is accused by her uncle, Reverend Parris, that he had seen her and a few others dancing and running naked in the woods (Miller, 1131). This information is the basis of the beginning of the play, The Crucible, that is written by Arthur Miller. He illustrates, a time when people lived as Puritans and were blamed of practicing witchcraft, which was considered a serious issue and many were put in prison, punished, and or put to death because of it. Knowing that practicing witchcraft can lead to one's death many accused citizens would do anything to save themselves. This leads into people having, APD, also known as antisocial personality disorder,

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799 Words | 4 Pages

By looking at The Crucible by Arthur Miller one can see that the characterization of John Proctor reveals the theme of reputation and integrity, which is important because refusing to tell lies to protect his reputation and stop delirium from spreading throughout Salem. John Proctor states that the woman of Salem who have been locked up for witchcraft:”Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation”(3.1.305-309). Proctor represents reputation because he would rather die than have his reputation downed to a victimizer. Protecting his reputation motivates John Proctor to deny that witchcraft exists in the village. All he hears is crying out of screams and wailing which is a cause of the Devil 's work: “What 's she doing?

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825 Words | 4 Pages

Abigail Williams: The First True Witch of Salem, Massachusetts “Controlled hysteria is what’s required. To exist constantly in a state of controlled hysteria. It’s agony. But everyone has agony. The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing” (Arthur Miller, AZ Quotes).

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934 Words | 4 Pages

Abigail finally sees the outturn of her lies she has made for what she wants. Proctor is hanged which she didn’t attend to do, but now pays the price. She also found out what lying can do “They’re pretending, Mr. Danforth... Mary, please don’t hurt me!.”(miller 120-121). Lying has made her corrupt and is used to persuade to make harm with.

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451 Words | 2 Pages

If Abigail, John, and Elizabeth would have been honest to begin with then many innocent people would not have lost their lives and left the town in despair. Abigail Williams lied to many people a during the entire story. In Act 1, Abigail made Reverend Parris believe that she was dismissed from working for the Proctors was due to the fact that “She (Elizabeth) hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (Miller, 140).

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533 Words | 3 Pages

He did all he could to stop the spread of vengeance and corrupting in Salem though he came too late. Even with him committing adultery, he continued through the end to be a hero with the best intentions in mind for justice and peace in his

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835 Words | 4 Pages

The first impressive characteristic of John Proctor is his bravery. Speaking out against the “afflicted” girls in the way he did could cause serious question of him as a person. From the court’s standpoint John could be seen as directly opposing the court, which would have him jailed, or could even have him be accused of witchcraft. Also, he would have had to have known that Abigail Williams would have immediately accused him of being a witch once he spoke out against them. However, that did not stop him from delivering the truth to the court.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

In The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, John Proctor demonstrates courage by speaking out for what he believes in while knowing his consequences, admitting his wrong doings with Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life, and choosing to be hanged over having his name posted on the church door because the second his signed confession is posted, his and his loved ones reputations will be ruined. In the beginning of the play all John Proctor cared about was his reputation. However, ultimately he sacrificed his reputation by telling the court he committed adultery. John telling the court he was guilty ruined his reputation, which made all hell break loose.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their reputation, was ruined. Other people committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft which could get the individual out of trouble and keep their hands clean. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.

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