Some qualities that seem hard to come by today in people are honour and integrity, as they are important yet challenging to maintain and demonstrate. When individuals are confronted with adverse conditions in the form of pressures from society and the push to do what is dishonest or morally wrong, then they will have to face these threats to maintain their sense of honour and integrity, which will lead them to sacrifice what is of importance to them and cause great strife in order to incorruptibly face these dire circumstances. This honour (or dishonour) in the face of adversity can be seen in several characters in The Crucible, including John Proctor, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Mary Warren, and Reverend Parris. The protagonist of The Crucible, …show more content…
Mary Warren is a character who generally has good intentions but does not have the bravery and uprightness to follow through with these intentions. She becomes part of the court that condemns witches and seems to be proud of it and enjoys the power that comes to her with it, but she begins to feel guilty when innocent people are being harmed because of it. When it seems that she will do what is honourable and just, she breaks down and proclaims that “[Proctor] wake me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck” (119). Here, Mary is snapping under the pressure when she cannot do what is right by revealing the truth but rather being corrupted by Abigail and doing what lacks any uprightness and scapegoating John by accusing him of witchcraft, which ultimately leads to his death. Another character who is used to show the dangers of acting without integrity is Reverend Parris. Throughout the whole play, Parris exclusively looks out for himself while letting others take the fall. He shows his lack of honour by allowing others to be harmed by the hysteria in Salem while attention is diverted from him and his wrong-doing. By the end, he does come to understand that the hangings of John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse would be detrimental because they are still respected in the town, but he comes to this conclusion for the wrong and dishonourable reasons, as he is still only trying to protect his