Theme Of Reputation In The Crucible

The Crucible, an engaging novel with many twists and turns that keep people on edge till the end, contains an alikeness of people’s daily lives compared to the play. The relapsing theme of reputation, thirst for justice, and hysteria in the writing reflects a resemblance also occurring in the 21st century. In The Crucible, many occurrences are similar to modern-day society.
The theme of reputation occurs as a recurring theme from the beginning to the end of the play. After Betty fainted after her apparent “bewitching” Parris feared for his reputation in the church, later stating out of fear, “It must come out my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you did there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?” (1.46). When publicizing

Many people today are eager for the truth even if it can’t be found. Reality and a sense of truth are searched for decades by the people, much as Hale travels far and wide to find the truth behind what is happening in Salem. As said before Hale’s entrance, ”he spent a good deal of time pondering the invisible world, especially since he had himself encountered a witch in his parish not long before” (1.306). This introduction of Hale expresses how he came to Salem to investigate the cause of everything he spent his life doing. He later states, “We shall need hard study” (1.318). He devotes his time to studying the behavior of the accused witches. Much like in this century, people feel a need to investigate information they do not know much

Throughout the daily accusations of witchcraft, many feared being the next tried in court. Many people fear speaking out against the court due to its high level of power, which is similar to today's daily life. Giles states “That bloody mongrel Walcott charged her. Y’see he bought a pig for my wife” (2.314). After his wife's accusation from someone in power, her name is ruined, and she has to go to court. This inflicts fear on Giles since his name is tied to his wife, which could put him in ruins. Later in the play, Proctor preaches “Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away” (2.437). His reaction after his wife is taken away reminds him of how people fear being the next to feel the wrath of the cold grips of power. Much like today's society, many people try to go to force against the higher power. Proctor later pays for this by his life being taken away. The high levels of power create stress for people of lower power to lose their