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Critically discuss the significance of reputation in the crucible
Critically discuss the significance of reputation in the crucible
Critically discuss the significance of reputation in the crucible
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Everyone is concerned with their reputation and how people view them. People could know nothing personal about someone, but immediately recall their reputation and the rumors about them. Having one bad story to one’s good name is often much more memorable and impactful than dozens of good ones. In The Crucible, Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings of seven individuals, in order to keep the good reputation of the court and himself. Reputation is an aspect of life that everyone cares about because it is the societal definition of someone. People often will go to great lengths and “invest substantial resources to maintain a good reputation” such as adapting a “cooperative behaviour…that is individually costly, but socially beneficial” (Pfeiffer). This is due to the fact that reputations are eternal, unlike its human counterpart. Even after death, people are remembered for certain …show more content…
During the study by Pfeiffer and his team, they find that a bargaining system goes on when trying to better (or maintain) one’s reputation. People act certain ways, in contradiction to their true feelings or “forego social norms”, for the betterment of their reputation (Pfeiffer). Deep down, Danforth knows hanging the innocents with “[their] names…given out” is wrong, but he cannot “pardon or postponement” because “Twelve are already executed” and that would “[speak] a floundering on [his] part” ruining the just name of the court and himself (Miller 129). Danforth has worked a long time for the court system, and having his reputation ruined now would be outright embarrassing. With the novel as an example and reputation at such a great societal importance, the extent of the actions someone would take to have a good name is vastly
The authority figures on the side of the prosecution also abuse their power in The Crucible. Danforth, the judge, steps in and solidifies that he has the final say in any and all convictions. “The village expects to see [seven people] die this morning” and Danforth seeks to do exactly what the village wants to gain their favor (Miller 129). He will convict whoever he wants and not stop the hangings simply because “postponement now speaks a floundering on [his] part” (Miller 129).
In The Crucible play, although Abigail is the main concept of why the tragedy happened, Danforth has even more reasons to blame. The deputy governor of Massachusetts presides over the Salem witch trials. He is a stern, yet constructive man that is more interested in keeping the dignity and state of the court, than in executing justice or basically, just behaving with any sense of fairness. Miller forms this character as the play moves along as a static character, as he does not change throughout, and he believes in only what he believes. Judge Danforth, in his own mind is honest, and convinced that he is doing the right thing in the process of rooting out witchcraft.
In The Crucible, a few of the townspeople speak out against the injustice of the magistrates. These include John Proctor, Giles Corey, his wife Martha, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and even Reverend John Hale. Proctor refuses to give up his integrity and sign his name to a false confession. He thought it was enough admitting to a lie, but he can not bear to sign a confession when others had died for refusing to give the courts what they want. "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name!" exclaims Proctor (886). Giles Corey is being pressed to death for not giving the court the name of an innocent person. Even to the end he refuses to give in. "Great stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay. They say he give them but two words. `More weight,' he says. And died," explains Elizabeth (883).
Honor, dignity, and integrity are traits that are becoming more and more rare in our society. The Crucible, a play written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, is based on the Salem witch hunts of 1692 and parallels the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the 1950s. In the play, Miller attempts to focus his themes around traits such as honor, dignity, and integrity, and as a result, the theme "is it better to die honorably or live dishonorably" becomes vital to the story and well conveyed throughout it. The characters that exemplify this idea are John Proctor and Giles Corey, both of whom die by the end of the play, and Reverend John Hale and Abigail Williams, who live through the trials.
In the play, after Abigail runs away, it becomes obvious that she lied and that she left to escape punishment. Parris wants to postpone the hangings and get more people to confess. He suggests to Danforth, “Excellency, I would postpone these hangin’s for a time… This way, unconfessed and claiming innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest people will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in their tears.” (Pg. 118) With Abigail gone, people know that innocent people were hanged and might chose to blame authority for being so easily deceived. Parris realizes that his supporting the trials could reflect badly on his reputation as a church official; thus, he begins to request for postponements and encourage people to ‘confess’. For Parris, it is less about proving people innocent or guilty but about clearing his name so he does not lose his power in the church. On the other hand, Danforth chooses to continue with the hangings. He says, “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of those seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering of them that died till now.” (Pg. 119) Danforth refuses to stop the hangings or pardon anyone because Danforth does not want to
In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, I found myself struggling to grasp the full intensity he portrayed. One intense subject he really pinpointed was reputation. Reputation seemed to be a major focus of almost all they characters in this literary work. Whether it be reputation as a good member of the Salem Massachusetts community, or reputation as most successful preacher, the townspeople seemed to revolve around reputation. Many townspeople including John Proctor, Reverend Parris, as well as Giles Corey. This was not always necessary a bad thing, as it kept them in check, but in this case, the longing for a good reputation overpowered many lives, literally. Too much want for a triumphant
“Well, all the plays that I was trying to write were plays that would grab an audience by the throat and not release them, rather than presenting an emotion which you could observe and walk away from.” by Arthur Miller. All great works provide a way to reach in and grab the audience through the reoccurring themes like, greed, jealousy, reputation and hypocrisy. Arthur Miller had one of those great works and it was called “The Crucible”. The play was based off of the witch trials that happened in Salem in the year of 1962. Some of the characters were actual characters involved in the witch trials. Arthur Miller wrote this play during the time of the “Red Scare”. Miller wrote The Crucible because he wanted to turn the The Salem Witch Trials into
Firstly, throughout the play Judge Danforth acts with pride and arrogance. At the commencement of act III Judge Danforth voices his view on the ongoing phase of the witchcraft trials by stating that “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?” (Miller 85). Here Danforth establishes an ultimatum to Giles Corey when he comes to defend his wife Martha Corey from the accusation of being a witch. Danforth sarcastically questions Giles Corey whether he has the authority to make any decision on the ongoing matter and thereby silences him. He makes it clear that no one else can determine what and how the court should act. In addition, the tone with which he delivers this dialogue is filled with arrogance as displayed by the movie “The crucible”. Overall, the picture profile of Judge Danforth created while saying these lines reveals his pride and haughtiness. Another instance where Judge Danforth reveals this attitude of his is when he snubs Francis Nurse for questioning his judgment and wisdom during the trials. In return Danforth replies “ And do you know that near four hundred are in jail... upon my signature”(Miller 87) and “ seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” (Miller 87). These lines show that Judge Danforth is proud of his actions and his power as a judg...
Danforth’s has too much confidence on his ability to distinguish the truth. His strong puritan beliefs blinds him from reality and considers people who goes against him as suspects. This demonstrated when he says, “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” (94). This quotation proves that his decisions on court is mostly bias and he is against anything that violates his puritan beliefs. In addition, he also uses his authority as a Deputy Governor to maintain his reputation. He does not want to accept his mistakes and try to correct it because he does not want his reputation to be tainted. He displays this character by saying, “you misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.” (129). Danforth is too concerned about his reputation and he is afraid to that he will lose it if he admits that he has made wrong judgements. His bias opinion on what is right plays a vital on the mass hysteria that happened in
Do you have a reputation? Is it a good idea? Bad? Not a bad idea. How has your reputation influenced your life?
Great events, whether they are beneficial or tragic ones, bring change in a person. These scenarios can give one an entirely new perspective on life, and turn around his way of thinking. Events such as the Salem Witch Trials show the people involved what they could not see before. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor gain valuable insight into themselves, as well as others.
Many can blame the people who lied during the trial, many can blame the girls for actually committing the crime of witchcraft, but most importantly the blame is put on Danforth for these rash actions. The fact that a handful of people have the power the take the lives of another human beings was not questioned by the community faster is astonishing. Danforth 's crucible was that he has to over come is risking his reputation for sake of justice. This effects the whole book, every little decision that he makes has a rash impact on someone through out the story. This brings out the stories crucible, where everyone in the town is supposed to be dedicated to the church and god but instead of this every person in the town goes to extremes just to satisfy their needs and or wants. With out this clash of new ideas being brought up into the world proper evolution could have never
Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. A famous American poet once said: “Oh reputation dearer far than life”. James Russell Lowell highlights the importance of reputation by declaring it more important than even human life itself. This idea is also found in ‘The Crucible’ as many characters will be challenged between telling the truth and dying, or saving their reputation. In ‘The Crucible’, this theme beholds a key position in the unrolling of the story as an impression of control over the outcome of people’s lives is created by its importance.
Judge Danforth is dismayed that people actually fear his court. He believes that himself and Judge Hawthorne are guided by God and hence the innocent need not fear the proceedings. In reality Danforth validates himself through these witch hunts. The more they go on, the greater importance he still has. So Danforth has a vested interest in presiding over the hysteria. He clearly refuses to see the paranoid slanders that are being tossed back and forth. He sees the trial as proof that he is needed as an intermediary between God and the Devil. I always thought that he allows the executions to continue to keep himself in the position of power that he has become accustomed
One character that seemed to fall into the social trap of hypocrisy is Judge Danforth. When questioning Mary Warren about her sudden decision to tell the truth, Danforth ridicules Mary when saying, "How were you instructed in your life? Do you not know that God damns all liars?" (94). The Judge sees himself as part of the "elect" which is why he believes everyone else to be ignorant. For this same reason, is unable to see his error in forcing people to lie to save their lives. When Reverend Hale fails in his attempt to pardon the accused, Danforth states, "I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just," (119). Danforth sees himself as high enough in society that he has the God-given gift to decide what will benefit the community. The Judge believes he is showing compassion in deciding what is "just" but is ignorant to the fact that this "justness" only causes unneeded deaths. Danforth's pride causes him to be blind toward his blatant hypocritical accusations.