The Crucible Pride What is left when honor is lost?' Publilius Syrus' quote, though dating from 100 B.C., still seems pertinent to our era. Many people still feel that once integrity is lost they are nothing and many are willing to stand up to keep their integrity. Without integrity, we are nothing. During the time that Arthur Miller wrote his most famous play, The Crucible, innocent men and women were being accused of having Communist leanings. Their whole lives were ruined in a short amount of time because they refused to compromise themselves by selling out their friends. Miller tried to make a statement about these unfair trials by comparing them to the Salem witch-hunts and trials of 1692. The main protagonist of his play is a man named John Proctor who is accused of witchcraft but stands up to maintain his name and his honor, even though he is hanged for it. During the H.U.A.C. trials some stood up for what they believed even though they would be blamed and shunned by society. They knew this, but instead of taking the cowards' way and giving the names of their friends, they refused to tell the committee anything in the same way that John Proctor stands up against a court that is ruining the lives of innocent people. 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 refused to give up his integrity and sign his name to a false confession. He thought it was enough admitting to a lie, but he could not bear signing a confession when others had died for refusing to give the courts what they wanted. "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!" Proctor's friend, Giles Corey, is 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." Even the Reverend John Hale, who was involved in the court, spoke out against the proceedings. "I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!" He even leaves the court because he believes they are unjust. Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse maintain their integrity and refuse to sign a confession, and they hang alongside John Proctor for it. Elizabeth Proctor does not compromise herself, but is allowed to live because she is pregnant. In the 1950s, innocent people were accused of being Communist sympathizers and were deprived of their livelihood. They were blacklisted, meaning no one would hire them because they had been labeled as Communists, and they were not accepted in society. Some people gave the committee names of their associates to keep themselves out of trouble. But not everyone did this. Some stood up for themselves and spoke out against the court regardless of what would happen. This was a big sacrifice and it proved that they had integrity. One of these was John Howard Lawson, who was one of "The Hollywood Ten". He went on trial before the committee and claimed that they were encroaching on his rights as an American citizen. He even told the committee, "I am not on trial here, Mr. Chairman. This committee is on trial here before the American people. Let us get that straight." He was not afraid of the committee and told them exactly what he thought. When they tried to bully him into telling them what they wanted, he responded by saying, "I am glad you have made it perfectly clear that you are going to threaten and intimidate the witness, Mr. Chairman." They threatened to hold him in contempt of court for trying to speak against them, and they refused to read his statement. He was excused from the stand after accusing the committee of "using the old technique, which was used in Hitler Germany in order to create a scare." He was excused from the stand to the sound of applause. His statement, which was not released to the public until years later, accused the House on un-American Activities Committee of seeking to "subvert orderly government and establish an autocratic dictatorship." He also asserted that his freedom of speech was not "for sale in return for a card signed by J. Parnell Thomas saying `O.K. for employment until further notice.'" John Howard Lawson was sent to prison for one year and after his release he retreated to Mexico to hide from his blacklisting. He was not the only one who refused to give in. The playwright Lillian Hellman told the committee that she would not cut her "conscience to fit this year's fashions." Actor Paul Robeson told them, "You are the Un-Americans, and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves." Many other successful careers were crushed just as Giles Corey was, for not naming names. Integrity is just as important in our day as it has ever been. More people are becoming less afraid to stand up and say what they believe, no matter how it affects public opinion of them. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrators' father is a lawyer in the south. He is hired to defend a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. He represents him in court even though he experiences fierce opposition from the townspeople. He even puts his life at risk because he believes the man deserves fair representation. Many books and movies today have the same sort of theme. Integrity has always played an important role in human history and still continues to today. In the 1600's people stood up for themselves during the witchcraft trials in Salem, some even lost their lives for it. History repeated itself in the McCarthy era with the Un-American Activities Committee hearings, when many innocent people lost their careers and were rejected by society. History always repeats itself, and we need to remember how to respond when it happens again. We need to remember the words of Publilius Syrus when he asked, "What is left when honor is lost?"
Eli Whitney (A.K.A the Father of Mass Production) realized unlike the long staple, black seed cotton, which seeds came out rather easily, that only grew on the coast, the green seed, short staple cotton’s seed were not out to release from the fibers easily. He and the manager of the plantation constructed a prototype model in a secret garage. It had four compartments; (1) a hopper which feeds the cotton into the gin, (2) a revolving cylinder that had hundreds of short wire hooks set to match fine grooves cut in, (3) stationary breastwork with pulled out the seeds while the fibers flow through, (4) and lastly, a cylinder set with bristles that got the cotton off the bristles. He got that patented in 1794, but kept working at new things. Taking over 10 years to complete, he created a machine that can create muskets from a pile of musket parts. This is what deemed him the father of mass
For instance, a person who cheats in a game which essentially helps out his team for the better, makes not only his teammates joyous of his advantage but the fans too. The problem behind this, Carter argues, is that people essentially would get upset if this scenario was the other way around, and the player ended up telling the truth that he didn’t deserve that advantage. Americans definition of integrity is someone who speaks the “truth” and who is honest. They lack the true understanding of integrity that Carter explains to be a person who is honest and acts on it. A person who is not afraid of breaking the boundaries of what is morally right is someone who has integrity. Carter provides a good explanation of why people lack integrity and it’s because they do not fully understand from what is right and wrong.
John Proctor is, at first, willing to offer up a false confession that his life may be spared. Inevitably, John Proctor possesses that fateful attribute known to fall fatal to many human beings - pride. While he has, indeed, been ashamed of his many sins throughout his life, Proctor's soul still clings to his pride and his good name, however soiled it may have become. On the morning scheduled for his execution, Proctor wrestles with the realization that one more sin so heaped upon the rest in his life will make precious little difference in the end; "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.... My honesty is broke... I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie." (126) He attempts to calm his pride by telling himself that the other accused witches who will not give false testimony to save themselves from the gallows have every right to do so; they led lives free of blame. He, however, he tells himself, did no such thing; what right has he to hang among the righteous? "Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls. It is pretense for me, a vanity that will nor blind God nor keep my children out of the wind." (126) Thus the conviction first reached by John Proctor is to save his life rather than to throw it away in mock martyrdom.
three years in jail just because he was black. A truth to the Kerner Commission
The Crucible – Characters and Changes & nbsp; Change is good for the future. " We hear the catchy phrase everywhere. From company slogans to motivational speeches, our world seems to impose this idea that change is always a good thing. Assuming that the change is for the better, it is probably a true statement in most cases. The root of this idea seems to come from the notion that we are dissatisfied with the state that we are in, so, in order to create a more enjoyable environment, we adjust.
The Crucible – Forgiveness & nbsp; The Healing Power Of Forgiveness - The Gift of Reconciliation. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." --- Mahatma Gandhi & nbsp; Forgiveness is a process of inner healing. For most of the people in The Crucible, they did not need to necessarily forgive others but forgive themselves.
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.
The Electoral College is an outdated and unrealistic arrangement that caters to eighteenth century federalist America in a way that is detrimental to modern democracy. The electoral college gives too much power to the government, overlooks equal representation, and creates loopholes that do not serve to help America thrive.
to prison for defying laws that they believed were unjust towards society. These two men
There were several reoccurring themes that showed up in this novel. First was the idea of a group centered leadership. With this idea Ella baker was trying to bring democracy to organizations. The second theme that was prevalent in the lack of power men were willing to give women during the early civil right battle. Last theme that appeared was the idea of human transformation. Laws and institution might change but the goal should be to change the heart of people.
Shafritz, Russell & Borick (2016) mention that honor is at the core of ethics and that integrity and honesty are basis for honor. A public official that shows integrity and honesty will conduct administrative affairs truthfully.
Integrity is doing what’s right even if it’s difficult. Being integrous is a vital part of being a leader. In the movie, “Remember the Titans,” the character Gerry shows integrity by standing up to his friends and defending his teammates. Gerry also showed integrity by standing up to his mom and and telling her to give his black teammates chance.
One of the best qualities of society is one known as honor. However, honor is one of these words which cannot be tied down with an exact definition. People define honor with different ideas or opinions: being honorable is being respected, and to be honored you must be admired; you must have high morals to be considered honorable. Some say that your honor is determined not by yourself, but by everyone else. The definition of honor seems to have always been this confusing. However, it is noticeable that honor’s definition has changed over time, and it can be compared likewise. Honor can be seen as it was, then compared with how the way the United States views it, the way other countries view honor , and the way the world views it now.
Integrity is needed, when making any decision in my opinion. In my current position in my work, not just we are required by the law to be honest and having and integrity helps a great deal to do my job a great many easier. I work on one on one setting and my clients or customers, having integrity doing the right thing is always the priority event know one’s looking. My customers always expect me to tell them the truth and give them educated advice. Of course, doing the right thing in my business sometimes can cause me to lose a customer. However, in my options I rather loss a customer than compromise my integrity. Once the customer finds out they can trust they tend to help me in my work by referring another customer.
Now, antismoking advocates are preparing a new bill that aims to make Germany's restaurants, bars, and other public buildings smoke-free as early as 2007. For the moment, the nonsmoking lobby appears headed for victory.