Cindy's Blog

The Crucible: Literary Analysis Essay

Author: Cindy Chen

Class: English Honors

Last Edit: 10/18/2013

Reputation - Proctor’s Downfall

In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the importance of one’s reputation is displayed throughout the entire play. John Proctor’s initial unwillingness to go to court, forcing of Mary to confess to the court instead of him, and refusal to sign his name, even under the threat of death, are all heavily influenced by the fact that he did not want to spoil his reputation. His concern for his own reputation is what allowed the hysteria of the witch trials to get as far as it did and he brought his own death upon himself when he became more concerned about his name than justice.

John Proctor’s unwillingness tell the truth because of his fear of damaging his reputation, despite having at least two instances where he could have done so, is what allowed Abigail the chance to accuse and condemn so many people, like himself. Proctor had a chance to put a stop to the accusations when he first heard that his fellow villagers were wrongly accused of witchcraft and imprisoned. However, instead of riding for town, he chose to stay because he knew by denouncing Abigail for a whore, he would also blemish his own name forever. Even when Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife, told him “there be fourteen people in the jail now...The Deputy Governor promise hangin’ if they’ll not confess,” Proctor still said “I’ll think on it.” (52, 53). He basically states that he didn’t know whether he would or would not go, even though he knew if he didn’t go, he would essentially be condemning all the accused to death, as he was the only one who actually had any evidence against Abigail being God’s messenger. Not only that, but his religion and morals are all based on the Puritan’s beliefs, one of which is the testament “Thou shalt not bear false witness” (67). By outright lying after telling Hale that Abigail told him Betty’s sickness had nothing to do with witchcraft, saying he only just found out about the ‘witchcraft’ mania, he broke another commandment and only furthered his guilt of being a sinner. This further emphasizes just how much he prizes his reputation: he is willing to allow murder and break his religious and moral values to keep it. Proctor’s decision not to interfere with the increasingly impassioned accusations, is what allowed Abigail the chance to accuse Elizabeth. Had Proctor gone when Elizabeth urged him to go to Salem, Abigail could have been disgraced and her claims dismissed as the words of a jealous liar. However, since Proctor decided to wait until the roots of the hysteria had sunk in too deep and it was too late, he was the one that was dismissed when he finally got up the courage to confess. By being so caught up in his own name, Proctor brought his own death upon himself.

Proctor initially forced Mary to confess instead of confessing himself, as to preserve his reputation a bit longer, leading to his own downfall. By forcing Mary to confess instead of him, Proctor decided to take the path of least humiliation, despite knowing that Mary is rather timid and weak willed when he asked Elizabeth “how may that mouse frighten you Elizabeth?” (52). Here, Proctor compares Mary to a mouse. Mice are typically portrayed as small and weak animals that are not fond of scrutiny or attention, easily scared, and will do anything to survive, which is very much like Mary’s character. By comparing Mary to a mouse, both Miller and Proctor are essentially stating how they know Mary is rather weak willed and easily swayed, both of which are not good qualities for a person standing up to a large crowd that could easily get her killed. However, if Proctor had confessed before Mary had, throwing doubt on Abigail’s purity and giving light to some possible ulterior motives, then with Mary’s confession that the girls were lying, they would have been much more likely to believe her. However, since Proctor was still too concerned with his own reputation than to come clean, he essentially pushed the spotlight on Mary and abandoned her to bear the burden of bringing the girls to justice alone, which led her to give in to the girls’ pressure and accuse Proctor. Proctor condemned himself when he became more concerned about his reputation than doing what was right.

As Proctor demonstrated when given the chance to save his own life, he considered his reputation something important enough to die for. When he was on the verge of being hanged, he was still more concerned for his name than his life. Initially, Proctor wanted to live, but after finding out he would have to sign a paper and allow the judge and ministers to tack it on the church door, thus giving real and solid proof that he did 'witchcraft', he refused. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! ...How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (143). This shows how he felt like he had already willingly given up his soul to the accusers and judges, who were, to him, basically equivalent to liars and “dogs”. Puritans believed that this life was temporary and their main goal in life was to keep their soul clean and get to God. The fact that he has shown he feels he has already given them his soul by confessing to witchcraft he didn't do, but is still stubbornly clinging to what's left of his reputation shows that he really does prize his name over his life.

The importance of his reputation was something Proctor prized more than justice, his life, and even his soul. Despite his religion being focused on the purity of their soul, “The Crucible” showed that Proctor was actually much more concerned with his reputation on this Earth than keeping his soul clean. His concern for his own reputation is a large driving force behind many of the decisions that ultimately got him and many others killed.