Reputation In Salem As Seen By John Proctor

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Reputation In Salem As Seen By John Proctor In the play The Crucible, author Arthur Miller shows the importance placed on a person’s reputation in the late seventeenth century through John Proctor and his actions. Arthur Miller provides fictional examples throughout The Crucible of how the misuse of reputation can ruin a society. Throughout the village of Salem, John is known to be a non-religious man. Unkempt yet respectful, he makes up for his lack of faith with his quick wits and hospitality. His reputation in Salem was fair at best, and he had some secrets he wished not to be known. As the play progresses, these dark secrets hold the key to the towns’ problems and he is put in a position to dampen his reputation forever in order to save his wife. He must put aside his guilty conscience and do what is right for the town of Salem, Massachusetts. In the town of Salem, reputation plays a key role in the development of the play. Characters such as John Proctor are well-respected for their generosity and gratitude, and John Proctor shows much respect toward the other people in his society, as evidenced in Act II when Reverend Hale unexpectingly shows up to the Proctor residence and John responds, “Why, Mr. Hale! Good evening to you, sir. Come in, come in.” (P. 63). John graciously invites Reverend Hale into his home and shows much respect and hospitality toward the minister. Also, while accusing Abigail of being a harlot in Act III, he throws away his name, claiming “…To Danforth: A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that.” (P. 1259). John feels that he is respected enough to be heard about his confession of adultery with Abigail, and claims that he would not carelessly throw away his good reputation without a reasonable cause. Early on in the play, Arthur Miller uses dramatic irony to show that John Proctor is a

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