Reputation in The Crucible Essay Example

Have you ever made a reckless decision in fear of your reputation ruining? Has your reputation ever affected your life? In the play, The Crucible, many things influence the flow of the story but one of the key factors that affect the play is Reputation. One’s reputation plays a big role in the story and affects many of the characters in the play. Reputation influences and motivates many of the characters in The Crucible whether it be bad or good.

In The Crucible, one’s reputation affects how one will be treated, this can be seen with several characters such as Sarah Good and Tituba, two of the many people who were accused of being witches. Sarah’s reputation in the village was not good “ for she sleeps in ditches, and so very old and poor” not only that but when she was asked to recite her commandment “she could not say a single one” as stated by Mary Warren in Act 2 which was the reason she was confirmed in being a witch. Similarly, Tituba, Reverend Parris’ slave originated from Barbatos and practiced acts that the people in Salem viewed as evil. In Act 1 Abigail accuses Tituba of forcing her to drink blood and witchcraft causing Tituba to be convicted of being a witch. On the other hand, characters such as Reverend Hale who had good reputations were treated very differently. As someone who specialized in investigating witchcraft, Reverend Hale was trusted by the people, this is clearly seen in Act 1 when Tituba denies being a witch, but Hale shouts “ you most certainly do, and you will free her from it now!” confirming to everyone that Tituba is a witch. Therefore when he also confirmed other people of being witches his judgment was not questioned thus showing us that the reputation of a character does affect how they are treated by others.

As the story of The Crucible unfolds it can be seen that a character’s reputation can drive them to do bad things, which is apparent with Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth. When suspected of being a witch, Abigail feared for her reputation that was said to be “entirely white” by Parris in Act 1. She shifted the blame by accusing others of also being witches which led to many people being hanged; this can be seen in many parts of the play, such as Act 1 when she shouts “I want to open myself!- I saw Sarah Good with the devil, I saw Goody Osborn with the devil.” and in Act 2 when Ezekiel Cheever reveals “ Abigail was stabbed tonight.” and she claims that Elizabeth did witchcraft. In Act 4, Danforth, the judge who oversees the witch trials is informed that people in Salem are rebelling because of how many people have died, but instead of postponing the hangings to find a solution to the rebellions he orders the accused, John Proctor to make a false confession in order to stop the hangings, claiming that “twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning” this is because Danforth believes that if he were to postpone the hangings it would place doubt on his judgment which will lead to his reputation as a respected judge to crumble, this is supported by his statement in Act 4 when he says “postponement now speaks a floundering on my part.” proving that one’s reputation can sometimes lead one to do bad things.

Although a character’s reputation can lead them to do bad things, their reputation can also lead them to do good things. Even at the beginning of the play, John Proctors’ reputation was never great. Several characters point out in Acts 2 and 3 that although being a Christian, Proctor does not attend church which leads to them doubting him. But despite this, Proctor refused to give out his name when he was forced to pick whether to make a false confession or be hanged in Act 4. When he agreed to make a false confession he was told to sign his name but Proctor refused, saying “You have all witnessed It- it is enough- god does not need my name nailed upon the church” showing concern for his family name’s good reputation.  John Proctor’s concern for his reputation caused him to not lie, showing us that reputation can sometimes also lead us to do good things.

In conclusion, reputation influenced and motivated many of the characters in The Crucible whether it had been bad or good. Characters such as Sarah Good, Tituba, and Reverend Hale show us that one’s reputation will affect how one will be treated. Not only that but reputation can also cause a person to act whether it be bad or good. We should learn that despite having a bad or good reputation we should never judge a person just based on their reputation alone.