The Crucible Reputation Vs Reputation Essay

Reputation; what significance does this one word have that a Spanish proverb states, “He who has lost his reputation is a dead man among the living”? According to the townspeople in theocratic Salem, an individual was to become prestigious and sacrifice everything for a good name. There was no such thing as private moralities, instead, a person’s reputation was a public matter showcased for the town to judge and discern. Nothing is more unimaginable than having to lose an influential position. Throughout the play “The Crucible”, individuals base their actions on safeguarding or earning a standing. Miller uses the characterization of Reverend Parris and John Proctor to demonstrate that when one exclusively focuses on the preservation of their reputation, one is more likely t o use outrageous actions and deception to hide one’s faults.

It is actually very hard to be completely honest all the time and in every situation. But I believe that being honest can be very rewarding in the end because you are not deceiving others or yourself which is beneficial to you and society.

Reputation is a social phenomenon for individuals in every society. Every one of us cares how we are viewed at some point, and everyone else provides that view. Reputation has transformed largely over the centuries, and we can see a large theme of it in Puritan-based literature such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In the Puritan lifestyle, reputation was among the utmost importance to citizens. Keeping a good name through correct moral conduct was a very critical social aspect for Puritans. In The Crucible there is a strong theme of the importance of reputation which directly applies to John Proctor, Abigail, and Reverend Parris.

Before taking into consideration that honesty is extremely important when writing, we should understand what honesty means. Honesty is being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honorable, fair, genuine, and loyal with integrity. It is the best way to gain respect and confidence from your audience. According to Linda Flower, in her work of “Writing for an Audience”, “the goal of the writer is to create a momentary common ground between the reader and the writer. You want the reader to share your knowledge and your attitude toward that knowledge.” The ability to adapt your knowledge to the needs of the reader is often crucial to your success as a writer. Even if the reader eventually disagrees, you want him or her to be able for the moment to see things as you see them. Telling the truth lets everyone know what really happened. There's less chances of misunderstandings, confusion, or conflict. If you tell the truth, you have an infinite power supporting you.

Socrates once said, “Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again”.In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Miller utilizes the Salem witch trials as inspiration for a parable of McCarthyism of the 1950’s in which the HUAC would decimate one’s reputation on the grounds of suspicion as a communist. Miller reflects this in his story of trials of townspeople suspected of witchcraft. Miller develops the theme of the importance of reputation in society through the contrast in characterization of his characters Reverend Parris and John Proctor, who are most concerned with their good name in the eyes of their community and god, respectively.

I agree completely with Thomas Jefferson. The best way of reaching success is by developing an honest heart. Telling the truth will build your reputation. If you build up you reputation as an honest person, you will be more approachable than someone who has a reputation of being a liar. This is essential for job hiring’s and promotions. If there is a decision on who to hire between someone who is known as a liar and an honest person, the honest person will get the job. Telling the truth also prevents future mistakes. Once you tell a lie, you have to continue to lie to keep the story going. If you tell the truth the first time, you will not have to continue to making up stories. Lance Armstrong lied throughout his whole career about doping to increase performance in cycling. He told lies for many years before finally admitting to doping. His admittance was not received well because he had lied for so long. If he told the truth the first time, his career would not be as tarnished as before. CNN reported his mistake as “The scandal has tarred the cancer charity Livestrong that he founded, as well as tarnished his once-glowing reputation as a sports hero”

Preserving one’s reputation is a prevalent theme in The Crucible, meaning they would rather keep a good reputation under their belt, rather than let people know the truth and keep no guilt. A person with good morals, is a person that knows that is wrong. A righteous person would not worry about a good reputation as much as they would the truth. I think in today’s society, we have the same problem. There are too many people concerned with the story and how “radical” or how crazy they can make someone else sound, and not enough people concerned with the truth.

Would some people want to know the whole truth? Even if it would hurt that person? What would that person do if it did hurt you? Therefore, knowing the truth can make people question if people can trust other people, it can make people see other people in a different perspective, and it will make it very hard to regain people’s trust.

In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the people of Salem, Massachusetts prove time and time again that they care more about their reputations than the events that are taking place and how these events are affecting the people around them. Having a good reputation can be a good thing but when being concerned about your reputation clouds your judgement, that is when it becomes a dilemma. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses having a good reputation, the character of Parris, and how reputation and The Crucible tie into modern life to enlighten the reader that even though having a good reputation is great, it should not cloud one’s ability to see the harm they are doing to others.

“It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently” (Warren Buffett). Arthur Miller was a well known American playwright, essayist and a very important figure in the American theater. Arthur wrote some very important plays throughout his life and The Crucible was one of them. The Crucible is a very well written play about the Salem Witch Trials and how the people chose their own reputation rather than telling the truth and having a consequence for it. Having a good reputation in a small town like Salem is very crucial. This is evident throughout the acts in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. John Proctor,

Reputation is extremely important in a town where social standing is tied to one’s ability to follow religious rules. Your good name is the only way you can get other people to do business with you or even get a fair hearing. Of course, reputation meant nothing when a witchcraft accusation was staring you in the face. But reputation is what made the Reverend hale begin to doubt whether the accused individuals were actually guilty. And it was for the sake of his reputation and his friends’ reputations that John Proctor refused to sign a false confession. He would, quite literally, rather die. Although John Proctor goes to his death falsely condemned as a witch, he gains his reputation and respect among those who matter, like his wife, because he refuses to falsely identify his friends and neighbours as witches. The loss of Abigail’s reputation toward the end of the play shows that characters in The Crucible eventually earn the reputations they deserve, despite the personal tragedies that might take place along the way. Having a good reputation is very important in The Crucible. It means you can be accepted by society. If you do not have a good name, you will be completely rejected. John Proctor would no longer be thought of a morally straight and righteous person. Reverend Parris would lose all his respect and not be accepted by society. Judge Danforth would be constantly questioned and lose his job. Keeping and maintaining your good name is an overwhelming theme in The

A reputation represents your character, it represents you. Something I'll always remember is to tell the truth about everything because there's nothing better than living in the truth, and I'm always going to strive to present myself as who I truly am. That way I can always ensure that at least I'm living up to my

Is a good name or the truth more important? In my opinion I would say that the truth is more important. The reason the truth is more important is because you can have a name that is really good with a really good reputation, but if you don’t tell the truth you will be “labeled” as a liar or fiber. In that case your reputation would change just like that and you would be called or referred to as the liar on the street.

The way people see you and how honest you are affect whether they trust you or not. Reputation can affect your life, if too many people think you’re a liar, then they won’t trust you. Karma is never a good thing, I use to lie until karma caught up with me and people found out what i lied about.

Growing up in my family taught me that honesty is the best policy. When I would get into trouble as a child I would often try to lie to my mom thinking that would save me from being punished. I soon learned that lying would only get me into more trouble than I was already. Honesty has given me the reputation of