"Dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience ... these are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity ... for there is never the wrong time to do the right thing" (The Quote that).
Through many different novels and stories, characters have many emotions and feelings. One that is always different for each character is integrity. Integrity is the devotion to moral principles with a use of a set of consistent ethic values. It is also been known as having a sense of truthfulness and honesty. It gives a person, not just respect from others, but respect for themselves. Ones integrity could be shattered after making the smallest of mistakes. People in history have been tested against their integrity. Some have succeeded, many have failed. (Casey) One man that kept honor and his integrity was Arthur Miller.
Arthur Miller was caught for being friends or acquaintances with communists. Communism was a political party that promoted the establishment of egalitarian. (Lannone) He refused to testify against any of the people he knew that were and he was arrested for it. Even though he was arrested and in serious trouble, he never lost his integrity for he felt was the right thing. From his experiences, Arthur Miller wrote a play called The Crucible. The play is about the 1692 witch trials in Salem Massachusetts where innocent people were accused for something they were not. The
story was almost an exact metaphor for the problems occurring during the Cold War, where people were forced to lose their dignity and good name to survive (Blaney). The Crucible portrays many different aspects of integrity through out the story.
The stories tragic hero is only a kind and respected farmer in the town of Salem. John Proctor is the protagonist in The Crucible (Johnson). He is not a perfect man, he has his flaws, but he is known as a man with pride and integrity. At the beginning of the story, John Proctor has had a past affair with Abigail Williams. John confesses to his wife, Elizabeth, but is afraid and stubborn to admit to anyone else. He fears that it would spoil his good name. Then Abigails desire and lust for Proctor starts chaos of witchcraft and accusations. John Proctor realizes that he must tell the towns people of his adultery. He knows that it is the only way to save the people that were accused for things they were not, but he is still embraced by the fear of losing and destroying his name. This is where he begins to be at a crossroad.
John knows that if he confesses, he will lose respect from others, but if he keeps his actions as a secret he will lose respect from himself (Weales). He will lose his integrity. It is then where Mrs. Proctor is accused of witchcraft, based from the finding of a poppet, which was evidence, in their household. John sees her go peacefully with her wrists and ankles laced with chains. He now realizes he must risk his respect for the survival of his wife. When he is in the court, he confesses his actions. He tells them the fact of how his wife never lies. How she is truthful through any circumstance. They bring Elizabeth up to the stand to tell them the unfaithful acts of her husband. She understands that lying has helped so many people in this time of witchcraft. She defends John and tells the court that he is nothing but a loyal and trustworthy man. Shocked from her answer, John is sent to be captive. On the day of his scheduled hanging, he is asked to confess. He accepts with the support of his loving wife. The court asks him to
sign his name on a deposition to be nailed upon the churches door to show his sins. After he signs the paper he realizes his second crossroad.
"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!" (Miller)
He knows that if he gives them his name, his integrity, he would be dishonored. It would ruin his soul and his public reputation. If he didnt sign the deposition, he would be killed, but his integrity would reward him with respect from him never giving in. He would have eternal life in heaven. John rips the paper and is sent to be hanged by the neck. John Proctor is almost the exact reflection of Arthur Miller. He has made mistakes, but he has never revealed another mans name to the court. Even if he is penalized, he will always have his integrity.
Giles Corey is another character in the Crucible. He is an elderly farmer in Salem and shows a similar side from Arthur Miller. He is accused of witchcraft than the ones who actually performed it. Giles is asked if he could give the names of others who are involved in witchcraft. He refuses to give any. He does not wish to ruin another innocent persons life. The court then tortures him by crushing him to death. They slowly add more and more weight to his chest until he is asphyxiated or until he reveals the names.
Giles stayed true of being a caring and trustworthy man, by which he has a fulfilled amount of self-respect and integrity. Such as Arthur Miller. He was punished and ridiculed in front of a court and was known as un-loyal to his country. It was as if these penalties were the weight being pushed upon his chest. More weight (Miller)
Now many characters decide to destroy theyre integrity to survive. Abigail Williams is a large example of one of these characters. After she has the affair with
Proctor, she begins to tell rumors about Elizabeth. She creates lies about Proctors affair and mentions how Elizabeth blackens her name. After the accusations of witchcraft, she secretly becomes a leader of the girls by threats and fear. They sneakily get away from any other accusations the court places upon her or the girls. She performs lies after lies. They cause innocent people to be jailed, tortured, and killed. Mary Warren is so stressed over trying to protect the Proctors from any accusations. Abigail intends only for Mary Warren to be accused and to have Elizabeth remain in custody. When her ultimate fear occurs.
Mary Warren stands in front of the court and describes how John Proctor is the one behind the witchcraft. She lies to have to no more fear over her head. Abigail is torn from this. She lied her way out of every situation, having people murdered, under the hypnosis of love. She is madly obsessed with the idea of being with Proctor. So obsessed that she doesnt even mind or care about losing the small ounce of integrity and respect she may have for herself. After Proctor is jailed and scheduled to be hanged, she goes to him at his cell. She tells him how she has stolen her Uncles savings for her and Proctor to sail away together. When Proctor declines, Abigail leaves and never returns. In the non-fictional story of Abigail Williams, it has been said that she has been seen in Boston as a prostitute. (Johnson). Everything she gave up for Proctor was useless. She lost not only her integrity but also the love of her life.
Another character that challenges his integrity is Reverend Paris. Reverend Paris is an older man trying to have people see that he is worthy of his position. One morning he finds a group of girls performing witchcraft in the woods, two of those girls being
related to him. One is his daughter and the other is his niece, Abigail. He becomes worried that he will lose his position and his respect. He is deeply concerned of his appearance. When he interrogates Abigail about what happened and he seems to worry more about his reputation than the safety of the girls. He soon realizes that going with the word of the court, than helping out his family and telling the truth is causing him doubt of his honor. (Blaney)
There are many in The Crucible that didnt take the path of Proctor or Giles. They did so to protect themselves from death. And they were known as cowardly. But they would never be able to protect themselves from the guilt. Proctor and Giles portrayed the greatness of Arthur Miller. They were his metaphor. It proves that there can be greatness even in the darkest of times. That people can still perform tasks that gain respect, even when pressured or threatened. The tasks gain themselves self-righteousness and integrity.
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