Post by Ms Lewis on May 12, 2012 19:23:44 GMT
Here's how much I care about you all passing your Higher - posting this on a Saturday night! 
"I have made a bell of my honour! I have rung the doom of my good name!" John Proctor, The Crucible, Act 3
John shouts this in Act 3 after confessing "I have known her" in a desperate attempt to make the court believe that Abigail is lying and Elizabeth is innocent of witchcraft. His words highlight the sacrifice of his reputation: just as a bell when rung would sound loudly throughout the town, he has publicly destroyed his reputation by confessing to "lechery". This is a turning point for John: he is slowly redeeming himself in his eyes and Elizabeth's as a man of integrity. His words also emphasise his love for Elizabeth: earlier in the play we see the townspeople looking to him as an honest man who can be relied on to speak his mind and John is frightened of losing his reputation ("We vote by name in this society, not by acreage."). However, he is willing to give it up to save his wife. John's standing by the truth, against the lies of many of his neighbours, who will do and say anything to save their lives, connects to the theme of integrity in the play. Proctor's standing by the truth leads to the end of the witchcraft trials as, after his example, we are told in the afterword that more and more people refuse to lie and accuse others to save their lives. Thus the trials grind to a halt. Miller emphasises the importance of integrity in the play through Proctor's, his flawed hero, quest for truth.
"I have made a bell of my honour! I have rung the doom of my good name!" John Proctor, The Crucible, Act 3
John shouts this in Act 3 after confessing "I have known her" in a desperate attempt to make the court believe that Abigail is lying and Elizabeth is innocent of witchcraft. His words highlight the sacrifice of his reputation: just as a bell when rung would sound loudly throughout the town, he has publicly destroyed his reputation by confessing to "lechery". This is a turning point for John: he is slowly redeeming himself in his eyes and Elizabeth's as a man of integrity. His words also emphasise his love for Elizabeth: earlier in the play we see the townspeople looking to him as an honest man who can be relied on to speak his mind and John is frightened of losing his reputation ("We vote by name in this society, not by acreage."). However, he is willing to give it up to save his wife. John's standing by the truth, against the lies of many of his neighbours, who will do and say anything to save their lives, connects to the theme of integrity in the play. Proctor's standing by the truth leads to the end of the witchcraft trials as, after his example, we are told in the afterword that more and more people refuse to lie and accuse others to save their lives. Thus the trials grind to a halt. Miller emphasises the importance of integrity in the play through Proctor's, his flawed hero, quest for truth.