Post by ross on Nov 11, 2007 22:53:22 GMT -5
Ross Tucker
English Period 7
Word Count: 499
Crisis within societies often results in people losing touch with justice as society members try to find individuals to point fingers at for responsibility. In turn, individuals struggle to hold on to their reputation—the only thing they have. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story that conveys the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts and how people feared the loss of their reputation due to injustice. The concept of struggling to uphold reputation throughout injustice in the The Crucible directly parallels the recent Duke Lacrosse scandal.
The preciousness of one’s name became evident in The Crucible as innocent individuals took extreme measures to preserve their reputations. For John Proctor, the protagonist in The Crucible who had an affair with Abigail Williams, it was the rigidity of Salem that caused him to spend the rest of his life in fear of a ruined reputation. Abby faced reputation loss as well with her involvement with witchcraft, but took advantage of the situation by implicating others of it. Finally, when his wife was accused of witchcraft, Proctor could not keep quiet any longer. “It is a sleeper!...Mark her!...I have known her, sir. I have known her,” (Miller 110) Proctor says to Danforth, the town deputy, to stop Abigail’s accusations. However, Danforth refused to believe that Abigail was lying all this time and was a “sleeper”, especially since he had already sentenced 72 townspeople to death. Proctor was too late, and his confession of adultery ended up in his accusation of witchcraft. Had he admitted to witchcraft to escape death, Proctor would have ruined his reputation and forced himself to live with even more remorse.
Similarly, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, three distinguished young men who used to play for the Duke Lacrosse team, faced a crisis that threatened their reputations. When they found themselves at a lacrosse party, the last thing they would have thought was being subsequently indicted for a crime they did not commit. Like Abigail, a dancer at the party realized that she could empower herself by falsely accusing the boys of raping her. Given the circumstances, the people in the community had irrefutable belief that the boys were guilty, especially with Defense Attorney Mike Nifong refusing any evidence that would prove the boys innocent. As the boys’ team photos transposed into mug shots, their reputations seemed tarnished. In his first interview with 60 Minutes, David Evans said: “This woman has destroyed everything I worked for in my life. She's put it on hold. She's destroyed two other families and she's brought shame on a great university. And, worst of all she's split apart a community and a nation on facts that just didn't happen and a lie that should have never been told.” Despite the fact that they were acquitted of the crime, Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans, will forever have their reputations stained with a false accusation.
Moreover, it is clear how valuable one’s reputation is regardless of the time period in which they live.
Works Cited:
"Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out." 15 Oct. 2006. 60 Minutes. 11 Nov. 2007. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/11/60minutes/main2082140.shtml>.
English Period 7
Word Count: 499
From Salem to Durham; how individuals upheld their reputations during hysteria
Crisis within societies often results in people losing touch with justice as society members try to find individuals to point fingers at for responsibility. In turn, individuals struggle to hold on to their reputation—the only thing they have. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story that conveys the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts and how people feared the loss of their reputation due to injustice. The concept of struggling to uphold reputation throughout injustice in the The Crucible directly parallels the recent Duke Lacrosse scandal.
The preciousness of one’s name became evident in The Crucible as innocent individuals took extreme measures to preserve their reputations. For John Proctor, the protagonist in The Crucible who had an affair with Abigail Williams, it was the rigidity of Salem that caused him to spend the rest of his life in fear of a ruined reputation. Abby faced reputation loss as well with her involvement with witchcraft, but took advantage of the situation by implicating others of it. Finally, when his wife was accused of witchcraft, Proctor could not keep quiet any longer. “It is a sleeper!...Mark her!...I have known her, sir. I have known her,” (Miller 110) Proctor says to Danforth, the town deputy, to stop Abigail’s accusations. However, Danforth refused to believe that Abigail was lying all this time and was a “sleeper”, especially since he had already sentenced 72 townspeople to death. Proctor was too late, and his confession of adultery ended up in his accusation of witchcraft. Had he admitted to witchcraft to escape death, Proctor would have ruined his reputation and forced himself to live with even more remorse.
Similarly, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, three distinguished young men who used to play for the Duke Lacrosse team, faced a crisis that threatened their reputations. When they found themselves at a lacrosse party, the last thing they would have thought was being subsequently indicted for a crime they did not commit. Like Abigail, a dancer at the party realized that she could empower herself by falsely accusing the boys of raping her. Given the circumstances, the people in the community had irrefutable belief that the boys were guilty, especially with Defense Attorney Mike Nifong refusing any evidence that would prove the boys innocent. As the boys’ team photos transposed into mug shots, their reputations seemed tarnished. In his first interview with 60 Minutes, David Evans said: “This woman has destroyed everything I worked for in my life. She's put it on hold. She's destroyed two other families and she's brought shame on a great university. And, worst of all she's split apart a community and a nation on facts that just didn't happen and a lie that should have never been told.” Despite the fact that they were acquitted of the crime, Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans, will forever have their reputations stained with a false accusation.
Moreover, it is clear how valuable one’s reputation is regardless of the time period in which they live.
Works Cited:
"Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out." 15 Oct. 2006. 60 Minutes. 11 Nov. 2007. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/11/60minutes/main2082140.shtml>.