english quotes

Reputation - Metaphor - spoken by John Proctor to Mary Warren during Act III, expressing his despair and desperation to save his wife and demonstrating how crucial their testimony (rep) is for the outcome in the court

"Good. Then her saintliness is done with. We will slide together into our pit; you will tell the court what you know." – Proctor

Reputation - Metaphor - Proctor challenges Putnam’s attempt to exert his wealth by saying a person’s name and standing holds more power than their material wealth or ownership

"We vote by name in this society, not by acreage.” - Proctor

Reputation - Metaphor - Proctor cries this when pressured to sign a false confession of witchcraft to save his life, and refusing.

"I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" - Proctor

Reputation - Dramatic Irony - Elizabeth testifies Proctor’s goodness, denying his affair and demonstrating her attempt to protect his reputation in a Puritan society where adultery was a grave offence.

"No sir – my husband is a goodly man, sir." - Elizabeth

Hysteria and Reputation - Metaphor - Hale - highlights the profound damage to the town's sense of security and morality caused by the witch trials' hysteria

"If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning."

Integrity - Metaphor - Proctor - Proctor's statement emphasizes that he will only bear witness to his own wrongdoing, not falsely condemn others

“I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.”

Integrity - Rebecca Nurse - Irony - reflects her unwavering integrity and refusal to falsely confess to witchcraft

"Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot"

Integrity - John Proctor - Characterisation - demonstrating Proctor's attempt to restore his integrity by rejecting Abigail Williams's manipulative behavior

"Abby, you'll put it out of mind. I'll not be comin' for you more."

Integrity - John Proctor - Metaphor - showing his firm commitment to his wife and the moral principles of Puritan society

"But I'll cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again."

Abigail’s threats reveal her desperation to protect her reputation after being caught in the woods. Miller shows how her fear of exposure sparks the cycle of lies and manipulation that fuel hysteria.

“Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.”

n the court, Abigail uses intimidation and religious fear to protect her reputation and maintain authority. Her manipulation of Danforth and the judges shows how reputation becomes weaponized, corrupting justice (link to thesis/mccarthyism)

“Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits?”

Abigail’s escape exposes the hollowness of her power. Though she maintained her reputation long enough to destroy others, her flight demonstrates the ultimate emptiness of building influence on lies. Miller contrasts Abigail’s cowardice with Proctor’s final act of integrity.

“My niece, sir, my niece—I believe she has vanished.”

Elizabeth firmly states her disbelief in witchcraft, astonishing both her husband and Hale. Showing, she's not concerned with protecting her reputation by expressing her opinion

"I cannot believe it"