The Crucible #9

Elizabeth: "He were not hanged. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died Christian under the law. And so his sons with have his farm. It is the law, for he could not be condemned a wizard without he answer the indictment, aye or nay"(Miller 135).

Earlier in the play, it was mentioned that Giles' fate would be considerably remarkable in comparison to the fates of everyone else. We now see that his fate was indeed unique. Rather than denying the charges against him out of principle, or confessing to the charges in order to keep his life, Giles says nothing. By saying nothing, he ended up losing nothing. Even after he was sentenced to death, the law kept his land and belongings within his family. In a way, Giles beat the system. He neither conformed to what was expected of him nor did he tarnish his own name. Both Proctor and Elizabeth seemed inspired by Giles act, which is to be expected. Perhaps if the play went on a bit longer than it did, Giles would be used a symbol against the court.

Proctor, with a cry of his whole soul : "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!"(143).

Names are very important within this play. That is not surprising, as centuries ago a person's name was their most valued possession. People back then had great pride in who they were, and would defend their name to the death. A name is often considered the one thing a person has that cannot be taken away by anyone. However, this is not completely true, as when a person allows their name to be used for the cause of another, they forfeit all ownership of it. Proctor knew this very well, and would not allow his name to be tarnished. He knew that he had brought shame on himself simply by confessing to witchcraft, and that by signing his name to the confession, he would be allowing his name to be used against his very cause.