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!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. As John Proctor faces hanging on a trumped up charge of witchcraft, this proud man realizes that his reputation and integrity mean more to him than his life. Having been pressured to sign a false confession, he refuses Danforth’s demand to allow his confession be nailed to the church door for all to see. This refusal will lead to his execution. To confess to a lie in order to live would be to dishonor his fellow prisoners who go to their deaths for staying silent, he believes. In the new moments he will tear up his confession, signing his death warrant but with his integrity intact.