Tiger Woods

Dimmesdale vs. Proctor... vs. Tiger

Reputation is something that both Dimmesdale and Proctor cared very much about.  Both men lived in roughly the same era in near Salem, a town of brutal, social humiliation.  It was important in the old witch hunt days to be liked by most of the town for personal safety otherwise people that are not liked would be accused of witch craft or some other un-godly act.  High reputations are something that both of these men worked hard to reach and even harder to keep.

Dimmesdale was an especially important figure in his community being a minister.  A minister in the 17th century not only had complete religious authority in the town, but also social authority because he could influence the religion-dependent town into listening to him.  Dimmesdale knew that his reputation as the holyest man would be desstroyed if anyone ver found out that he had been part of an affair with the town outcast, Hester Prynne.  Not only he had an affair, but he gave her a child which he then outcasted in relation to her mother.  So, Dimmesdale kept his high reputation by never letting anyone know of his deep dark secret until he was ready to die and he announced it to the town and could rest peacefully.  He gave up his reputation in the end to save his personal integrity.

John Proctor also had a reputation of being a morally upright man and defiant in his community of witchy Salem.  Proctor had social influence over his fellow townspeople because he knew that would listen to what he had to say even though he did not involve himself in religion as much as he should have (and he plowed on Sundays).  Proctor also had an affair with someone that was not his wife, Abigail, who use to work for him.  Proctor tried very hard not let anyone find out other than his wife and Abigail of course, but it was difficult in a town where there was not much privacy.  Proctor even outted Abigail, calling her terrible things to save his own reputation.  It was not until the end of the play when Proctor decided against signing the paper that said he was a witch (which allowed him to walk free and not be killed...yet).  He gave up his place in the town so that he would not ruin his family's name, but mostly so that he could die without the burden of this affair hanging over his soul.  He saved his personal intergrity by confessing that he had an affair with Abigail to the town.

Now, who connects well to these two town gentlemen?  Well it is difficult to find a man that died after having an affair with someone that is not his wife, that left the Earth on a good note.  However, Tiger Woods did have an affair with someone that his not his wife... with many different women I might add.  Tiger tried very hard to keep this secret from his wife, but he tried even harder at first to keep this secret from his adoring fans.  Tiger was a model for American pride being one of the most successful golfers winning nearly everything from a young age.  He had been an icon for someone who was just and just cared about golfing and his family, but that all changed when his wife went through his phone, he got chased with a golf club and crashed his car on his street.  He came out to the public and announced that he had some type of sex addiction (yeah right) and explained how embarrassed he was that he had done all of the stuff (women) that he did.  His high reputation was destroyed, but he no longer had to carry this secret with him and his conscience was cleared, kind of.  His personal intergity was rescued, and he was not lying to people anymore which makes him a lot like Dimmesdale and Proctor.