Answer: He fights with his own conscience and wants to hold on to his reputation.
Proctor says these words when he is fighting his own conscience, he is torn between admitting to being a witch in order to avoid being hanged or hold on to his reputation.
He has been advised to do so by the judges and Hale however they need his signature to make it official.
He is finding it hard to put down that signature in order to make an official confession statement .
He is also torn because he feels like this will be betrayal to free only himself whilst other will be killed and this will make him look like a coward who feared death so much that he have in.
The other major thing that is holding him back is his reputation which is important element in Salem.
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He has pride and has established the meaning of good reputation , a man who wants to hold on to his name and die heroically without confessing to anything but still preserving the honour that his name hold to him.
He says ' I have given you my name now leave me my name'
He would rather hold on to his me and good reputation .
