...In Act Four of The Crucible, Reverend Hale must confront and overcome his crucible. The magnitude of this is witnessed in his character: “Reverend Hale enters. They look at him for an instant in silence. He is steeped in sorrow, exhausted, and more direct than he ever was.” (pp 128-129, Act 4) Hale’s crucible is whether or not to follow the public and continue forcing people to confess witchcraft or to make known the madness of these hunts, since he knows these witch hunts and trials are irrational. This exemplifies Hale’s personal and gradual movement to candor rather than the accusation of more innocent individuals. Furthermore, it shows Hale’s first steps from the break from conformity. In this essay, I will explain the changes that occur in his character as he struggles with his crucible. Also, I will analyze a crucible that I have faced. Hale grows almost exponentially throughout the duration of Act Four in The Crucible. On page 130, Hale is trying to convince Danforth to postpone the trials of the accused: “Excellency, if you postpone a week… that speak mercy on your part, not faltering.” After Danforth’s response, including a discussion of the trials doing God’s work in Salem, Hale speaks his mind again and announces that Danforth is mistaken in his judgment. At this point Hale begins to realize what he must do. He must attempt to delay, if not halt these trials, in order to prevent people from hanging needlessly. Hale shows outright maturation and grows a backbone, so...
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...Nitya Iyer Mrs. Downey English 120 15 April 2014 The word evil can have several different meanings, such as morally bad or wrong, the act of causing others to reevaluate their beliefs and assuming a completely new persona, or abusing an immense amount of power. One can only vaguely grasp the term evil given the definition of it. It takes one’s own experiences to thoroughly understand evil. Evil is when one purposefully outcasts a mass of people as a result of a common attribute. It is proceeding to do something immoral while recognizing its potential risks. Through the voice of Elaine Aron, Zimbardo claims that such qualities are embodied among ordinary people put under various pressures to create an evil situation. These traits repeatedly appear among characters in both American literature and history in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and the events related to McCarthyism. Authority gives one the right the apparent right to demand obedience and expect the norm from “their people”. They are expected to use beneficial judgment and lead society forward and on the right path, but given power, leaders’ minds are tainted. People of authority are often given “responsible sounding roles such as “guardian,” “teacher,” [or] “defenders of the law” (Aron 4). This results in the manipulation of peoples’ minds as they tend to trust those with a name of great significance and respect. The society in “The Lottery”...
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...Morality and the Crucible It is said that everyone has morals, people know when they are doing something wrong but choose to do it anyway out of self-defence. It is seen everywhere people will lie on live television just to protect themselves and so others won't judge them. Everyone is supposed to know what's right and wrong but there are still areas in between where people cannot decide. The truth is right and wrong is on a spectrum some things are more wrong or right than others. This theme is found in the Crucible the moral that Miller is communicating is that not all sin and wrong doings are equivalent. In act four it an example of the morals in the court is found, while many women were hung for not confessing Giles was pressed. Another...
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...not believe that John Proctor’s design to hang instead of admitting that he was consorting with the devil is an act of excessive pride or stubbornness. I instead believe that John Proctor is the tragic hero of the Crucible and that his decision to choose principle over self preservation was an honorable act with the goal of affirming his goodness before God. In the second act of the Crucible, the audience first meets the character of John Proctor while he is in his home with his wife Elizabeth. The reader’s initial reaction of Proctor is that he is a benevolent husband as he states “I mean to please you Elizabeth” (50) and is otherwise kind and respectful towards his wife. However, as the act progresses, the reader comes to find out...
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...Fear can influence decisions and corrupt ones morality. The fear of death, judgment and isolation all have the capability to make good people do bad things. Arthur Miller portrays this phenomenon in his book The Crucible. In The Crucible there are distinct examples of fear debilitating ones ability to make the right decision. Mary Warrens fear of death resulted in many deaths. John Proctor’s fear of judgment kept him from revealing the truth. Lastly, the fear of the unknown, in the mind of the townspeople, set off a series of devastating events that transpired throughout the book. Furthermore, fear darkened their conscience, and as a result, self preservation became prioritized above all else. Mary Warren, naturally a honest women, wanted to confess to the dancing and conjuring spirits in the woods. However, Abigail disagreed and threatened to kill her and, consequently, fear overtook Mary until she was Abigail’s slave, or rather, a slave to fear (Miller, pg.19). Mary knew the truth, the truth that could have saved lives, but withheld it. She lied and became dishonest, for the reason that she was afraid of being hung as a witch herself. Therefore, she accused John Proctor, an upstanding man, and in doing so, she put him to death (Miller, pg.118). She was terrified of death, and Abigail made that horror something real that she couldn't overcome. So in turn, she took the pressure off herself and took a mans life to preserve her own. Abigail was a dishonest and deceitful...
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...individual conscience over religion is clearly shown through their use of Pathos and Logos in their books The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible respectively. I personally also agree with the argument in which they have presented. First off, Pathos was used by both authors to show their argument by showing how unjust the characters were treated to help make the reader sense the injustice that has occurred in the story. In the Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne showed Hester as a kind-hearted woman that helps out the less fortunate, but afterwards he would tell the reader that “If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter, and passed on...
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...Nwobi 1 Odera Nwobi AP Language & composition September 21, 2014 CRR #1- The Crucible I. Author/Introduction Arthur Miller; an American playwright, born in the early 1900’s, 1915 to be precise. He was born into a very wealthy family. He was not very wealthy for a very long time, after the stock market crash in 1929. He had to do odd job to be able to pay for his college. After college, he career was a little rocky after his first play The Man Who Had All the Luck closed after four performances. After a while, his show All my Son earned him his first award. He wrote over 50 different works ranging from plays, novels, articles. His best play was Death of a Salesman which earned him a lot of fame. Another popular play he wrote was The Crucible. This play was a reflection of the Salem witch trial back in 1692. He was considered a communist because he advocated principles of equality among the classes, and social justice. He was married three times. He was once married to the popular actress Marilyn Monroe. Arthur Miller died in 2005 at the age of 89. II. Vocabulary Gibberish- meaningless or unintelligent talk. Trepidation- trembling or quivering movement. Subservient- serving or acting in a subordinate capacity. Shudder- to tremble with a sudden convulsive movement as from horror, fear, or cold. Calumny- a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something. Titillated- to excite or arouse agreeably. Sniveling- to weep...
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...Relationships are a significant part of life that can alter your whole outlook on it. In The Crucible, there are a variety of different relationships, but the one most prevalent is that of John and Elizabeth. As the plot unravels one can see that their relationship is put under much stress. The Proctors clearly demonstrate that a couple can stay together even when life gets problematic. This is proven when John shows his morality, demonstrates his devotion and protective instincts, and when signs indicate that they truly love each other. John Proctor validates that his relationship with his wife can stay together through the use of his moral goodness. At one point in the story, he has an affair with Abigail Williams, their servant at the time. Immediately after the incident he...
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...Salem’s strict social order. The structure of 1600’s Salem was very religion-based as it was woven into everyday life. The government was a theocracy, the priests were highly respected, and anyone who went against the government was considered evil. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible unveils the realistic effect of social order on one’s personal freedom. Because religion was so vital in 1600’s Salem’s social order, the inhabitants suffered from a lack of personal freedom. The structure of the Puritan society in colonial Massachusetts served an important role in the setting of The Crucible. The...
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...The Crucible is an American Classic written by Arthur Miller in the midst of the historic Red Scare during the Cold War. Arthur Miller centers his book around these events through the context of the Salem Witch Trials. Characters are put to the test when corruption and deception seep into the little Massachusetts town through the execution of accused witches. Two characters in particular that are the center of the chaos are Reverend Parris and John Proctor. Both are credible figures in the society and are respected by many, but they have very different views in values and morality. They bring out each other's contrasting qualities and they play the central foils of the story. Arthur Miller uses Reverend Parris and John Proctor as the central...
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...The Golden Rule states, do unto others as you would have them do onto you. However, human nature finds it very difficult to follow this and often wants to get revenge. People want to inflict the same pain that they went through on others. Arthur Miller demonstrates this through his book The Crucible. The Crucible demonstrates a theme that when revenge determines justice, havoc ensues; this theme is displayed through the allegations that Abigail Williams makes against John and Elizabeth Proctor, and their servant Mary Warren, as well as through the Putnams’ willingness to implicate their neighbors. Abigail Williams is a narcissistic and manipulative character that is driven by her obsession with John Proctor. Henceforth, she tries to get...
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...a situation where reputation, and social standings are closely linked to religion, and an overall foundation of a society, morality tends to take a vital role. In the book, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the author is able to show a distinction of personal ideals, and/or moral standards of two men with high reputations amongst their town. Although initially protagonist John Proctor is portrayed as unethical, and Parris as a man who is moreso respected, the author is able to manipulate Parris as a character foil to Proctor, in order to convey the true meaning of moral integrity, and the value of a good name. Initially, it comes to show that Proctor may be considered unethical, while Parris goes on to be portrayed as a man who is moreso...
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...Biblio Service Michaela Haase Jackall, R., The World of Corporate Managers – Twentieth Anniversary Edition, Oxford University Press, New York 2010 A Capsule Summary of the Book This is the second edition of a book whose first edition was published in 1988. There has been no revision of the book; however, Jackall has added a new chapter titled “Moral Mazes and the Great Recession” to it. His description of the financial crisis brings nothing really new to the fore: it shows that nothing has changed in the aftermath of the convulsions caused by several occurrences of crisis in the financial sector or the business world in the last decade. Managers (of banks, insurance enterprises, of Enron, etc.) play(ed) high-risk games at the cost of the organization; they plunder(ed) the assets of employees and shareholders as well. If they win, they take all the gain; if they lose, they call for the taxpayer’s money because their organizations are too big to fail. They never think about stinting with their bonuses even if the taxpayers have to save the organization they work for because otherwise these same managers would leave it and so dispossess it of their skills and competence which, so they think, are badly needed to set it afloat again. Objective and Targeted Audience Jackall’s detailed sociological study of the managerial world is not written for a particular target group. As Jackall has clarified throughout a recent interview,1 his study is “part of a larger project. This is...
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...Analysing the Israel-Palestine Conflict in International Relations Perspective Introduction to International Relations Analysing the Israel-Palestine Conflict in International Relations Perspective Background Since the early 20th Century, Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting over the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. With the assumption that Palestine is a state to facilitate discussion, this report sketches out the most significant elements of the conflict on the three levels defined by Kenneth Waltz, and applies the Realist theory of international relations (IR) to the “Two-State” solution. Levels of analysis 1. First Level The first level focuses on individuals involved in the international relations. On Israel’s side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has an important role to play because he has the final word in all political decisions. On the side of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas enjoys an even stronger position. Not only is he the chairman of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), he is also the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PA), which is the ruling body for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. He does not to have to face elections as he runs an authoritarian regime. On the regional level, the most influential figure is Mohamed Morsi, President of Egypt, who is vital to negotiating efforts for the conflict. Egypt is the first Arab country to accept Israel as...
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...Mayorga 1 Shirley Mayorga Mrs. Conlon ENG4U January 6 2012 The Power and Destruction of Vain Pursuits in the Picture of Dorian Gray “In fact, despite his power of rationalization and the continuing influence of Henry. Dorian is increasingly disturbed by doubts about his moral freedom and stung by the pangs of the conscience that will not die” (Liebman 10). Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is centered upon the effects of liberty of the soul and degradation that results from it. If one chooses to always act on inner desires and passions, ignoring ethical values, one’s life will be destroyed by vain pursuits. Dorian Gray a wealthy young man has been challenged to “embark upon a hedonistic life, after having feared it for so long, developing every intellectual, aesthetic and sensual appetite to the utmost. Despite the look of his innocent beauty...”(Magill Book Reviews 1) Dorian becomes very vain with the pursuit to simply fulfill his desperate desires without looking into the ethical importance of his actions and thus becomes hopeless and defenceless to his own desires. When one becomes aware of the fear to venture in life, one will pursue to fulfill every incomplete/unfulfilled passion without limits. This in turn leads to an amoral representation of one’s life. For once in his life, Dorian Gray was inspired. He was woken up to a world of freedom. Lord Henry Wotton opened his eyes to a world of hedonism...
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