An unknown author once stated that a cautious statement to live by is “If you do right nobody remembers, but if you do wrong nobody forgets” (SayQuotable). Clearing your own name after something traumatic happens is next to impossible. One small mistake is the difference from being hated and living normally. The Crucible by Arthur Miller paints a bright picture in our heads on what doing wrong may do to you in life and the chaos it shall bring. Arthur Miller also works in great literary devices. Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible is great literature because it has descriptive characterization, colorful imagery, powerful themes, and flowing figurative language. To begin, Arthur Miller’s characterization is detailed. Characterization …show more content…
Using both direct and indirect characterization is essential to give a story flow and not sound robotic. Arthur Miller does a fret job of using both versions of characterization. One example of direct characterization is Mr. Hale being described briefly. “Mr. Hale is nearing forty, a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual” (32). The book goes on to say that Hale likes to explore the imaginary world. The author described Hale directly by saying he is “tight-skinned” and an “eager-eyed intellectual”. He believes strongly that the devil exists being that he has said to encounter one before. He believes that the devil has many “lieutenants” and that they are everywhere. The characterization of Mr. Hale is accurate because he is eager to put the devil's helpers behind bars or to put an end to them. In other parts of the book, based off of his dialogue, Hale is very vulnerable as he is gullible when hearing accusations and court cases. Hale eventually comes around and is a good guy in the book. He tells Proctor to confess so he is not condemn which is a loophole found in a faulty court system of the time An example of indirect characterization is when Arthur Miller described John …show more content…
Imagery is what makes a person put a picture in their head when told information about that object. For instance, the description of a sight that Elizabeth Proctor had is very thought through and paints a great picture in our minds “The Deputy Governor promise hangin’ if they’ll not confess, John. The towns gone wild, I think. She speak of Abigail, and I thought she were a saint, to hear her. Abigail brings the other girls into the court and when she walks the crowd will part like the sea of Israel. And folks are brought before them, and if they scream and howl and fall to the floor-- the persons clapped in the jail for bewitchin’ them” (52,53). Elizabeth tells us how Abigail influences the crowd and how she receives support from the court and the crowd. Saying that the crowd “parts like the sea of Israel” is ironic because God parted the sea of Israel and witchcraft is against Gods teachings and Abigail is the lead possessed witch. Another example of imagery is when Abigail was accusing Tituba of witchcraft. “Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the doorway and not a stitch on my body. I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with-” (44). This tells us how Abigail again tries to get Tituba to be condemn. She gives us a good picture to try to imagine in our heads as she gave us details of Tituba’s actions towards herself in the nighttime. Abigail is a liar