...someone of nobility. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 that dramatizes the Salem witch trials of the late seventeenth century in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the play, the town of Salem falls into hysteria after Reverend Parris finds his daughter, niece, and their friends dancing in the woods with his slave Tituba. The young girls claim they have been bewitched by people in the town to avoid punishment, although, the punishment then comes for the accused regardless of their innocence. A vital character to the...
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...may do only good work in the world, and yet to be secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you sir, I cannot believe it. This quote shows that Elizabeth Proctor is a good and caring woman. She is secretly worried about her trial during the crucible, and about her husband John Proctor. Elizabeth and I have many similar traits. We are both caring, loyal, and even worried sometimes. Being kind and caring are good traits that Elizabeth and I share. One way that Elizabeth is caring is when she looks out for John in the courtroom. John explains his affair to the judge, and Elizabeth not knowing John confessed and protected him by saying he didn't have an affair. Some ways I am caring is that I have a job at Aeropostale and I donate $1 from every paycheck to Aero Cares and they help people in need. Another example is whenever my brother or sister need anything I always get it for them no matter how big of a hassle it may be. Overall Elizabeth and I are very caring to others....
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...John Proctor shows examples of courage in the crucible. Starting from the beginning of the play to the end his charachter changes dramatically and he’s trying to overcome obstacles placed on him by abigail. Courage, weakness and truth all have a major part in this play here is how. John shows tremendous courage by trying to defend his innocence when the whole town believes the words from a group of young girls. Abigail blames his wife for witchcraft trying to win back John but ends creating a huge mess and eventually running away because she knows they will figure it out soon. It takes a lot of courage to fight for something that in the first place you didn’t even do but also having to admit to it in the end as John did when he signed his...
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...The cauldron The Crucible a play written by Arthur Miller is a story about the the witch trials in Salem. The theme of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is that dishonesty started and perpetuated the witch trials, while honesty brought about their end . The girls started the witch trials in Salem. Lies from the accused kept the trials going. The Honest brought about their end. The girls started the witch trials in Salem with their dishonesty and lies. It started when Abigail and Parris talking about, why they (the girls) were dancing in the woods. Then Proctor shows up and Abigail tells him the truth, Betty starts to scream and hale shows up Abigail tells him that Tituba’s a witch. “She sends her spirits on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayers”(Miller 46). In this quote...
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...People can change in dramatic ways when they go through traumatic events. Views and personalities can change as new things come to light and are experienced. In books, many authors can expertly show a character’s development and change. A prime example of this is in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Reverend Hale, a character in The Crucible, undergoes a dramatic and significant character development and change throughout the plot, which consists of being humbled because of new information and events, which changes him as a person to one who is more aware and logical. Reverend Hale’s personality changed and softened from the beginning to the end of the text. His initial mindset can be seen when he says his books are “weighted with authority” (Act I, Page 36). This metaphor implies he considers his books to be a symbol of education and, therefore, authority. With such a mindset, he likely is slightly arrogant and thinks of himself as a great religious leader. Later in the text, Hale says, “I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves” (Act IV,...
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... Critical Lens Someone once said “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing” meaning that when a good person decides to do nothing evil will succeed. For example if someone was getting bullied and an onlooker decide to do nothing than evil would prosper. This quote id false because there in no way to know who is “good” and who is “bad” due to everyone having a different understanding of what is good and what is bad. Some people believe that those who don’t go to church are bad but in reality many people who don’t go to church have better morals than those who do go to church yet the fact they don’t makes them seem bad. Another way this quote is false is that if someone were truly “good” then they wouldn’t stand around and watch as evil prospered. One piece of literature that proves this quote true is The Crucible by Arthur Miller through his use of characterization and conflict. As stated above the quote “Evil Triumphs when good men do nothing” is false due to the elusive from in which “good men” is used. In The Crucible Arthur Millers’ use of characterization proves this quote false. The Crucible is a play about the domino affect which wild accusations about witchcraft caused in a small religious town known as Salem’s Village. In The Crucible Arthur Miller shows that people are ignorant and only care about their well being. Arthur Miller shows this through the characteristics of Parris, Abigail, Marry Warren, and the town’s people....
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...The Crucible by Arthur Miller Form and Structure In The Crucible all the events flow smoothly from one act to the next. Everything happens naturally from the natures of the characters. The fact that the story isn't contrived, and even more that it is based on a true story is interesting. The result is a very believable play. Throughout each act the action rises to a crescendo and comes to a dramatic climax at the end, and thus ensuring the audience or reader of the play is gripped by the story throughout the whole play. The incident begins with the girls dancing in the forest and soon escalates into a huge witch hunt. There is sufficient conflict to keep the reader or audience member's interest aroused. There is a great deal of of tension and suspense in the story. It essentially covers basic human instincts and qualities. It depicts the human necessity for survival, and the lengths at which a person will go to save his life, and also the treacherous nature of many. There is also the idea of honor and truth. Proctor tries to keep his reputation but gives it up to reveal the truth. Through his struggle he achieves righteousness. All these things keep the plot moving. Proctor's relationship with Elizabeth can be seen to grow and mature. He continually grows more pure in Elizabeth's sight until she is able to forgive him in act four. Proctor character also attains a kind of moral supermeminence - He does not want to get involved in the court proceedings...
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...In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Self-Preservation is very common in the town of Salem. Self-Preservation is when a person protects themselves or someone else, whether it be by telling the truth or a lie. In the town of Salem many people use Self-Preservation to protect themselves from the consequences of performing witchcraft. However, others may use Self-Preservation to protect their reputation or image in society, such as Reverend Parris. He himself started, what is called a chain of self-preservation when he reported Abigail Williams and the girls performing witchcraft. This led to Abigail having to use self-preservation to protect herself from the consequences of witchcraft which later on led Elizabeth Proctor to protect herself and her...
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...Thematic Questions 1. What is a crucible and how is it used? Justify Miller’s choice of title for his play. A crucible is a ceramic container that can withstand very high temperature and is used for metal, glass and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes. Miller’s choice of the title “The Crucible” is due to the same reason as the courtroom being referred to as a crucible: using the heat of questioning and scrutiny, they burned away all the impurities, i.e. lies and half-truths, to get the purified product the “truth”. 2. How do Hale’s preconceptions influence his interpretation of events? How does his interpretation change? What are the implications of his conversion? Hale’s preconceptions has influenced his interpretation of events in that he initially thought that he had the authority over the town due to his extensive knowledge of witchcraft. He expected to find witches, however his interpretation changes throughout the play as he realises that innocent townspeople are being falsely accused, such as John Proctor. The implications of his conversion are when he encourages the accused to confess, i.e. the good people to lie, even though he believes that he is doing the “Devil’s work”. 3. Proctor calls Hale “Pontius Pilate.” Explain the allusion. Do you agree or disagree? The allusion is that Pontius Pilate was the ruler in Bethlehem who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at the order of the Jewish leadership, despite the...
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...The Crucible, a story about the wrongly accused being hanged for standing by their morals and the truth. Abigail and her friends cause the whole town to go into chaos as they accuse many people in the town of being witches, many lie and confess to being witches while some will stand by the truth and plead innocence. The play follows John Proctor and the question I will answer is if Proctor could be considered a tragic hero. One quality a tragic hero must have is a “tragic flaw” or a flaw that will cause the character’s downfall. John Proctor’s flaw is excessive pride, one example of this is his commanding nature toward his wife. He tells his wife she is being cold and she must forgive him as if he didn’t do much to hurt her but he doesn’t realise that he is the one at fault. Proctor also does not go to church even though everyone in the town were supposed...
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...“A man may be aware that there is something...hollow in his own way of life, but still lack the power to express it in memorable language.” (Prudhoe). In the Crucible, several people notice the obvious corruption that lies in the Salem witch trials, but are unable to fight it due to lack of power. In Act three of The Crucible (1953), Arthur Miller expresses his frustration at the perpetual power grab under the façade of justice. Miller uses juxtaposition, dramatic irony, and selective dialogue in order to show how when struggling to clear one’s name, cold-hard facts are often overlooked in exchange for the promise of influence. The purpose of the act is to demonstrate that in every play for power, there must be pawns to manipulate and facts...
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...In The Crucible many bizarre things happen because of individuals trying to get personal wants in the society. For example, Abigail Williams accused many innocent people of witchcraft just so that she could get John Proctor to be her husband because of the adultery they committed months before. Abigail especially accused Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, so that Elizabeth would be out of the picture. The society went crazy and many people were in the jails because they believed some people like Rebecca Nurse were innocent. The town needed to be restored in any way possible. Arthur Miller suggests that people must make sacrifices to restore society. How this town is restored is from the sacrifices of Giles Corey, Elizabeth Proctor,...
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...In the book, The Crucible, the entire community turns on each other, and almost all of the citizens are accused of using witchcraft. The book is an iconic example of betrayal that displays how far people will go to get what they want. In this book, that wanted thing was a man Abby liked and Abby's innocence. Not only does the book show how characters turn on each other in fear, it also shows how far characters go to attempt to fix it. This book in particular also has several characters sacrifice themselves for the greater good, and in this book, John Proctor is admirable in that respect. In comparing these two dynamics, we see how John Proctor challenges existing power structure, even sacrificing himself, when in contrast, Abby betrays societal...
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...Influence is unavoidable; our reality is not of our own making Like a game, reality is dependent on a set of mutual laws and expectations rule-makers agree upon and there are penalties for those who go against the expectations of the majority such as the loss of a “life” or “game over”. Some have a lot invested in the game- wealth, time, effort, goals. Others see it for what it is; a projection of our imagination with a subjective sense of meaning. This game of life is far more complex than any board game like Chess or Monopoly because it represents a reality that offers greater levels of intricacy than which merely mimics or replicates an aspect or semblance of life itself. Reality is transient. Reality is determined through the consensus of the majority and therefore is subject to change when the consensus changes, as happened over five hundred years ago when people began to realise that the then dominant view of the universe as geocentric as flawed. However, such change in the paradigm is inevitably accompanied by conflict as society divides between those who wish to protect the status quo, such as the Catholic Church which attempted to suppress the discoveries of scientists like Galileo, whilst others, like Shakespeare, welcomed new thoughts as shown in the naming of his theatre as ‘The Globe’ built in 1599. Shakespeare was a humanist who explored the exciting new possibilities presented by the rise of science in his society, and in his play As You Like It, Shakespeare...
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...strict on its people as it used to be. Looking back on the lives of these Puritans greatly impacts your perspective on society now. It also impacts your perspective on how we, as people of the U.S. in today’s society, have it easy compared to the Puritans that came long before any of us. The characters of this play lived in a completely different society, where religion controlled every aspect of your life. If you had a day off from work, then praying was the only way free time should be spent. (TW) 2. “The Salem tragedy, which is about to begin in these pages developed from a paradox” Act 1, pg. 6 3. “…slave sense has warned her that, as always, trouble in this house eventually lands on her back” Act 1, pg. 8 The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a story about the tragedies that occur in Salem. I would have to say that tragedy is the big theme of the play because it informs the reader about a true historical time period where many innocent lives have been sacrificed due to witchcraft. These characters enlisted in this play were once actual people. They obviously are now historical characters used to explain this one major theme, tragedy. Their lives best describe the tragedies that occur during the Salem witch trials. This introductory quote is very important because it tells you what the story is mainly going to be about- which are the tragedies of Salem. (DI) I have always wondered what my life would have been...
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