...In The Crucible, the town of Salem is in a state of hysteria as a group of girls cause many citizens to be convicted and killed as witches. Within the chaos, the court arrests John Proctor for being a witch. He is given two choices, confess and save himself, or be honest and die for it. In the play, John Proctor rips his written confession because of his dignity and the court hangs him. However, if he had chosen to confess, the fate of Salem would have taken a different turn. Firstly, John Proctor and his wife would still live, despite suffering jail time. However, he would be forced to give up his land and search for a way to live with himself, his wife, and his four children, one of which was just born. The biggest challenge for John Proctor...
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...The Crucible Act Four Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Where does Tituba think that the Devil is going to take her? 2. Give one example of how Abigail shows her dishonesty in this act. 3. What effect do the trials have on Salem? Use three details from the drama to support your answer. 4. When first arrives at the Salem jail, Danforth complains, “There is a prodigious stench in this place.” How might this line be read to mean something besides a comment on the smell? 5. How is Giles Corey’s character reflected in his death? Use one detail from the drama to support your response. 6. What qualities does Proctor find within himself that prevent him from at last saving himself and signing the confession? Use details from the text to support your response. 7. Explain how Proctor is right or wrong for refusing to sign the confession. Use details to support your response. 8. A tragic hero’s fate, according to Aristotle, inspires pity and horror. Name the tragic hero in The Crucible, and describe how his or her fate inspires both pity and horror. 9. People accused of being Communists had a difficult time getting jobs; some even moved out of the United States in order to try to resume normal lives. How is Proctor’s situation like that of the people accused of Communist activities? 10. Based on the conversation involving Tituba, Sarah...
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...hero is a person who has heroic qualities and is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force for doom or at least to great suffering. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Salem was in a period of time where witch hunts were frequent which created chaos throughout the town. These witch hunts often targeted innocent, hard working people who were accused of witchery with no actual evidence. As a result when this conflict introduced itself to John Proctor, he exhibited tragic hero traits such as pride, catharsis, and nobleness. Pride plays an interesting role in the life of John Proctor in The Crucible. During the trials, Proctor daily wages an internal, war between his conscience and pride. His prideful mindset is what primarily caused his downfall; a person who rises and falls because of their own ignorant flaw, which is the true meaning of a tragic hero. Therefore there are several traits that exemplify a tragic hero in John...
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...No, I do 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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...In literature a tragic hero is someone who tends to play a major role in the story, and eventually gets pulled into a downfall by their tragic flaw. In “The Crucible” John Proctor can be seen as one of multiple tragic heroes through his constant appearance in the story, and like any other tragic hero has a flaw leading to his downfall. Therefore John Proctor is a tragic hero; one of the most memorable in the entire play. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, would have been a community member who exposed John’s flaws. One of the few things holding John back from being the perfect hero was his past with Abigail. As a result of his adultery crime, John had too much pride to admit to the crime until Elizabeth’s life was on the line. Elizabeth...
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...Lauren Barash Mrs. Dachille ELA: Hour 4 25 November 2014 John Proctor Tragic Hero A tragic hero is one who holds a high status in a community. The protagonist habitually faces a supernatural force of misfortune in which they conquer and gain admiration from the audience. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was not the ordinary resident living in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. Salem during this time period embodies pure unintelligence. The community faced ruthless weather, deceased crops, and sickness. They didn’t know how these dreadful happenings arose. The only knowledge they had came from books, which did not contain the solutions for their troubles. The idea of witchcraft was proposed, and with this being the only possible...
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...Kantor Mr. Smyth 11th Grade ELA/WL CP (Period A) 26 November 2012 A Condemned Man’s Secret to Peace In The Crucible, set in the Puritan village of Salem, John Proctor is a conflicted man of varying emotions, and makes decisions which end up costing him dearly, unlikely for someone who goes out of his way to avoid trouble and being held accountable for it. One basis of Proctor’s guilty conscience is that he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, thus committing adultery because of his relationship with Elizabeth Proctor. Adultery, set is The Crucible, in the Puritan community of Salem, is more than a crime; it is a wrongdoing that has very serious implications and is punishable by death. With this guilty conscience, there are also witchcraft proceedings ongoing in Salem, and Proctor eventually will have to make decisions regarding taking the action that is morally fulfilling and telling the truth about the witchcraft trials to the judges. Although in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Proctor’s actions have led to his moral degradations and a heavy conscience, he makes the choices of telling the truth and doing what is right when he admit that he had committed lechery with Abigail, when he brought Mary Warren to the court with him to confess the truth, and by giving up his life in order to keep his name in good standing. Even as it goes against everything John Proctor strives for, he admits his secret to the court, just like he had done earlier with Elizabeth, thus subjecting...
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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 Arthur Miller’s drama the Crucible, the main character John Proctor proves to show a copious amount of positive personality traits but is sinful to one fatal flaw, committing adultery with Abigail Williams that he can’t allow himself to be forgave for. Though Proctor believes this sin has damaged God’s view of him, the character has proven to show throughout the play he is capable of reclaiming his goodness. Ultimately, in the words of Hannah Montana, “Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days.” Proctor realizes he doesn’t have to be a saint to be good. To understand how John Proctor reclaimed his goodness, the story needs to be set to when the reader is first aware of Proctor’s lost sense of goodness. The play introduced Proctor as a man repleted with guilt. Known for being highly respected in the town of Salem, he is struggling with his self image and sense of goodness, rightfully so. Following the event of Proctor...
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...One basis for stating that this film is unreliable is found actions characters portrayed. One case in the film can be found in the opening scene when the accusers along with Tituba dance around a boiling pot while a chicken is decapitated; in reality, there is no evidence nor recollection of this ever occurring. Also, the film states that this particular event was the cause for the entire witch trials but this is erroneous. Actually, the reason for the start of the trials was unknown until Linnda R. Caporael ,a professor of science and technology, proposed in 1976 that the reason of the accuser's hallucinations were caused by rye infected with fungus. An example of missed character portrayal in the film was seen in the character of Abigail...
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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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...LC Plays and Performance – Formative Assesment To what extent are the plays you have studied on this module concerned with issues of gender? Both The Crucible by Arthur Miller and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare are highly evocative pieces of theatre that have transcended the category of brilliance and have had a profound effect on the course of Western literature and culture. Both plays explore a broad range of themes, from the supernatural to comments on the power of religion in society. However, I have chosen to explore the ways in which they portray the theme of gender. Firstly I will examine the issues regarding gender in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in particular the oppression of the female characters. I will explore Shakespeare’s portrayal of Titania and Hermia and his ability to disguise the deeper feminist consciousness that is at work. I will then look at the way in which gender is presented in Miller’s The Crucible, ranging from the heroic depiction of John Proctor to the oppositional presentations of Abigail and Elizabeth. William Shakespeare is a famously suggestive author in terms of highlighting issues regarding gender ideology. Although in some works, such as Othello, he reflects and arguably supports the stereotyping of men and women, he is also seen to challenge such representations. A Midsummer Night’s Dream dramatizes tensions between genders, from a young woman quarrelling with her father for the right to choose her own husband, to Theseus...
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...Abraham Lincoln once profoundly declared, “Nearly all men can stand Adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in the early 1950’s, has an exemplary character that shows a defective result. Mr. Lincoln’s quote shows that power defines the strength or weakness of a character. As The Crucible transitioned into its third act, Judge Danforth, a round character, begins as a self-justified and aware judge. As the play progresses, This truth becomes an act to cover his multiplying flaws. In The Crucible, Judge Danforth had his power and authority protecting him, but let his foolishness bewitch him. This cocky and oblivious man ruled Salem’s courthouse. Originally the deputy governor of Massachusetts, Judge Danforth presumptuously took collateral control(Wikipedia). He started his tyranny with unjustly condemning 72, eventually 12 during the Salem witch trials(Miller, 1190,1222). Such unrequited power was abused by leading...
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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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...Crucible The Salem Witch Trials are known as a dark time in history. People were prosecuted for what today are thought as absurd accusations of witchcraft. The Crucible by Arthur Miller compares mass hysteria of witchcraft to the Red Scare during the Cold War. The courthouse scene in act three displays how hysteria can take control over peoples’ lives, which appeals to the audience’s emotions such as anger, frustration, and sympathy. Since the play is a comparison to the Red Scare, any emotions or feelings towards the play become mutual between the two. In the beginning of the third act, a man named Giles Corey gives a testimony. Giles testifies that John Proctor is falsely accused because if he hangs then his land must be forfeited. Nobody else but the Putnams can buy up the land, and so Mr. Putnam has his daughter cry witchcraft. Giles stated that he has proof of Putnam’s intentions, which was the word from an honest man. The judge asked for the name of this man, but Giles hesitated to give it up for fear of what would happen to the man. The judge would not take Giles’ word and threw him in jail for withholding information. The audience feels frustrated upon reading this because how can a judge not see that if the name is revealed, then that man can be accused of witchcraft just as Giles’ wife was accused. It shows the distrust between the court of law and the public people because the judge cannot take Giles’, a trusted man, word as evidence. Relating to a modern time, the...
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