...Dimmesdale vs. John Proctor Heroes are often thought as the superior and perfect people in society. However, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible illustrates that everyone, including sinners, can be a hero in certain situations. The Scarlet Letter, a book about the consequence and change of identity after committing adultery between the main characters, Hester and Dimmesdale, has many similarities with The Crucible, a story about an unfair witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts. In the two books, Dimmesdale and John Proctor are depicted as heroes despite their critical flaws in their lives. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller, the authors of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, portray contrasting symbolism such as hypocrisy and justice through similar but different characters: Reverend Dimmesdale and John Proctor. Identified as an adulterer in the story, Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy is clearly shown through the context. The story starts off with the punishment of Hester for her sin, adultery that she had committed with Dimmesdale. As Hester does not blurt the name of the child’s father when questioned about the crime, Dimmesdale as a Reverend, the holy man, speaks up. He states, “though [the man that has sinned] were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart.” (Hawthorne 58). He continues that the “silence” of Hester is just “[adding] hypocrisy to sin.” (Hawthorne 58). Ironically, his statements...
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...Authors and playwrights write their works intending for the audience to acknowledge a problem in their society. For example, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to express the conditions the United States is in. Fear quickly spread throughout the country due to citizens accusing each other of being a communist. Similar to the Red Scare, the citizens of Salem began accusing each other of witchcraft due to their own fears. On the other, Jodi Picoult’s purpose of Salem Falls is to entertain the audience. Picoult adjusts the story to adapt to the twenty-first century. Unlike the ending of Miller’s play, the film had a true ending. In both versions, the audience learns that religion corrupts the justice system; nevertheless, the film’s ending exemplifies that a society can overcome such conflict. Religious beliefs may be the cause of biased outcomes in the justice system. For instance, John Proctor, the main protagonist in Miller’s play, argues with Hale, “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never...
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...Proctor also having a name in society, land, power, and at first having fear of his social status but instead chooses honesty and integrity. Danforth's motivation is to preserve his status as a judge good in the town before the cause of justice "…, interfere with an exact loyalty to his position and his cause." (Miller 79) Parris's motivation continues to be his reputation. Proctor motivation is to save his wife. Their attitudes towards the witch trials are all different which is how they view law/order/authority as well; Proctor sees it as being extremely irrational but as for Parris and Danforth they see it as a way to bring back order ironically. Miller shows through Proctor that integrity is not putting one's life before group of other out of false allegations and that's what he shows through Parris and...
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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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...While the use of evidence is an important factor in the criminal justice system, The Crucible shines a light on the situation of mass “witch hunts” in history.The Crucible is an allegory to McCarthyism because they both use hysteria to put fear into society.The Crucible was a play written by Arthur Miller ; he wrote the play after he was affected personally and his close friend, Elia Kazan, who testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the mass cultural and political hysteria surrounding the Red Scare.This hysteria caused mass amount of public backing behind these mass “witch hunts”, against targeted individuals and industries. The individuals in Mccarthyism were blacklisted from Society which is characterized by the hangings in The Crucible, and the social hysteria of society being scared of witches or communistic ideas....
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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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...Sometimes people must risk their reputation to do what is right. This is what made John Proctor a hero, despite the flaws he had. The Crucible by Andrew Miller is a play about the Salem witch trials during the Puritans era. John Proctor is a hero in The Crucible because he believes in justice, values his reputation, and is fallible. John Proctor believes in justice for the people accused of witchcraft. He is willing to put himself on the line so others can be free. When John was at the courthouse, in front of all the judges—trying to save his wife’s life, he admits to his affair with Abigail. It does this so he can end the wrath of Abigail. John said—admitting to his faults “I have known her, sir; I have known her,” (Miller 1309). Another example would be when he is not willing to give the names of others away, because he wants to be the good person that he was always inside. He says when the towns’ men are questioning him for other “witches”. Danforth asks him if there was...
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...org/entry/Morality_play, November 21, 2014) Miller, Arthur, Robert E. Probst, and Rinehar Holt. “The Crucible.” Elements of Literature Literature of the United States, with Literature of the Americas. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 2003. “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched. Abby” Miller, Arthur, Robert E. Probst, and Rinehar Holt. “The Crucible.” Elements of Literature Literature of the United States, with Literature of the Americas. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 2003. “If the crop is good I’ll buy George Jacobs’ heifer. How would that please you?..... I mean to please you Elizabeth” Proctor hesitates to expose Abigail’s truth by admitting his adultery at first, but he determines that he should admit to stop Abigail’s calumnies (http://historyofmassachusetts.org/john-proctor-first-male-accused-witch/October 27, 2011 ). Proctor question the court and wants justice as he concerns about he worries about the innocents. (http://historyofmassachusetts.org/john-proctor-first-male-accused-witch/October 27, 2011 ). Miller, Arthur, Robert E. Probst, and Rinehar Holt. “The Crucible.” Elements of Literature Literature of the United States, with Literature of the Americas. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 2003. “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge anther” Miller, Arthur, Robert E. Probst, and Rinehar Holt. “The Crucible.” Elements of Literature Literature of the United States, with Literature of the Americas...
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...society. As the governor of Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, Judge Danforth was called, along with Judge Hawthorne, to deal justice and deal with the situation. Throughout the play he is made out to be incredibly precise and scrupulous with everything he does. Due to a perhaps pompous position of power, his attitude and demeanor come across as very stubborn. Nearing the end of the play, his mindset that any wrongdoing is punishable becomes applicable to him, and he is unwilling to consider the possibility he might have made a grave mistake. Almost ironically however, the real-life Thomas Danforth is much the opposite. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to criticize the McCarthy hearings and the hysteria surrounding them and he used the Salem witch trails to do so; as he saw many parallels between the two. To do this, Miller portrays Thomas Danforth, who, in real life, did not even sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer,(Linder 1) (A group dedicated to the prosecution to those accused witches) is a bitter, scrupulous, controlling old man set on keeping order, or, what he believes to be order. The McCarthy hearings were quite harsh and Miller needed a reciprocated leadership shown in the Crucible. (Lorcher 1) To do this, Miller bent the more level headed, genuine Thomas Danforth and transformed him into the domineering Judge we know in the crucible. While the McCarthy era and witch trails follow each other closely, they are not a perfect mesh. To add onto this, the parallels...
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...In this essay over The Crucible I will be talking about the concepts of weakness, courage, and truth that all play with the roles of characters in this story. These roles of the characters change throughout the story line and impact the outcome of the events. Weakness, courage, and truth were the main character traits of the story and those traits affected everything. First in The Crucible, weakness was showed numerous of times in many different characters. A person that showed weakness was Mary Warren. She wanted to stand up for herself and change all the bad things that the girls had done, but her weakness was being afraid of Abigail. When Abigail and the girls made it look like Mary Warren had control of them, Mary Warren wanted to be back on Abigail’s side due to her weakness instead of staying on John Proctor’s...
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...Putting oneself on the line, and willingness to sacrifice oneself for the greater good of the community is an attribute borne by very few people in history. However, such people do exist - and they are the individuals that transform the world for the better, through their unfailing belief in goodness. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, this elusive quality is displayed by John Proctor, and over two centuries later in 1955, we see it again in an African-American Civil Rights Activist, Rosa Parks. John Proctor is an honourable farmer from Massachusetts, USA, who after making the mistake of committing adultery with Abigail Williams, becomes caught up in the mass-hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Rosa Parks is a Coloured-Rights Activist from Alabama, USA, who’s defiance of American Segregation Laws features as an important landmark of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Themes such as justice and community, found within the play The Crucible and Rosa Parks’ story are universal, and apply as much today as they did in 1955 and 1692. In The Crucible, a single, small accusation of witchcraft escalates into a full-blown witch hunt, in which dozens of innocent citizens are accused and persecuted on the basis of false charges. This opportunity for allegations becomes a way for people to express their grudges and upset towards others, to show them how they feel by muffling it with all the similar claims around the community. Similarly, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat once,...
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...The Crucible, Red Scare, and Palmer Raids are all connected under fear and lies. Throughout the events that occur, multiple lies are created which cause mass amounts of fear and chaos. This chaos weakens the place, causing its inhabitants to lose sight of the truth. As time passes, the severity increases leading to greater consequences. A mass of fear can all be created by one person. The Palmer Raids were a series of raids by the United States Department of Justice intended to capture, arrest and deport radical leftists. The raids took place under the command of A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921, in November 1919 and January 1920. The Palmer Raids and these massive arrests occurred on the main basis...
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...world are witnessing others dying, whether it's a loved one or a stranger. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale begged Elizabeth Proctor to tell her husband John to confess to witchcraft, “Life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it,”(122) even though that might not all be the case. The statement is correct when saying that life is very valuable but wrong because there are principles that justify taking lives such as to keep others’ safe, keep oneself safe, and to protect one’s rights and beliefs. Countless of people can condone taking a life when keeping others’ safe is involved. One example would be to kill terrorists...
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...Innocent people die everyday. Some may have died because of violent actions, but some are killed because of a much more frightening reason: A corrupt court system. Courts are put in place to protect us, and when their justice has rotted from the inside, it leads to chaotic and brutal societies. One of these societies, Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, is described in the play, “The Crucible.” Written in the McCarthy era, this play highlights the injustices during the Red Scare in America. As history continues to unfold, more links can be drawn between the message of “The Crucible” and today’s discrimination. The allegorical qualities of Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” relate strongly to McCarthyism, but still have relevant connections to...
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...wrong, there is a fundamental thread that connects morality to everyone. Whether these morals are in relation to a religion, culture or the law, society has developed universal moral standards. However, individuals are capable of abandoning morality as a whole, resulting in significant repercussions. William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller show evidence of this in The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible, when their characters step away from their morals and carry out wrongful actions. Although the underlying reason for the characters’ social demises is similar, the motives for their actions are specific and personal. By carrying out actions fueled by revenge, both Abigail...
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