...The Crucible in that it shows how that people have the tendency to lie and be deceitful. For instance, Abigail ends up getting eighteen people hanged when she lies about “drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife” (p. 12) and “never saw no spirits” (p. 54). Furthermore, the book shows how doing the right thing leads to dignity when John Proctor will not “lie and sign [him]self to lies” and hangs innocently. Finally, it shows how dark Judge Danforth’s lies are when he says “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just” (p. 80). The Crucible shows how it is a human tendency to lie and not have much integrity. Greed is the second most important theme in The Crucible and is apparent through many of the main character’s motives. For instance, Abigail shows greed and jealousy when she tells John Proctor “I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be” (p. 14), which shows how she is jealous of Proctor’s wife and is greedy in trying to get Proctor. In addition, greed is revealed in Parris when he asks, “where is my wood?” (p.16) and when he says I am paid little” (p.17). Furthermore, Putnam and Proctor fight over a “tract of land” (p. 18) and Putnam starts accusing innocent people of witchcraft in order to gain their land, which shows how greed only makes people do evil. Miller shows how greed is a instinctive trait in humans in his play The Crucible. Respect is the last theme that is important in The Crucible. Everything...
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...The Crucible Act Three Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Describe one piece of evidence that Giles, Francis, or Proctor bring before the court to show that the girls are lying. 2. What does Abigail do to distract Danforth from Hale’s accusations that she is lying? 3. How does Hale show that he believes that the court is not doing the right thing? Use three details from the text in your response. 4. Danforth explains that “. . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” What conclusion can you draw about Danforth’s character from this line? 5. How does Hale excuse Elizabeth’s lie about Abigail’s affair with Proctor? 6. Danforth explains that witchcraft is an invisible crime and that only the victims are reliable. How does his philosophy flame the hysteria? Use details from the drama to support your response. 7. How do Hale and Parris try to thwart each other, or act as foils, in regards to Danforth and the court? Use details from the drama to support your response. 8. Describe the point at which you think the plot reaches its highest intensity, or climax. 9. After the outbreak in court, Mr. Danforth makes the following short statement to Mr. Hale: I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale! In your own words, describe what Mr. Hale has said or done to instigate Mr. Danforth’s...
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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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...Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” is about the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. The conflict arose after many young girls went around accusing people of witchcraft. As fingers were pointed and accusations were made, many people were put on trial and hanged to death. One of the characters in the play who is put on trial is John Proctor. Proctor is a highly respected individual who is proud of his good name. As the story of the play develops, secrets of John's past are leaked and threaten to ruin his reputation. However, Proctor refuses to lose his integrity. To combat the accusations made against him, Proctor displays characteristics of honesty, bravery, and dignity....
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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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...People can better understand human nature from Studying The Crucible. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller there is a group of girls and one of them in Abigail who is the main antagonist in the story. The group of girls was seen in the woods doing “witchcraft”. Abigail and the girls are accused of witchcraft. The group of girls start to name other women in the town like John Proctor's wife. Abigail picks her mainly because she wants John Proctor for herself since John and Abigail had an affair previously. Now the girls accuse other people in the town to draw less attention to them and try to keep their names good. By studying The Crucible and other resources people can better understand that people are greedy and are quick to blame. In “The...
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...Uncontrolled Excitement in an Authoritative Society The 1600s in New England represented a time of fear and suspicion that culminated in the persecution of those considered blasphemous as witches. Through The Crucible, Arthur Miller describes the irrational behaviour of people in “all classes”(Miller 7) from Salem, Massachusetts during this time of misdemeanor. Many characters throughout the play incriminate others due to bitterness and jealousy. For instance, Abigail indicted her former lover, John Proctor’s, wife. Ultimately the corrupted men and women of Salem reached their goal of hanging the pure, which leads to hysteria amongst the townsfolk. Although John Proctor begins the play as an ambivalent and uncertain man, who is paralyzed...
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...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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...The Crucible, is a play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials, which occured in the early 1690s in Massachusetts. Throughout the historical play, Miller shows many different characters, but some, like Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor are easily comparable. Although Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams are distinguishable when it comes to morals and views of religion, there are a few similarities, like their love of John Proctor and their hatred for each other that make them so alike. Elizabeth and Abigail have many different beliefs in the way they live their lives. Unlike Elizabeth, Abigail is very manipulative and rude to the people she talks to. People in the town are scared of her because she is accusing people of witchcraft....
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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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...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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...“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” - Joseph Conrad In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the whole town is captivated by paranoia. This play is based on the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in a small Puritan town in Massachusetts. When a young girl named Betty Parris falls ill, the entire village suspects witchcraft. Even though Betty’s cousin, Abigail Williams, recognizes that the illness is the result of fear and not black magic, she begins blaming innocent people of collaborating with the devil. This quote by Joseph Conrad expresses his thought that a supernatural source of evil is not necessary and that humankind is entirely capable of the depravity in...
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...In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is accused of witchcraft which later in the book caused his death. The book is about how in Salem the false accusations witchcraft is frowned upon which resulted in the deaths of the many innocent people. John Proctor’s life throughout the book relates to Arthur Miller real life in many ways. Arthor Miller explains how Marilyn Monroe had made a big impact on his life and how he’s in love. His situation in all this is that he was basically having an affair with Marilyn even though he had a wife. His actions were that he left his wife for Marilyn and his beliefs are that he realized he was doing wrong. In The Crucible, John Proctor is similar to him in a way by how he had an affair with...
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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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...inspired men to do both great and terrible things. Men have gone to war in the name of honor, and killed to defend it, and evolving honor sometimes induces a change in societal structure. John Proctor from Arthur Miller’s Crucible and Will Kane from Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon exemplify honor’s ability to incite change. Both Proctor and Kane are portrayed as both honorable and influential men in their respective towns. Their actions motivated by their individual codes of honor allow Proctor and Kane to spark change their communities. Proctor’s honor leads him to sacrifice himself, inciting change in his community, and ending the Salem witch trials. Proctor’s code of honor is built around...
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