...During the Crucible there were many different, complex ideas and questioning of the characters’ own ethical values. Of these, I have chosen to write about the topic of recovery of the charcter and reputation of somebody and how it was seen and used in the Crucible. Within the Crucible, several people hope to be redeemed. The forward most would have to be John Proctor. Proctor wanted to recover himself from a couple of different things, one of which was to renew himself in the eyes of his wife, Elizabeth, from the affair he had with Miss Abigail Williams. John tries very hard to make his wife see the contrition and forgive him for being unloyal to her. John also looks for redemption within himself. John can’t seem to come to terms with...
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...would probably enjoyed the play "The Crucible", in which, a man fights against a town, and the court, to save his wife from hanging. However, the reason the author Arthur Miller wrote the play was a little deeper than you might Imagen. In his essay "Why I wrote 'The Crucible", he explains his motivation for "The Crucible". In the essay he referenced "The Crucible" when he suggested he is having marital troubles, like John and Elisabeth Procter. He stated it was an act of desperation ,like John Procter's desperate attempts to free his wife. Finally, he said he found hope in John Procter redeeming himself, as seen in the end of the play. Initially, Miller wrote "The Crucible" because of his own marital problems, as seen in his "Why I Wrote the Crucible" essay. In the essay he states "My own marriage of twelve years was teetering and I knew more than I wished to know about where the blame lay."(Crucible Essay, 3). This connects to when John and Elisabeth Procter where fighting in their marriage; as seen in act 2 "I'll not have your suspicion any more" and "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I...
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...The Crucible and Honor With a story based on the mass hysteria of the red scare, and characters that are about as evil as they come, The Crucible dramatizes events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. The story, written by Arthur Miller, gives the viewer a glance into the lives of those who lived during the Salem witch Trials. It is dark and dismal and brimming with symbolism, from comparisons to Communism, to a man’s honor in his name. Due to false accusations, the lead of The Crucible, John Proctor, is sent to be executed due to his supposed involvements with Witch Craft. As many know the author Arthur Miller was sent to Jail for his alleged involvements with Communist parties and his lack of willingness to betray anyone involved. During...
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...Animal Farm Comparative Essay Rebellion, gluttony, and manipulation are all common themes when it comes to the struggle for power. Animal farm by George Orwell, a book which all of these take place is remarkably similar to the Crucible by Arthur Miller and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Animal farm, The Crucible, and Macbeth are all written similarly and revolve around the same themes, such that many characters in Animal Farm and Macbeth portray similar characteristics. Animal Farm and The Crucible share common themes and conflicts. In all three books the structure of peoples values change drastically for a turn for the worst. These novels and play all follow popular foundations of literature which revolve around inner evil, the addiction to power, and the loss and regaining of self-identity. Animal farm and Macbeth’s antagonists, Napoleon and Macbeth portray similar characteristics. Napoleon and Macbeth both share important roles in their respective books in that they directly influence and change the fate of many. The two power hungry tyrants go to an extreme to achieve their goals but in two very different ways. Napoleon a more cunning character abuses his superior intellect to deceive the other ignorant farm animals in order to gain power. Through Machiavellian methods he slowly begins to take over the farm by convincing the animals to be more reliant on him, ultimately making his self-proclamation of leader a reality “No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon...
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...What is the definition of a tragic hero. To many they would describe it as a person or character's basic goodness and superiority that are marred by a tragic flaw, that brings about or contributes to their downfall. The flaw may be poor judgement, pride, weakness, or an excess of an admirable quality. They recognize their own faults and its consequences ,only after it is too late(definition from book). In the crucible by Arthur Miller, it recognizes John Proctor as a tragic hero for the following reasons; he recognized his own faults ,was honorable, and died doing the right things. In The Crucible, John Proctor is a male in his early 30’s with three sons and a wife. He is a farmer and a holy man. Unfortunately, he is killed in the last act of the story. He was accused of witchery, by hateful...
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...John Proctor as a Tragic Hero In The Crucible, John Proctor is an example of someone who would rather live and end his life with pride rather than live with the humiliation. John is portrayed as a man with good intentions and morals, from the beginning to the end of the play he managed to stick with how he felt, make sacrifices for his wife to prove he loved her, and stay true to himself. Although, in the beginning of the play he cheated on his wife and struggles to win back her forgiveness he did everything he could, so he could gain redemption from her again. In the beginning of The Crucible John Proctor had an affair, the girl he had an affair with, Abigail, struggles to tell John that she still loves him and that they love each other,...
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...Divya Kumar Mr. Kirley ENG3U1-05 November.11.2015. The Crucible: Is John Proctor truly a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a person with admirable qualities yet they have a tragic flaw that leads them to their downfall. In Miller’s play “The Crucible,” the protagonist, John Proctor, is a tragic hero known for his good reputation yet commits adultery with Abigail thus making it a tragic flaw that leads to his death. John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is a well-mannered person that has a good reputation. John strongly believes in Elizabeth’s good morals by proving his honesty and bond towards Elizabeth and speaks up for her as he tries to get her and his friends’ wives out of jail. He tells Danforth...
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...Arthur Miller’s controversial play, “The Crucible,” John Proctor suffers the consequences of committing adultery. John Proctor has an affair with Abigail Williams, who is his house keeper. If John Proctor didn’t have an affair with Abigail then the witch trials would have resulted much differently. John Proctor goes against his religion, the Puritan way of life, and cheats on his wife, Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail. So now Abigail is starting to make all this remarks about their relationship back then but Proctor tries to deny every last bit of it and tells her that he has never once laid a hand on her and what not. It also seems that Proctor was quite attracted to Abigail’s corrupting personality when she and others are just “dancing” in the woods. “Proctor, his smile widening: Ah you’re wicked yet aren’t y’... You’ll be dapped in the stocks before you’re twenty.” In all this Proctor pulled a very foul move to cheat on his beloved wife, Elizabeth. Abigail is after John Proctor’s wife. Ever since Abigail’s brief affair with him, she’s been out to get Elizabeth, hoping to get rid of her and take her place at John’s side. Abigail tries to call Elizabeth a witch in the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail changes Elizabeth’s life upside down. John just wants to save his name in court. When asked to sign his name, he refuses. if he had signed it he would be basically signing away his soul. John Proctor conquers the final hurtle on his path to redemption. He lied to himself saying that he’s...
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...Women, throughout history, have been demonized and demeaned, devalued and defaced, defiled and denounced. They are often the antagonist of our myths, tales, and fables. They are the antithesis of the masculine; sinful and volatile, opposed to the heroic and virtuous man. Centuries of art, literature, thought, and religious doctrine have painted women as temptresses and wicked witches. The female characters in Arthur Miller’s 1953 drama, The Crucible, reflect these ‘evil’ women of myth and legend. The patriarchal, austere society of the Puritan town of Salem during the witch trials demonstrates the societal effect of centuries of female vilification. Powerful women have historically been branded as witches or accused of evil deeds as a way to...
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...If you have ever been in a situation where you feel torn between agreeing and disagreeing on something, you will realize that the world has a grey area. While it is easy to agree, or disagree on something, it is also easy to not know, or not particularly choose one. In Act Three of “The Crucible”, Danforth argues that the world is “black and white”. Portraying the world as either black or white distorts reality. Limiting people to believe that things are either right or wrong restricts humans’ complex mind. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that people have a moral responsibility. In fact, some decisions people make are just uncalled for, egregious, and quite frankly evil. No one has the right to hurt and harm others without some type of...
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...Sophocles, an ancient Greek believed, “Honor isn't about making the right choices. It's about dealing with the consequences.” The quote expresses how honor is more about accepting the mistakes made and standing up to fix them instead of living life to a perfect image. In the classic playwright, The Crucibles, Arthur Miller demonstrates the chivalrous actions of others due to the witch trials. This quote can be applied to the protagonist, John Proctor who shows honor when he confesses of being an adulterer and chooses to hang with his friends. Primarily, John Proctor is a noble man when he spills out to the court that he has cheated on his wife with Abigail. In front of the court officials and main characters as witnesses, he says, “She thinks...
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...In Elie explains through his experiences about his loss of faith in God. The almighty God of Elie stood as an idle statue, immortalized in a monstrous pose that can poise fear in the most powerful of individuals, paralyzed to cast judgement. As seen in his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel's faith becomes tested by the Nazi hardships he experienced in the Concentration camps. Prisoners and Elie alike witness the destruction of God's teachings and values. Elie prays and pleases with the almighty deity worshipped by many, but his pleas, just like many others, fall on deaf ears. The Holocaust and God’s infuriating silence no longer made Elie clasp his hands in prayer to seek spiritual salvation and redemption, and in turn condemns the silence of God for the Divine Intervention that stood as a taunt to the Jews suffering. in the end, Elie Wiesel retracts his spite for the almighty being, and thanks God for allowing him to survive, out of the many other worthy candidates who were deprived their lives too soon. Elie Wiesel did not only lose faith in God, Elie also had lost faith in himself. The Holocaust perpetrated Elie to lose faith in the altruist that he once was as the people he came to know and love lost the quality for the chance to survive. with the declining health of his father, he was beaten by a man named Idek, Elie initially was angry at his father for not working harder, completely oblivious to the fact that his father is working...
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...Self-preservation and the downfall of Salem Self-preservation is the act of protecting one’s self. It is often correlated with pain and fear and it is regarded as a basic human instinct. People often use self-preservation to protect their image and reputation in society, thus potentially having to lie and hurt someone else’s status in the process. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many characters demonstrate self-preservation to avoid the consequences of their own actions. This results in prolonging the witch trials in the town of Salem, causing the destruction of the community. Reverend Samuel Parris is a prime example of a character that uses self-preservation throughout the play to maintain his high position in society. When he realizes that his daughter Betty and his niece Abigail danced in the woods and potentially performed witchcraft, he knows it can hurt his reputation to be associated with them, especially if the rumours of their blasphemous actions are proven to be true. In act one Parris speaks with Abigail and says, “I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character" (Miller 11). The townsfolk already question his values and see him as an unfit minister for the town. Parris is afraid that the actions of his rebellious daughter and niece will destroy the name he has worked to build over the years and thus give the community...
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...JANE EYRE: HER PERSONAL AND MORAL VICTORIES All people live by their own codes of conduct. Everyone, be they male or female, young or old, has their own sets of values, which they adhere to and which are unchanging even in the face of personal or societal pressures and conflicts to give them up. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane is tempted many times to acquiesce to others' wishes and, thereby, give up her own moral standards and beliefs. Yet Jane remains steadfast in adhering to her personal code of conduct, namely to maintain feelings of high self-esteem, not to let herself be used and abused by others, and never to give up her religious convictions. Through many disappointments that she is faced with and with her constant struggle to gain independence and love, Jane never loses her self of self, nor does she give up her moral and spiritual values. Jane Eyre, from the very beginning of the novel, shows courage and self-confidence when she stands up to Mrs. Reed for wrongly accusing her to Mr. Brocklehurst of being a liar. Jane, a quiet, pensive girl, who until now took her aunt and cousins' torment without saying a word, suddenly could no longer hold her tongue. She suddenly felt a need to tell her aunt that as much as she appreciated having her put a roof over her head and providing food for her, her existence in Gateshead was nothing less than abominable. She says that servants are treated better than she is, and that Mrs. Reed was not keeping her promise to her...
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...The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature William Cronon This will seem a heretical claim to many environmentalists, since the idea of wilderness has for decades been a fundamental tenet-indeed, a passionof the environmental movement, especially in the United States. For many Americans wilderness stands as the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth. It is an island in the polluted sea of urban-industrial modernity, the one place we can turn for escape from our own too-muchness. Seen in this way, wilderness presents itself as the best antidote to our human selves, a refuge we must somehow recover if we hope to save the planet. As Henry David Thoreau once famously declared, “In Wildness is the preservation of the World.“’ But is it? The more one knows of its peculiar history, the more one realizes that wilderness is not quite what it seems. Far from being the one place on earth that stands apart from humanity, it is quite profoundly a human creation-indeed, the creation of very particular human cultures at very particular moments in human history. It is not a pristine sanctuary where the last remnant of an untouched, endangered, but still transcendent nature can for at least a little while longer be encountered without the contaminating taint of civilization. Instead, it is a product of that civilization, and could hardly be contaminated by the very stuff of which it is made...
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