Crucible Essay

Exam task
P.40 Beginning (He appears loaded down).... To P.42 ending (He starts for the bed)
Explore the ways in which Miller presents authority in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects.

Authority in this passage is crafted by Miller with the use of specific literary and linguistic devices. For example the use of stage directions and other characters reaction to certain types of authority play a big part in the way authority is either delivered or received.
Prior to this passage, Putnam, Giles and Parris are talking about wanting to get reverend Hale involved in the events after the girls had been dancing. Before Hale even enters the audience already has a sense that he will bring authority with him, since he has the information everyone else desires.

When Hale first enters in the scene, Parris is instantly ‘delighted’. Such a response to someone entering the scene shows a clear sense of relief upon the characters around Hale to know his presence is now there in the passage. Miller also crafts Hale’s utterances in a way that shows his authority subtly yet effectively. Phrases like ‘they must be’ and ‘we shall need some hard study’ shows how Miller is crafting these assertive declarative statements in order to show Hale’s commanding voice and authority upon those around him.
Other characters modes of address towards Hale shows their respect for him also, terms like ‘sir’ show how people are reluctant to get too personal with Hale and not call him by his name, rather they stay a little distant (like Parris, as we see he is ‘a little scared’ by Hale’s presence, Miller possibly crafted this stage direction in order to show people would rather stay a little distant to Hale because of his authority and the knowledge he brings with him).

However Proctor is the most noticeable character to break away from this norm, since he doesn’t address Hale with ‘sir’ he instead refers to him as ‘Mr. Hale’ perhaps Miller does this in order to create a sense of Proctors own authority, and will not conform to the same socially accepted rules as the other characters do, instead he deviates from these to display his own authority.
Throughout page 41, the pace of the exchanges seems to speed up with shorter utterances between characters. In this case authority is even clearer, because we can see Hale clearly directing the conversation in which ever way he wants it to go, even in these fast utterances.

To conclude, Miller creates authority in this passage through mainly Hale and Proctor. Hale in this case has authority because of the knowledge he has, which everyone else desires – in particular Parris. In this particular context of time period, the church was also a very big deal, religion and God was the main meta-narrative, there was no such thing as science and logic, so even more emphasis is placed upon the authority of Hale, that perhaps the audience of today’s readership cant understand as fully as the characters in the book. Proctor also has a sense of authority in the passage since his name throughout Salem carries weight with it anyway.