...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 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 this essay I will tell you about the choices and the outcomes of one of the people in the play called the Crucible. The person's name is John Proctor. The decisions he made seemed to be the right decisions in his mind. From an outside point of view I would have made different decisions. Considering the decisions that he made where life and death decisions, he should have thought them out more than he did. At the end of the play, Reverend Hale insist that John Proctor designed to hand instead of signing the admission saying that he communicates with the devil. I think this was an act of stubbornness. I say that because Hale was just going to make John Proctor hang the written confession on the door of his house, That was all that he was...
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...Authority is Power – Crucible Essay Is authority power that is given to an individual? Or must that individual earn their respectful status with no faults? When does the power given begin to become too much for an individual to regulate? An individual with a lot of power over a certain group or person may misuse their authority in negative ways. Many figures of authority misuse their powerful influence over other individuals which can negatively impact the lives of others or even themselves. A number of people with authority tend to misuse their powerful influence over a group of individuals, as seen in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Many characters with power try to maintain their respectable reputations but along the way end up dissipating the authority they have. Other characters misuse their positions of power over certain individuals for personal gain such as love and for wealth and land. Individuals with respectable authority tend to misuse their power in hopes of maintaining their idea of a perfect reputation. Reverend Parris is known as the town reverend, a title with power and high expectations. He has power over the town due to his title but he misuses the power he has over his slave from Barbados, Tituba. Once Parris discovered that Tituba was present in the woods with the girls dancing, he felt as though she were responsible. He used his power, as her boss, to threaten Tituba into giving information as he asks her “who? Who? Their names, their names”...
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...Crucible Analytic Essay “The Crucible” is a play written by Arthur Miller and is based off the Salem Witch Trials which happened in Massachusetts. There are many themes in this play but one specific theme stands out and that’s jealousy. Jealousy is a cruel feeling that can lead to many awful events if it is uncontrolled and this play has many of those events. Jealousy leads to many things in this play which even includes death. In “The Crucible”, the character Abagail Williams is a very jealous 17 year old. In the play, she dances naked in the woods with many of her friends to try and cast a spell on John Procter to love her and for his wife, Elizabeth, to be executed. After a past affair, Abagail is very much in love with John and tries to...
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...The Crucible Essay To begin with, a crucible is a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development. The title signifies the suffering and hardship that the town goes through. The town the story takes place in is governed by a theocracy. Everything that happened in the book, all the events that led up to the execution of many innocent lives and led up to the breaking apart of the theocracy that the town was used to contribute to make a difficult time or situation, which is a crucible. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts Man’s word is worthless against harsh judgment. With the false evidence and the corrupting lies, there will be only one who will try to fight for freedom and break free from the Law’s powerful hold. First and Foremost, Reverend Samuel Parris is worried about his reputation, and along with that comes tremendous paranoia. He is a busybody and has a sense of purposefulness. Parris is an immensely paranoid character. The importance he places on reputation creates for him a considerable amount of paranoia. This paranoia is evident many times throughout the play. In the opening scene, Parris is speaking with Abigail about his recent discovery of her in the forest. He discovered his daughter and niece dancing in the forest, an activity that is prohibited. Dancing is not only frowned upon but it is seen as associated with witchcraft. He is immediately concerned about himself. His daughter is sick...
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...The Crucible Essay In The Crucible , Arthur Miller shows unique character traits through the character’s personality, values and their feelings. Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor are great examples. Their personality traits and what they value are very different from each other. However, their feelings towards John Proctor are similar to a certain extinct. Arthur Miller shows the difference between their true feelings through their actions later on in the play. Abigail displays different personality traits throughout the play. She is a liar, a bully, and a manipulative person. In Act Ⅰ, Abigail starts yelling and threatening the other girls if they told what really happened in the woods. She told Mary Warren to “Shut it”(Miller 468)....
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...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...
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...The Crucible Essay “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller is based on witch trials in Salem 1692. “The Crucible” was written because of McCarthyism which started in 1950 and ended in 1954. Senator Joe and his campaign accused US government and other organizations of communist. Many people lost their job because of McCarthyism. McCarthyism and witch trials in Salem of 1692 are both similar events. Many people had their reputation damaged because of false accusation. In “The Crucible” we see John Proctor character go from being bad to an heroic character. He is introduced to us as a adulterous man, but in the end of the play he is represented as a heroic man. Abigail and her friends start to accuse people of witchcraft. The who village goes crazy about witchcraft. John Proctor decides to go to Salem and talks to Abigail by himself to see what all this mischief is about. Abigail tells John Proctor they are just acting silly and it all sport. Abigail and John talk back and forth and this is when we find out what...
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...The Crucible Essay John Proctor was an important part of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”. Towards the end of the book/movie he was falsely accused of being a witch. He had many conflict on his mind and reasons to confess and not to confess. Personally, I think he made the right decision in that time. I most likely would of chose to live, but I understand why he made his decision. John Proctor had many internal conflicts. Before the accusations started, he cheated on his wife with Abigail. That led to the guilt that was on his mind, when his wife was accused and when he had to say his commandments to Reverend Hale. Because of the affair, all those people were arrested and died. I’m pretty sure he found that out towards the end. Having all those lives on your mind is a very big conflict in my opinion. His own wife was accused. He wasn’t even able to see his last child being born. Knowing your going to die is a conflict itself. Having these internal conflicts on his mind made the story what it is....
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...Crucible Essay Suspicion can destroy because it causes hysteria and there are consequences for that. Rod Sterling’s quote and The Crucible are very similar in the way that suspicion ruined many lives and reputations in each story. The Cold War was a war of words, a war of suspicion, of hatred and power. Arthur Miller and Rod Serling both connect to the war in the 1950s in an allegorical way. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller expresses similar views about suspicion through the characterization of his characters. Abigail Williams represents the idea that words can destroy and cause suspicion. “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba! (42)” Abigail is denying calling the Devil with the girls in the woods and accusing Tituba of doing so. Abigail accusing Tituba makes the other girls start to...
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...The Crucible This essay will discuss, explain and evaluate the main ideas, themes and interpretations of Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. It will also explain and evaluate the language Arthur Miller uses and how it contributed to the overall success of the play. The Crucible is set in 1692 in the puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, a theocratic society, where the laws of the land are laid down by the church. The main idea running throughout the play can be viewed as a direct comparison to McCarthyism which was happening in 1950’s America, in which members of the general public including public figures such as Arthur Miller were brought in and questioned over connections to communism. This can be seen as a direct comparison to people being brought into the Salem courts regarding connections with witchcraft. It was not until Miller saw this comparison that he then felt compelled to write The Crucible as he now felt he could get into the minds of those going through similar circumstances back in the Salem witch trials. Hysteria was the main cause of nineteen deaths in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, and countless ruined reputations on account of Joe McCarthy. Hysteria does not just appear out of nowhere though. There are driving forces such as revenge and abuse of power that bring about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is paralleled directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly...
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...Tragedy and The Human Conditions Essay: Abusive Power “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. ” In a statement by Abraham Lincoln it is identified that the greatness of man is tested by how he utilizes his power. As demonstrated in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and The Time Magazine article Adolf Hitler, one can see how the abuse of power creates chaos in society. By analyzing the actions of the characters Macbeth, Abigail Williams, and the character Adolf Hitler, it is evident how the misuse of power will lead to the loss of structure in society. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” A statement by Lord Acton which illustrates that those who gain power ultimately become corrupted by it - thus leading one to abuse their power. This statement is well demonstrated in the actions of the character Macbeth, from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, in his rise to power from Thane of Glamis to the King of Scotland. Within the first scene of the play, Macbeth is given the gift of knowledge of the future, by the three witches, which he ultimately uses to gain more power. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis ... All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (I.iii. 48-50). When given this prophecy from the three witches, Macbeth utilizes this information, once he becomes Thane of Cawdor, to plan the death of King Duncan. The power of knowledge is...
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...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...
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...Media History Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.1.6 1.1.7 1.1.8 1.1.9 Issues with definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forms of mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professions involving mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Influence and sociology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethical issues and criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 2 6 6 7 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 19 20 21 21 21 1.1.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.12 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.13 External links . . . . . . . . ....
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