Post by raynamcginty on Feb 24, 2015 20:36:46 GMT
The Crucible Critical Essay - Rayna McGinty
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is a heart wrenching play set in Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692 during the time of witchery accusations. The action is based on a series of true historical events which creates a more compelling and disturbing play as the lying and manipulation is based on real human actions. Miller proficiently develops a thought-provoking theme of integrity through his portrayal of the main character, John Proctor and the dramatic techniques of characterisation, climax and dialogue. The Crucible successfully portrays the quality of integrity as staying true to yourself and undergoing selfless acts to protect you friends and family such as the kind John Proctor did.
The play tells the intense story of John Proctor's extreme courage as he tries to save the lives of his friends and Elizabeth (Proctor's wife), who had been accused of witchcraft, whilst staying true to his integrity. The turning point in the play is in Act Four when Proctor is accused of witchery but refuses to sign away his name and confess, staying true to his integrity, which eventually results in his tragic death. Salem is a religious community of "covenated Christians" where integrity is important both publicly and privately and everything is carried out with respect to the Bible. The witchcraft trials create a firery and intense "Crucible-like," environment, as a crucible is uncomfortably hot, claustrophobic so is the severly unpleasant court room as Proctor's integrity is tested as he tries to 'keep his cool'. to be in so to the court room in the church was catastrophically climatic and upsetting to witness. This "Crucible-like" environment is home to where a colossal amount of harm is carried out in the name of God and moral decency: "I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just." Danforth (the court judge) believes that he cannot excuse Proctor from excecution as he needs to stay true to the Bible and it would not be 'fair' on the deceased. Danforth, Parris and the Putnams are supposed to be covenated Christians and while they are disobeying one of the ten commandments, John Proctor is staying truthful to his integrity by not confessing.
Miller effectively uses characterisation and shocking imagery to depict John as a commited family man and hard worker in direct contrast with the 'integrity' shown by the vengeful Abigail, the resentful Putnams and feeble Parris. Despite John's affair with Abigail he realises his mistakes and wants to resolve the situation with his wife as he says in an intense conversation with Abigail: "But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." The horrifying imagery highlights how determined and serious John is not to fall back into Abigail's arms as well as how gravely he had suffered from his sins. John admits his feelings towards Abigail which shows his transparancy compared to Abigail's, the Putnam's and Parris' falsity. This emphasises John's integrity when analysed side by side with Abigail and she is shown to be exceedingly dishonest and spiteful: "she hates me uncle ... a bitter woman, a lying, cold, snivelling woman." Contrasting the two is effective as this in itself is a lie as we know Elizabeth is a respected and honest member of the Salem community. Abigail is a constant liar and shows a total lack of integrity where as John is trying to resolve his mistakes and patch things up with his wife showing his true integrity, furthermore carrying this central concern on throughout the play.
Continuing with this idea of Abigail, we know she plays an extremely important role in the influence of John's integrity. Through Miller's characterisation of Abigail she is seen as fanatical and exceedingly motivated within the entire play to drive a wedge between the strong integrity of John and Elizabeth: "I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now." Abigail, through her manipulative mind games, tries to force John to reveal 'his love' for her as she is a duplicitous character. John understands that he has sinned but now wanted to rebuild and rectify his relationship and true love for his wife Elizabeth thus showing John to be a man of upstanding integrity as he resists Abigail, knowing what is best for his family.
With this idea in mind, John is portrayed as a man of upmost integrity in numerous ways yet doubt is cast upon this when John is comdemned a witch under the eyes of the law during the first turning point in Act Three of the play. John's affair with Abigail is crucial as it is simultaneously his curse but also his potential savior in court as his spurning of Abigail angered her and gives her a motive condemn Elizabeth as a witch: "[Trembling, his life collapsing about them] I have known her" Danforth (the court judge) considers John as a lecher, which leads to him then being accused of witchcraft as a lecher is an untrustworthy thing to be. Here John has not been shown to be as sincere or genuine as previously viewed therefore Danforth does not see John as a convnated Christian like the rest of society. John has now admitted to breaking one of the ten commandments. Elizabeth is an honest woman and it has been said that she has never told a lie in her life. Despite this, she denys John as a lecher in court as she thought she was protecting his good name in the community. This is ironic as ulimately this is what got him condemned as John was trying to save his wife's life through his admission but it was his integrity in which backfried on him.
John displays a true act of integrity during the climax in Act Four when he makes a costly decision to rip up his confession to witchery. There are a variety of reasons as to why he did this, one of which is that John wanted to preserve his reputation and to be seen as a symbol of truth: "You would not, if the tongs of fire were singeing you would not!" John wants to die a man of integrity furthermore he does not want to let Elizabeth or his family down. John has a strong reputation as a hardworking family man and is thought of highly in the community of Salem and doesn't want his name to be tarnished: "because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in this life." John's reputation is immensely important to him and if his name had been destoyed by his confession being posted on the church door he would have been utterly devasted and distraught. John also wanted to protect his children and wife by keeping his good name as is completely against his children growing up in a world of lies therefore John's integrity evidently shines through.
Miller uses irony to contrast John's integrity with "the dogs" Danforth, Parris, Harthorne, Cheever and the girls. These men and accusers are supposed to be "covenated Christians" who follow the ten commandments, one of which is "thou shalt not kill" but they do it anyway in order to punish those who are condemned of witch craft, it is a paradox. In contrast to John's ultimate integrity these men are dishonest, unfaithful and demeaning.
Miller is successful in conveying the theme of integrity throughout the play through the use of dramatic techniques including climax, dialogue and characterisation of the main protagonist John Proctor. John's integrity and selfless acts are empahsised when contrasted with Danforth, Cheever, Parris, Abigail and the bitter Putnams. The play casts a doubt on whether religion could aid or hinder development within society. The Crucible highlights the negative impact religion can have on a community.
Word count: 1310
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is a heart wrenching play set in Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692 during the time of witchery accusations. The action is based on a series of true historical events which creates a more compelling and disturbing play as the lying and manipulation is based on real human actions. Miller proficiently develops a thought-provoking theme of integrity through his portrayal of the main character, John Proctor and the dramatic techniques of characterisation, climax and dialogue. The Crucible successfully portrays the quality of integrity as staying true to yourself and undergoing selfless acts to protect you friends and family such as the kind John Proctor did.
The play tells the intense story of John Proctor's extreme courage as he tries to save the lives of his friends and Elizabeth (Proctor's wife), who had been accused of witchcraft, whilst staying true to his integrity. The turning point in the play is in Act Four when Proctor is accused of witchery but refuses to sign away his name and confess, staying true to his integrity, which eventually results in his tragic death. Salem is a religious community of "covenated Christians" where integrity is important both publicly and privately and everything is carried out with respect to the Bible. The witchcraft trials create a firery and intense "Crucible-like," environment, as a crucible is uncomfortably hot, claustrophobic so is the severly unpleasant court room as Proctor's integrity is tested as he tries to 'keep his cool'. to be in so to the court room in the church was catastrophically climatic and upsetting to witness. This "Crucible-like" environment is home to where a colossal amount of harm is carried out in the name of God and moral decency: "I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just." Danforth (the court judge) believes that he cannot excuse Proctor from excecution as he needs to stay true to the Bible and it would not be 'fair' on the deceased. Danforth, Parris and the Putnams are supposed to be covenated Christians and while they are disobeying one of the ten commandments, John Proctor is staying truthful to his integrity by not confessing.
Miller effectively uses characterisation and shocking imagery to depict John as a commited family man and hard worker in direct contrast with the 'integrity' shown by the vengeful Abigail, the resentful Putnams and feeble Parris. Despite John's affair with Abigail he realises his mistakes and wants to resolve the situation with his wife as he says in an intense conversation with Abigail: "But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." The horrifying imagery highlights how determined and serious John is not to fall back into Abigail's arms as well as how gravely he had suffered from his sins. John admits his feelings towards Abigail which shows his transparancy compared to Abigail's, the Putnam's and Parris' falsity. This emphasises John's integrity when analysed side by side with Abigail and she is shown to be exceedingly dishonest and spiteful: "she hates me uncle ... a bitter woman, a lying, cold, snivelling woman." Contrasting the two is effective as this in itself is a lie as we know Elizabeth is a respected and honest member of the Salem community. Abigail is a constant liar and shows a total lack of integrity where as John is trying to resolve his mistakes and patch things up with his wife showing his true integrity, furthermore carrying this central concern on throughout the play.
Continuing with this idea of Abigail, we know she plays an extremely important role in the influence of John's integrity. Through Miller's characterisation of Abigail she is seen as fanatical and exceedingly motivated within the entire play to drive a wedge between the strong integrity of John and Elizabeth: "I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now." Abigail, through her manipulative mind games, tries to force John to reveal 'his love' for her as she is a duplicitous character. John understands that he has sinned but now wanted to rebuild and rectify his relationship and true love for his wife Elizabeth thus showing John to be a man of upstanding integrity as he resists Abigail, knowing what is best for his family.
With this idea in mind, John is portrayed as a man of upmost integrity in numerous ways yet doubt is cast upon this when John is comdemned a witch under the eyes of the law during the first turning point in Act Three of the play. John's affair with Abigail is crucial as it is simultaneously his curse but also his potential savior in court as his spurning of Abigail angered her and gives her a motive condemn Elizabeth as a witch: "[Trembling, his life collapsing about them] I have known her" Danforth (the court judge) considers John as a lecher, which leads to him then being accused of witchcraft as a lecher is an untrustworthy thing to be. Here John has not been shown to be as sincere or genuine as previously viewed therefore Danforth does not see John as a convnated Christian like the rest of society. John has now admitted to breaking one of the ten commandments. Elizabeth is an honest woman and it has been said that she has never told a lie in her life. Despite this, she denys John as a lecher in court as she thought she was protecting his good name in the community. This is ironic as ulimately this is what got him condemned as John was trying to save his wife's life through his admission but it was his integrity in which backfried on him.
John displays a true act of integrity during the climax in Act Four when he makes a costly decision to rip up his confession to witchery. There are a variety of reasons as to why he did this, one of which is that John wanted to preserve his reputation and to be seen as a symbol of truth: "You would not, if the tongs of fire were singeing you would not!" John wants to die a man of integrity furthermore he does not want to let Elizabeth or his family down. John has a strong reputation as a hardworking family man and is thought of highly in the community of Salem and doesn't want his name to be tarnished: "because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in this life." John's reputation is immensely important to him and if his name had been destoyed by his confession being posted on the church door he would have been utterly devasted and distraught. John also wanted to protect his children and wife by keeping his good name as is completely against his children growing up in a world of lies therefore John's integrity evidently shines through.
Miller uses irony to contrast John's integrity with "the dogs" Danforth, Parris, Harthorne, Cheever and the girls. These men and accusers are supposed to be "covenated Christians" who follow the ten commandments, one of which is "thou shalt not kill" but they do it anyway in order to punish those who are condemned of witch craft, it is a paradox. In contrast to John's ultimate integrity these men are dishonest, unfaithful and demeaning.
Miller is successful in conveying the theme of integrity throughout the play through the use of dramatic techniques including climax, dialogue and characterisation of the main protagonist John Proctor. John's integrity and selfless acts are empahsised when contrasted with Danforth, Cheever, Parris, Abigail and the bitter Putnams. The play casts a doubt on whether religion could aid or hinder development within society. The Crucible highlights the negative impact religion can have on a community.
Word count: 1310