The plot in ‘The Crucible’ centres around accusations of witchcraft. It begins with the idea of the girls dancing naked in the woods, shown when Parris is discussing them. The next key point is when Betty is ‘possessed’ so Reverend Hale is called to ‘exorcise the Devil’. It is then revealed that Abigail was dismissed from John Proctor’s service by his wife, as she was having an affair with John. Abigail and Betty then both begin to ‘name names’. In the next act, it transpires that there are 17 people condemned to hang for witchcraft, and that the Proctors are having a tough relationship due to John’s affair. Hale arrives to question them both, and towards the end Elizabeth Proctor is arrested. In the next act, the trial takes place. The girls pretend that Mary Warren is bewitching them, and the Judges seem to be won over by it. John, trying to defend Mary at first, ends up being accused due to Mary Warren naming him. He goes wild at the trial and ends up claiming to be a witch. Rebecca Nurse is condemned to hang, and John Proctor will be set free. After refusing to sign his confession, a lie, he is hanged. John Proctor is a strong character, a peasant farmer, and loyal to an extent. Elizabeth Proctor is a weak character, who doesn’t feel girls should have so much power to hang people. Reverend Hale is a sympathetic, defensive, determined character who becomes desperate as the play progresses. Danforth is a strong character; almost merciless, not prepared to buckle under the pressure of what was going on in court and is occasionally angry. Abigail Williams is a strong, threatening, character. She is imposing, intimidating, manipulative and commands a lot of power.
In ‘In the City’, the plot is much simpler. At the beginning, Paul and Jan are discussing the carnival and how they are waiting for ‘black bints’ they found in a newspaper advert. Jan becomes hysterical when discussing Belfast, as he is very tense. Paul is impressed by how observant Jan is. In the second half, Louis arrives to discuss the carnival. He is shocked by how racist Paul and Jan are, treating black girls as if they were animals. He then laughs at them for going to newspaper adverts for girlfriends. Paul gets very worked up about this, and Jan is reminded of how his mother committed suicide after being laughed at. After this speech, Paul is ‘beating up’ Louis, who doesn’t fight back. Jan is at first disgusted, but then takes the blame because he doesn’t want to go to Belfast for fear of death. Jan is a character who tries to be righteous and brave, but then his cowardice makes him kick Louis to avoid risk of death. Paul is a violent character who is very racist, and annoyed about being ‘left out’ of everything. Louis is a pacifistic, flashy character who is disgusted about the racism of the other two characters. This gets him beaten-up by the other two characters.
There are few similarities between the plots and characters of these plays. They are both tragic plays, as the endings are of death in ‘The Crucible’ and death/severe injury in ‘In The City’. One similarity is the way that the character Jan and John Proctor face death. Proctor must sign a form to say he’s a witch, whereas Jan has to kick Louis (although Jan doesn’t face certain death). The main difference is that Jan doesn’t have the courage to face up to his fate, so kicks Louis. John Proctor has got the courage to face up to his fate, so refuses to sign the form. Paul can be likened to Danforth, in that he wants to bring death, though for different reasons.
I am going to be playing the character of Louis, whose emotions differ throughout the play. On entry, I will be smiling, happy as I will be talking about the Carnival. The Carnival is a very significant event, in which differences of race are forgotten. I am going to portray this with an upturned mouth and a jovial, emotional tone during the speech. When I meet Jan and Paul, I will act in a happy surprise, so will speak with an up-beat tone. When Paul tells me about his eye, I will act sympathetically and speak in a more solemn tone, and then encourage him to forget it, and enjoy the Carnival. When he tells me that Mr Baker died, I will act surprised, and raise my eyebrows to acknowledge this. Upon the subject of the ‘black bints’ I will speak with over-enunciated sarcasm, before acting in a mix of disgust and anger. I will depict this by extending the words and ending the final word of each sentence sharply; the contrast will show disgust, along with slightly lowering my eyebrows. When I discover they found these girls in an advert, I will at first act as if I do not believe them, and then begin to mock them and laugh. I will attempt to laugh, so will speak as if I cannot get the words out properly, and will shake my head in disbelief. I will highlight the word ‘pathetic’ in ‘pathetic old shits’, to mock them, as I am really calling them pathetic. Later, after Paul kicks me, I will speak in a pained and pleading voice, and also in shock that my old friend is now attacking me. At the end, I will speak in desperation for the police to arrest Paul instead of Jan, and must show extreme disappointment and anger than Jan is being arrested instead of Paul.
The theme of ‘The Crucible’ was of fear and paranoia. A central point was the ‘naming of names’. It was a realistic play. This is because of all the props were there, none were improvised and costume was all period. It would almost class as a naturalistic piece, but the only thing that really classifies it as a realistic play instead is the backdrop, as it is only a frame to give the flexible impression of any room. The lighting was all very effective, and there was no ‘corner cutting’. The ‘fourth wall’ was clearly evident, as the characters didn’t directly involve the audience. This all led to it being a captivating and believable performance. ‘In The City’ may be a less convincing performance, scenery-wise. This is due to the limitations of the Drama studio. It is really a stylistic piece, because there are no props at all and little scenery. The only device used is lighting. The general theme of ‘In The City’ is also fear (of Belfast for Jan), although it begins more light-heartedly. The contrast between the more jolly beginning and the suddenly more sombre ideas beginning to creep through create a tragic effect.
In conclusion, these plays are both written differently. They are written for different reasons; ‘The Crucible’ to show the government as cruel, ‘In The City’ to show some citizens as being vindictive. The plots are very different, although are both tragic. The characters have some similarities in motive, but their decisions differ. The style of ‘The Crucible’ is realistic, whereas ‘In The City’ is stylistic, due to the limitations of the drama studio.
