Explore the ways in which Miller builds up the suspense here and makes the whole scene so dramatic and so important in the play as a whole.

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Jonathan Holloway

The Crucible Coursework Essay

(The last scene from the entrance of Elizabeth to the end.)

Explore the ways in which Miller builds up the suspense here and makes the whole scene so dramatic and so important in the play as a whole.

Miller builds up suspense in a variety of ways. He uses stage directions to show the characters tone of voice because a quiet voice has a feeling of either calm or scared, whereas a loud voice shows strength and power.  Miller also uses stage directions to put across the facial expressions of characters, for example; when Elizabeth is informing Proctor of Giles Corey’s death, a stage direction says “He looks at her incredulously” (meaning uncertain, disbelieving etc) and facial expressions can be as strong as woods.  Stage directions can also be used to show what a person is feeling and thinking.  Miller uses stage directions in this way when Proctor, signs the paper, the stage direction says “a wild terror is rising in him and a boundless anger.”  Millers stage directions add another level to the play, they help you understand more about what is happening and what people are saying; they provide you with the hidden meanings, the key to the play; they also unlock the feelings of the characters, help you understand their views and the way they act to different circumstances and why they do so.

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When Proctor is tempted to confess, Elizabeth tells him that many people have confessed, this builds up pressure as to whether or not he will follow, then he hears that Rebecca has not, Elizabeth says to him that “She is one foot in heaven now; naught may hurt her more.”  This creates more suspense as he then decides whether to confess; I think the news of Rebecca and what Elizabeth said about her helped build so much pressure on John that he cracked.  He changes his mind because he thinks he would be selling his friends by saying he ...

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