I will firstly start with how mood, tension and suspense are built up in this scene. The scene has several different employments of mood. They’re in anger, happiness, and depression. When Mr Hale arrives there is a sense of shock between Mr and Mrs Proctor, ‘why, Mr Hale!’ They are know to be amazed, since they did not know why Reverend Hale had visited the Proctors at this time of the evening. John Proctor is identified as nervous, ‘we are not used to visitors after dark, but you’re welcome here.’ When Hale enters Miller is commencing timing and pace. Soon Arthur Miller introduces the element of suspense and tension in the room, as the scene breaks into silence and pauses. This will let the audience suspect and accumulate various effects that are about to happen.
The scene has a twisted turn as the room breaks the silence and goes in to the mood of being in shock, ‘Rebecca’s charged!’ The act gradually picks up. The main subject of the act does not get exposed very quickly; the author tends to use the component of suspense of why Mr Hale had visited the Proctors this late at night. The writer does provide the audience with various clues through the scene. Throughout the act there are shocked characters, and frightened people. This will show the spectators the pain the actors are in. The scene has a miserable ending as Goody Proctor is accused of witchery, but there is a violent reaction from John Proctor, making the act be a smidgen more vigorous and it also presents more anger into the act. There are longer sentences in the act making it have a lot of tension build up, ‘no man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village.’
Next I will converse about the how Arthur Miller used the words, actions and pauses to introduce the emotions and feelings of the character. At the beginning of the scene there is slow and calm mood, with a nervous sentiment from the Proctors. This is because they are wondering why Mr Hale had come to their house. Soon the act comes to suspicions of John Proctor, ‘ what’s your suspicion, Mr Hale?’ The suspicion is because they are worried if John Proctor is a true man of his religion or not. The truth is revealed when Reverend Hale demands that Mr Proctor should recite his commandments, ‘do you know your commandments?’
There is hesitation from Proctor when he has to say it. He notifies them all except one, but soon Elizabeth reminds him about adultery, ‘adultery, John.’ The audience knows instantly why Proctor did not remember the adultery because he had sex with Abigail. This is enrolled into the play as dramatic irony. This will be known as Arthur Millers use of language. As these progresses I will now start to talk about the language of the characters. The language tends to be slow and tedious, until there is excitement in the act. Then the voice of the character rises and the language has a touch of anger. The conversation between John and Elizabeth Proctor is friendly and even at times ordinary, but there is a significant subtext of tension that remains between the couple that is certainly caused by Proctor's affair with Abigail Williams.
Miller creates an atmosphere of guilt within the Proctors household that gives us the feelings of the conditions within the larger Puritan society. John Proctor has expressed regret for his betrayal and asked for forgiveness. The Proctors marriage is inactive, as the weight of John's adultery is a continuous thought. Miller demonstrates this, in particular, when Proctor states the Ten Commandments; while John, likely motivated by guilt, wishes to forget the commandment against adultery, it is Elizabeth who offers him a sharp reminder, ‘you see sir between the two of us we do know them all.’ Miller seems to indicate that, like the rest of their Puritan society, the Proctors need an exit to give back John's sins and without this means for free they are committed to a continuous obsession with the husband's disloyalty.
Two major themes emerge in the second act of The Crucible. These are moments of a particular impact that constructs the act to be so important. The first of these is the line between public and private. The chapter itself moves from the close conversation between husband and wife to more public matters, but the division between these two subjects becomes obscure. Even in setting, the public discussions of the Proctors’ guilt or innocence occur within the home. More importantly, Reverend Hale and the other court officials use private information for their public matters, such as information about the incidence with which they attend church and their belief in the strength of witches. The court officials investigate all aspects of the suspects' private lives. Under such intense scrutiny, these officials are able to find any information that may be interpreted as evidence of guilt.
The second major theme is Mary Warren's poppet. Although Miller makes it clear to the audience that Proctor did not use the poppet as a charm against Abigail Williams, its presence in the house certain indication to this conclusion, ‘you see it, sir it is a needle.’ This indicates voodoo. The poppet demonstrates that Abigail Williams is more villainous than earlier specified. In the first act she behaved solely out of self-interest. She was ready to do harm to others, but only to save herself. However, in this instance she purposely frames Elizabeth Proctor out of revenge, planting the poppet as a means to get Elizabeth's murder. This event even serves to break the exterior of Elizabeth Proctor, who thinks that Abigail must be ‘ripped out of the world.’
Miller creates a situation of irony in this chapter with the arrest of Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor. These characters are the most upright in the play, yet are accused of witchcraft by the two most immoral, Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams. The dynamic of the witchcraft frenzies has created a situation in which the accuser of witchcraft is automatically presumed holy, as John Proctor notes, while even the most spiritual character may be suspected of a satanic alliance. In this situation the evil person of Salem may raise their reputations at the expense of the good.
An additional irony that Miller constructs in the act is in the plot structure. The Proctors and their allies can rely on a single person to save themselves from Abigail Williams' treachery. Yet this person, Mary Warren, is the weakest and most bendable character in The Crucible. She alone has the power to stop the panic of the witchcraft trials. Mary requires intense bullying from John Proctor to even consider admitting to the lie in court. However, despite her weakness Mary Warren is as dangerous as Abigail, for the honest girl betrays none of Abigail's nasty bearing and thus appears more openly innocent.
She is a pawn who may be used by the Proctors to prove their innocence, ‘why, she done it herself! I hope you’re not taking this for proof, Mister!’ but Miller predicts that Mary Warren may be used by Abigail to serve her own purposes. When Mary Warren is convened for, she approaches out and articulates with a fright ness in her tone of voice. She is known to be feeble, and she is frightened when she is questioned about the poppet. She straightaway has denial, but the audience knows she is an accomplice of Abigail, ‘what poppet’s that, sir?’ Soon Mary reveals that Abigail made her do it; making her seem innocent, ‘ask Abby, Abby sat beside me when I made it.’
Among the characters in the play, it is Reverend Hale who demonstrates the most famous character development. While the other characters remain fixed in their particular duty and beliefs, Hale demonstrates the weakening effects of the witchcraft trials by the change in his character. Hale appears more hesitant about the results, ‘I know nothing of it. When were she charged.’ He demonstrates a strong feeling of guilt for his actions, as shown by his trust on what he grasps as certain evidence. Arthur Miller makes Hale to play only a passive role in the events without any feeling of personal responsibility. Hale's growing disappointment indicates his later denial of the court's actions. Arthur Miller enrols various diverse constituents into the act, such as language, character, suspense and emotions.
This act has significance to the play as a whole. It sets the whole plot to the play. Without this act there will be no scheme and Proctor would not be the main character. This is because if Elizabeth was not accused then there is in no point for John Proctor to be hanged, or go to court with Mary Warren and prove Elizabeth’s innocence. Arthur Miller intended to create jealousy between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. This constructs the storyline to the play, additionally it is supplementary dramatic. John Proctor is fought for affection between Abigail and Elizabeth. Abigail already seduced him like a stallion, but Elizabeth gave him love.
The love and caring given between husband and wife formulates covetousness in Abigail. Moreover, Abigail devises the strategy with the poppet to indict Elizabeth of witchcraft. After getting Elizabeth out of the way she presumed John Proctor can be hers, but she was wrong, since John fought in court for Elizabeth’s freedom. Mary Warren was drawn into the scheme as well, making this act very imperative to the play as a whole. Mr Hale arriving into the scene makes further exhilaration, and setting the storyline. Arthur Miller created this scene to be sluggish, and nervous for the audience and actors. This approach provides more pauses, and also the language has themes. Suspense is built up throughout the act. Emotions and moods can be employed to bestow a more perspective act to the play. This act is one of the key scenes in the play as a whole. It furnishes implication to the play and establishes a mixture of different moods, emotions, languages, characters, and has a lot of moments of a meticulous impact.
