What do we learn of Salem and three of its inhabitants in the opening part of the text? (Act One)
What do we learn of Salem and three of its inhabitants in the opening part of the text? (Act One) ‘The Crucible’ sets the scene in seventeenth century Massachusetts, presenting Salem as the area inhabited by the Puritans, where Salem is established as a full theocracy, with religion in the forefront of the inhabitants’ daily lives. In particular, a few of the inhabitants of this isolated town highlight the problematic society that exists within the Salem community. The overture of the text presents Salem as a place engulfed by extreme Puritanism, with the text suggesting that even the whole ‘European world the whole province (Salem) was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics’, and this extreme turn of religion into a fully-fledged theocracy seems to be the case as the overture continues to describe how the town itself had ‘no novelists – and would not have permitted anyone to read’. The text explains how this is the case due to the fact that this extreme form of religion is imposed on every inhabitant, where not one single person would be able to experience any kind of ‘vain enjoyment’, even further suggesting that they ‘did not celebrate Christmas’. We learn that Salem’s governance by extreme religion means that even ‘a holiday from work meant that they must only concentrate…on prayer’. The land itself is explained as American
'Whilst we are appalled by Abigail Williams, we are fascinated by her as well'. Discuss
Whilst we are appalled by Abigail Williams, we are fascinated by her as well The antagonist Abigail Williams appals and shocks ‘The Crucible’’s audience with her manner, from the very start already embroiled in opposition of Salem’s common society and its members, remorselessly bringing down anyone that dares to challenge her, with numerous deaths ensuing. Yet despite this, she remains the same character who turns the tables over in regards to their supressing patriarchal society, and against all odds rising from the belittled position of an orphaned woman to one that dares to challenge the theocratic ‘weighty judges’, and attempt to break free from the extreme restrictiveness imposed upon females within the society. Abigail initially is presented as a flawed character, and understandably so, as despite her initial outcry that she would ‘never hurt Betty’, it is revealed that she is clearly deceptive when Abigail violently ‘smashes her across the face’ in a fit of fury. It is seen that Abigail does indeed have a clear sense of her moral duties, she becomes obvious that she does understand that her very intentions to kill Elizabeth Proctor are simply outrightly wrong, and yet she decides to ahead with this. She frequently exercises her expert ability to repel any accusations of this towards her, instead often pushing allegations towards the original
Examine "Death of Salesman" by Arthur Miller as a challenge to the American Dream
Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller as a challenge to American Dream To pass a laborious life and also die an inglorious death from frustration is the typical picture of the life of an individual in a third world country.But it is absolutely an unlikely happening for a citizen of America,the land of plenty and wealth.Arthur Miller’s Death of Salesman presents a very similar situation and thus indirectly poses a challenge to the American dream,that to be an American is to enjoy a life of plenty,equality and happiness. No American should get lost and die an unlamented death. The American Dream' is based on the 'Declaration of Independence': 'We believe that all men are born with these inalienable rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' This 'dream' consists of a genuine and determined belief that in America, all things are possible to all men, regardless of birth or wealth; if you work hard enough you will achieve anything. However, Miller believes that people have been 'ultimately misguided' and Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, is a moving destruction of the whole myth. The tragedy of Willy Loman, says Arthur Miller, is: “Willy gave his life, or sold it, in order to justify the waste of it…” Willy represents Every low-man in America. Hence, it is a tragedy of every American. The play is really a challenge to the American Dream because it is the
Article Analysis. When Arthur Millers The Crucible was being made into a movie, he decided to write an article called Why I Wrote the Crucible in the New Yorker.
Jake Renfro Mrs. Laurie Gill ACC English 3- Period 2 9/20/2012 Rhetorical Analysis of “Why I Wrote The Crucible” When Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was being made into a movie, he decided to write an article called “Why I Wrote the Crucible” in the New Yorker. In his article, Miller explains his reasons behind writing his play. In this article, he compares the mass hysteria and fear of the Red Scare to the fear of people in other historical events, such as the Salem Witch Trials, which is the subject of The Crucible. Miller demonstrates his purpose by using many rhetorical strategies such as diction, persuasive appeal that help the reader understand his motivation to write his hit play. Arthur Miller utilizes many descriptive words to receive the desired response from his audience. Miller uses diction right out of the gate. In the first paragraph, Miller uses phrases such as “biting irony”, “frigid jail”, and “inevitable as rain”, that all convey a dark and negative tone to the reader. In the context of this article, “biting irony” is used to describe how Miller feels about his play being made into a movie. “Biting irony” indicates that Miller is unhappy about the recreation of his play. Irony isn’t always used to communicate a negative tone, but when Miller adds biting to irony, he effectively creates the negative tone he desires.
All My Sons Act 1 Essay
All My Sons by Arthur Miller Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons" is a tragedy set in post-World War Two America centred around a seemingly ideal American Family, the Kellers, as they struggle with secret from their past coming back to haunt them. The play focuses on Joe Keller, who sold defected cylinder to the military from his machine shop in order to save his business . The story is a domestic drama as it talks about the morality of the American people and how the idea of "The American Dream" has been corrupted. Act 1 of the play opens with Joe Keller sitting in his backyard while reading the Sunday papers while having mundane conversations with his neighbours. The entire play is set in the Keller house backyard which compliments various moral messages of Miller's play. The backyard is supposed to act as a secluded domain for the Keller family to freely discuss private matters but we are shown how easy it is for other characters to walk into their property and that they could never truly be uninvolved with the rest of the community. The use of unelaborated dialogue and colloquial diction give each character believable and relatable characteristics and the mundane banter the characters have with each other establishes the characters to be ordinary everyday people. The stage directions that Miller uses are filled with symbolic significance with every dramatic pause or just
The Real Salem Witch Trials
The Real Salem Witch Trials Although Arthur Miller fabricated many vital aspects of The Salem Witch Trials in ‘The Crucible’, much of what we learn in the play is, in fact, real. There were young girls making wild accusations, paranoia and suspicion amongst neighbours, mass hysteria, merciless villagers, trials, arrests, pardons and hangings. In this essay I will explore the real people affected by these events in Salem, who they were and what they were like, along with the aftermath created by such tragedy and madness. The events took place between 1692 and 1693. Salem was a small town occupied by puritan folk. They were an extremely religious and disciplined people. The children did not play, nor did they read for simple enjoyment. There were no hobbies, no jewellery or make-up for teenage girls to experiment with. The women did not bare skin in any way or form. They did not meet to gossip and giggle. The men did not play sport, or stay home from church if they were tired after a hard day working in the fields. The civilians worked hard and prayed hard, and that was all. In mid-January 1692, Abigail Williams was twelve years old. Miller increased her age to seventeen in ‘The Crucible’, possibly because it was a more appropriate to have an affair, but there has been speculation that it was due to the fact he was having an affair with Marilyn Monroe at the time.
Explore Millers presentation of Proctor in The Crucible. How far do you agree with Proctors analysis of himself?
John Proctor says of himself: "What is John Proctor? I am no saint; for me it is fraud. I am not that man." Explore Millers presentation of Proctor in The Crucible. How far do you agree with Proctors analysis of himself? John Proctor is not a saint, however he is brave man. He has committed the act of fraud personally and criminally, however, he has confessed to his mistakes and is now facing the consequences. The main themes of The Crucible are deception and fraud. It is structured, using the conventions of the Greek tragic genre some of which includes harmatia, hubris and peripatea. Miller uses these conventions to lure the reader into reading more, as it makes the story more catastrophic and dramatic. Arthur Miller has used the historical subject of the Salem witch trials. The witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and were based on the accusation of a twelve year old girl, who claimed that she had witnessed a number of Salem residents keeping away from church on Sunday and communicating with the Devil instead. These people were charged with being witches and wizards, and were later arrested and imprisoned, which then lead to a number of hangings, if they did not confess. In The Crucible, Abigail is the teenager who accuses people of communicating with the devil and convinces others that she is telling the truth. Her age has been raised to seventeen, to
To what extent does the requiem in a Death of a Salesman enhance the tragedy?
‘To what extent does the requiem enhance the tragedy? Consider in your answer the way in which tragedy is presented.’ Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ is regarded as one of the greatest modern day tragedies, however it could be seen that the requiem reduces the overall effect of the tragedy as it breaks the typical conventions of a Shakespearean tragedy which lessens the audiences sympathy. The protagonist Willy Loman has based his entire life upon materialism, therefore sympathy is creates when only his family attend his funeral as it highlights his lack of achievements. Sympathy is also directed to less likely characters such as Happy who is fixated upon following his father’s footsteps, and Linda who in particular is a vulnerable victim due to Willy’s decisions, although now liberated, it also emphasises how desperately sad and alone she now is. Miller uses the requiem as a structural device to allow Willy’s family to reflect upon his life and the external forces of society that they blame which provokes an understanding from the audience. On the other hand the requiem could be considered to be an anti-climax to the overall tragedy, as the protagonist’s ignorance to others is highlighted which makes the audience see the tragedy as self-inflicted. However, Biff’s realisation of his father’s failure and extreme beliefs can be seen to create hope
Character analysis of Reverend Parris in the play The Crucible
Character analysis of Reverend Parris in the play “The Crucible” Reverend Samuel Parris (1652-1720) In the play... BACKGROUND: He was born in London, England, the son of cloth merchant. When his father died in 1673, Samuel left Harvard to take up his inheritance in Barbados, where he maintained a sugar plantation and bought two Carib slaves to tend his household, one by the name of Tituba Indian and the other John Indian. In 1680, after a hurricane hit Barbados damaging much of his property, Parris sold a little of his land and returned to Boston. The slaves Tituba and John remained a part of his household. Although the plantation supported his merchant ventures, Parris was dissatisfied with his lack of financial security and began to look to the ministry. In July 1689, he became minister of Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts. There was tension when he arrived because of him delaying his acceptance of the position, factionalism already present within the town, and his lack of ability for resolving his parishioner's disputes. There were also disputes over Samuel Parris' pay and once again, the town proved reluctant to pay their minister his due wages. This came to head in October 1691 in a town meeting where a portion of the town vowed to stop paying his wage. The issue was further antagonized by Parris' perceived arrogance when he purchased
What is it about the society of Salem that allows the girls' stories to be believable? How does Arthur Miller make this plausible and why would it strike a particular chord with his audience?
What is it about the society of Salem that allows the girls' stories to be believable? How does Arthur Miller make this plausible and why would it strike a particular chord with his audience? In the play of 'the crucible,' the restricted, rule-bound, Christian town of Salem was put under siege by the courts, who were trying people who were suspected of witchcraft, and then hanging them if they didn't admit to it. Abigail William's was caught dancing in the woods, along with the reverend's daughter. She lied, and said that she was being controlled by the devil, and that was the reason for the suspicious dealings in the woods. She accused many people of dealing with the devil, who in turn accused others, to get themselves excused. Only a few people stood up to the courts and said they had no dealings with witchcraft, and they were each hung. After the hangings had taken place, it was discovered that the girls had been lying, and the innocent people had been hung for no feasible reason. At the time when Arthur Miller wrote 'the Crucible,' there were current affairs which would have reflected the play. The threat of nuclear warfare was looming, mainly because of differences of opinions over communism. Many people were called to court accused of 'un-American activities' and persecuted if they couldn't prove themselves otherwise. It was a way for the governing people to have a