The Crucible Analysis
Under Pressure The name Abigail, meaning "a father's joy" or "great joy" (Abigail) is ironic to the Abigail in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In a biblical sense, Abigail is described as "'good in discretion and beautiful in form'" (Abigail). However, Abigail Williams in The Crucible is a complete opposite to the definition of her name, which makes her the antagonist of the play. This play, set in Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials of 1692, revolves around suspicions of the Devil and the accusations of witchcraft. Abigail stirs up havoc in the town by creating false accusations and causing the man that she loves, John Proctor, great strife by ruining his wife's life. Abigail intends to destroy John and Elizabeth Proctor's marital status and cause intense fury to this melting pot of Salem. Abigail's choices may seem very tyrannical and malevolent, but she is merely a victim of her society. She is subjected to the unethical and licentious fabric of her society: the government and the church. Because of Puritanism, its morals, the hysteria of the Salem witch trials, and some jealousy, it has made Abigail Williams defenseless to becoming afflicted by the uncontrollable pressures of her surroundings and eventually loses her "name" to the town of Salem. During the Salem witch trials, life was strictly abided by and being a witch was considered to be heresy
A Streetcar Named Desire - An Analysis of its Imagery and Symbolism
A Streetcar Named Desire: An Analysis of its Imagery and Symbolism The symbolism used within a streetcar named desire lies primarily within its stage directions. Tennessee Williams makes use of figurative language when he illustrates a sound or a description of a scene and its characters within it; the language they use is enriched by figures of speech (most notably the use of metaphor). Music plays a vital role within the play, it represents emotions; and Williams describes such sound in a meaningful way, this is evident from the phrase which closes the opening narrative of scene 1 - 'From a tiny piano being played with the infatuated fluency of brown fingers. This 'blue piano' expresses the sprit of the life which goes on here' Here Williams describes a notion that the black pianist is totally immersed by the skill and fluency of his playing of the blues. He takes pleasure in it; his emanation of pleasurable sound signifies the spirit of New Orleans and how its satisfaction is the foundation of the city's cheerfulness. Examples of these are scattered significantly within the play. The 'blue piano' is a symbol of the heartless vitality of the old squares and quarters dotted within the rundown city of New Orleans; while the 'Varsouviana' polka symbolises Blanche and her promiscuous (and tragic) past. Williams also functions music as an indication of a change in mood and
How does Williams present the relationship between Amanda and Laura in Scene 2?
How does Williams present the relationship between Amanda and Laura in Scene 2? The second scene of Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie is mainly about the relationship between Amanda and her daughter Laura. Williams uses every way possible to give the audience an idea of this relationship, from body language, stage directions and language, to the set, clothes and props. Throughout the play, Williams uses images set against screens to accentuate the mood, or theme, of the upcoming scene. The image presented at the start of this scene is "blue roses", this being the nickname Laura was given at school by a boy she was fond of - "When I had that attack of pleurosis - he asked me what was the matter when I came back. I said pleurosis - he thought that I said Blue Roses!" Ironically, blue roses is more than just a name for Laura - she is portrayed as a rose, pure, innocent and delicate, and the adjective blue gives the impression of coldness, which could be linked to Laura's sad and lonely state. Laura's mental and physical state is central to Amanda and Laura's relationship, as it is through this that difficulties arise (although it is quite likely that Amanda would always be a rather demanding mother). Laura is crippled - we are given the impression that it isn't particularly serious, but conversely, nothing to be brushed lightly aside either. Amanda's inability
My Role ModelMy late friend Rita snapped her spine in an auto accident when she was eighteen, about to graduate
My Role Model My late friend Rita snapped her spine in an auto accident when she was eighteen, about to graduate from high school. Her graduation present was intended to be a trip to Hawaii with her younger sister. Instead, she spent the summer and most of another year after high school in hospitals and rehab centers learning to become a quadriplegic. When she finally got home the first thing she asked her parents was, "When can I go to Hawaii?" A few months later her sister wheeled her onto an airplane and they were off. The extended family was no doubt consumed by anxiety as they watched Rita's plane take off. The trip, they were sure, would be a disaster. As it happened, nothing in Rita's life after the accident was a disaster. Her quadriplegia eventually killed her, in her early forties, and she spent whole years of her life after the accident in hospitals. Rita didn't deny the importance of all she went through. She professed without hesitation that her quadriplegia was a "distinguishing part" of who she was (and who she was becoming). Rita was one of the most quick-witted and completely alive human beings I have known. Ostracized by her disability from the society she had belonged to, she set about "collecting" the subjects of her own society, and I was honored to become one of those subjects. For seven years Rita and I spent a few hours virtually every Sunday
Analyse the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller.
Antonio Masih 20th Century Drama Coursework: Analyse the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller. In this essay I will be analysing the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller. Before this can be done a brief summary of the play is necessary. 'Death of a Salesman' is about fantasy versus reality, which eventually brings about Willy's downfall. Willy as a character has too much pride in himself and lives a lie, unlike his brother Ben who is completely ruthless. Both brothers chase the 'American Dream' and Ben achieves it, because of his character described as ruthless. I will first of all begin by analysing the characters. The main character is Willy Loman. He is a tragic hero, who ends up on a path that leads to his own destruction. This is because of his flaws in his character. Willy has too much pride in himself and lives a lie as a corollary he is unemployed and his debts are raising. Linda is a humble wife and is the arbiter of peace in the family she is protective of Willy and stands in between Willy and her sons to ease tension. She realises Willy is now old and tired and desires the family to be happy, which is impossible because of financial problems. Confuting this, Willy had an affair with a woman he met on a business trip and was caught by Biff. This reveals Willy's character to
A View From the Bridge - All My Sons - Examine the role of Alfieri, its dramatic impact, and its contribution to the play.
A View From the Bridge - All My Sons Examine the role of Alfieri, its dramatic impact, and its contribution to the play Many hundreds of years ago, the ancient Greeks produced the first theatre. This theatre, at first, had no actors, and the numerous chorus figures told the whole story, which was usually a tragedy. Later, in the 6th century B.C, the actor was introduced. The chorus figure was still in plays - but now he commented on the action, divided it into scenes and linked these scenes together by covering any action that the audience didn't see during a time gap. He represents sanity, reason and compassion in modern plays. In 'A View From The Bridge', Alfieri represents this choric figure. The choric figure usually talks more standard English, and this is true in this play, where Alfieri is much more articulate than most of the characters. A View From The Bridge involves the audience and their emotions. Arthur Miller has used various methods to keep these emotions controlled. He has used calm scenes between those of high tension and emotion, but the main method is the chorus figure. The audience listens to Alfieri, for many reasons. They respect his opinion because he is a lawyer, but they also like his character and can connect with his position in the play. Miller uses Alfieri to help the play develop. Alfieri is a lawyer, who is used during the pay to advise Eddie
Whose Life is it anyway?,The play may seem that it is simply a vehicle for exploring the issues surrounding an ill persons right to take his (or her) life but I think that this comment pays the play an injustice
The plot and action are static, and the characters are undeveloped - presented as either sympathetic or unsympathetic to Ken's situation - while Ken himself is nothing more than a case study of a patient, and not a credible human being." Is this a fair comment on the play? Ken became paralysed from the neck down in an accident and when he had been stabilised he decided over time that he had no reason to live and so wanted to end his life. The play may seem that it is '...simply a vehicle for exploring the issues surrounding an ill person's right to take his (or her) life...' but I think that this comment pays the play an injustice. In this essay I will explore the reasons why this play is more than what this comment suggests using insights gained from watching this play on stage and using themes to support my points. The main theme of the play is the ethical issue of whether an ill person has the right to take his (or her) life or not, this much is true, but it also has surrounding themes which make it much more than what this comment suggests. There are also all the surrounding characters apart from Ken who have there own lives to lead in the play and not everything involves Ken, making it work dramatically and helps to emphasize Ken's position. For example, one of the main themes is love and loyalty like when Nurse Sadler and John start a relationship that builds up in
Discuss the extent to which you feel Eddie is a suitable tragic hero in A View From the bridge
Discuss the extent to which you feel Eddie is a suitable tragic hero in A View From the bridge In a traditional sense a tragic hero is a male character of high importance, often nobility who makes an error in their actions or judgement resulting in their tragic downfall. Tragic heroes appear in their traditional form in the works of Shakespeare, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Marlowe and many others. One common trait of these traditional tragic heroes is that their downfall is often a result of their arrogance and ignorance. The tragic hero will eventually discover their fate is a consequence of their own actions and not those of others. The heroes' downfall will often result in death. Their suffering is meaningful as it is a result of their own intentional actions. The tragic hero is often faced with a serious decision. The hero may learn something from his mistake but often too late. It has been argued that "the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly placed, the kings or the kingly". I agree with this view to some extent but believe that the tragic hero can be brought into a modern context effectively. Archaic can be defined as ancient and belonging to a past time period, this may be true for the traditional noble tragic hero. However I think a modern tragic hero could be the equivalent of "noble" in some other way. Some things may have to be changed to fit a
How does Brian Friel establish the theme of language and its effects on communication, power and identity in Act one?
How does Brian Friel establish the theme of language and its effects on communication, power and identity in Act one? In the play Translations, language and its effects is clearly one of the central themes. This is evident because the characters all show what language means to them ranging from Hugh who uses his knowledge of languages as a form of power over the British to Owen who does not show any concern for his language and identity and allows the British to call him Roland. Furthermore the title of the play Translations is ironic because although one of the themes of the play is keeping your identity the book itself looses its identity. This is because although the play is written by an Irish author and set in Ireland, it is written in English. Thus the title foreshadows the outcome of the play. One of the ways Brain Friel establishes the theme of language is by using Sarah as a device to convey the bare minimum of language. Her limited knowledge of language limits her communication. However this could also be a benefit to her as she is able to have secrets without being expected to share them. Sarah is first introduced in the play by the stage directions which say "Sarah shakes her head vigorously and stubbornly" this is because Manus wants her to speak so she has an identity in the world. This could foreshadow that the Irish, who do not want to speak English will be
A streetcar named desire- Passion liberating and Imprisoning
'Passion is both liberating and imprisoning'. Compare and contrast ways in which two of your chosen writers present relationships in the light of this comment. Tennessee Williams was the writer of 'A Streetcar Named Desire', and some of the themes are based on his life such as insanity, death and love. Williams portrays the themes of love through various ways from the different characters. The love and passion are seen by Stanley Kowalski and his wife Stella and between Stella's paranoid sister Blanche and Mitch. The play portrays passion; love and sex, as liberating to Stanley. In scene 2, the audience sees Stanley's frustrated and quick-tempered side to his personality which is seen throughout the play. As the audience we see how Stanley and Stella interact with each other, but we don't notice any passion between them as Stanley seems to be very impolite to his wife and treats her like his personal servant and does not expect her to tell him what to do as he is seen as the king of the household which foreshadows to scene eight. 'Since when do you give me orders?' In scene 3, Stanley's anger is seen and he dominates Stella physically, and due to this Stella runs away to her neighbour, but her love for Stanley is too strong. When Stanley finally realises what he's done he rushes straight towards the house where Stella is, 'Stella! My baby doll's left me!...I want my
