How does Arthur miller show the dramatic effect of John Proctors presence on stage and convey the preoccupations of seventeenth century Salem? Use one or two extracts to illustrate your points.

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Liz Colley 10x1

How does Arthur miller show the dramatic effect of John Proctors presence on stage and convey the preoccupations of seventeenth century Salem? Use one or two extracts to illustrate your points.

Arthur Miller was an American playwright who was born in 1915.  He grew up in New York to a Jewish family.  He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 where he began to distinguish himself as a playwright.  His first plays were Honors at Dawn (1936) and No Villain (1937), which won the University of Michigan Hopwood Awards.  His Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949. Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953 during the McCarthy period when Americans were accusing each other of Pro-Communist beliefs. Many of Miller’s friends were being attacked as communists and in 1956. Miller himself was brought before the House of Un-American Activities Committee where he was found guilty of beliefs in communism. The verdict was reversed in 1957 in an appeals court.  Miller married Marylin Monroe in 1956 but divorced her in 1961.
         The Crucible is set against the backdrop of the mad witch-hunts of the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century. It is about a strict theocratic Puritan town, after accusations from a few girls, which begins an obsessive hunt for witches that did not exist.  Many innocent townspeople were hanged on charges of witchcraft. The absurdity and seriousness of the incident is conveyed through the struggles of Miller’s main character, John Proctor.

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We are introduced to John Proctor early on in act one. The very detailed introduction of the character we are given is a perfect example of the extremely informative stage directions for which Arthur Miller was renowned.

“Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan for any faction in the town…”

 This paragraph is effective as it helps us to understand more about the character and so helping us to relate to their actions and behaviour. However if we were seeing “The Crucible” as a production on stage, as it was intended to ...

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