AoS Extended Response: The Crucible and Related Text (The Awakening, Kate Chopin)
“An individual shape his or her own sense of belonging.”
Discuss this view with detailed reference to your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your own choosing.
One’s sense of belonging is established through their interaction with a community and the actions an individual takes to fit into or be excluded from these communities. Arthur Miller’s dramatisation The Crucible (TC) depicts the chaos and hysteria in 17th century Salem, created from a series of accusations. Kate Chopin’s short story The Awakening (TA) addresses a similar sense of chaos through the eyes of a Creole woman restricted by the harsh conducts that the patriarchal society she is in has set. Both Miller and Chopin provide an insight to the audience of societies’ morals, beliefs and expectations; and the actions of characters as they try to fit into this stereotyped image.
Miller had never intended to write a play on the events of the Salem Witch Trials, however after realising their similarity with the American community, he understood that it was imperative to portray the hysteria that marked the 17th century. McCarthyism in 1950s was remarkably alike to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692; they revolved around the issues of accusing others over past jealousies, old disputes or even just to save their own lives. In addition, the 17thcentury Puritan society consisted of extremely religious ideologies, thus strange and unexplainable occurrences were associated with the Devil or his cohorts. Thus, Betty’s fabricated seizures and hallucinations lead the town to immediately think “that they might look to unnatural things for the cause of it.” Parris desperately emphasises that they must “speak nothing of unnatural causes” as it could potentially be a factor that leads to his exclusion from society. Miller has incorporated these dialogues to provide the audience with a first-hand experience to understand the immense fear of being cast out from the community. Attending church every Sunday and
Discuss this view with detailed reference to your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your own choosing.
One’s sense of belonging is established through their interaction with a community and the actions an individual takes to fit into or be excluded from these communities. Arthur Miller’s dramatisation The Crucible (TC) depicts the chaos and hysteria in 17th century Salem, created from a series of accusations. Kate Chopin’s short story The Awakening (TA) addresses a similar sense of chaos through the eyes of a Creole woman restricted by the harsh conducts that the patriarchal society she is in has set. Both Miller and Chopin provide an insight to the audience of societies’ morals, beliefs and expectations; and the actions of characters as they try to fit into this stereotyped image.
Miller had never intended to write a play on the events of the Salem Witch Trials, however after realising their similarity with the American community, he understood that it was imperative to portray the hysteria that marked the 17th century. McCarthyism in 1950s was remarkably alike to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692; they revolved around the issues of accusing others over past jealousies, old disputes or even just to save their own lives. In addition, the 17thcentury Puritan society consisted of extremely religious ideologies, thus strange and unexplainable occurrences were associated with the Devil or his cohorts. Thus, Betty’s fabricated seizures and hallucinations lead the town to immediately think “that they might look to unnatural things for the cause of it.” Parris desperately emphasises that they must “speak nothing of unnatural causes” as it could potentially be a factor that leads to his exclusion from society. Miller has incorporated these dialogues to provide the audience with a first-hand experience to understand the immense fear of being cast out from the community. Attending church every Sunday and