Preview

Literary Analysis Essay On The Crucible

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
71 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Literary Analysis Essay On The Crucible
Danica Goldsby
Mrs. Weber
English 5
11 November 2016
The Crucible
“No principle, however glorious.” I agree with Reverend Hale on this statement because it is better to lie and have your life, than to risk your life because you want to stand up for your innocence. Reverend Hale wants Elizabeth to talk her husband into confessing to witchcraft, but he will not because innocent people will die if he confesses.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Proctor compromised the reputation of his name, and values that he cherishes by having an affair with Abigail Williams. This flaw will forever haunt him. Arthur Miller uses symbolism and irony to support the central idea that Proctor can either die honorably or live a lie.…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Arthur Millers’, The Crucible, Miller demonstrates how certain situations can change a characters opinion or point of view, with enough evidence. Reverend Hale is a prime example who experiences change from confident, to doubt and frustration of the court, and then regret of the innocent being persecuted because of his wrong accusation during the witch trial executions in the town of Salem, Massachusetts.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reverend Parris’s House: This scene is done on the right side of the stage and is closed in by the walls to develop a cramped feeling to better convey that it is taking place in a tiny upstairs bedroom. The oversized bed and the dainty side table allows for intrigue detail to be taken but still reflecting the main point of the scene, the chest is small so that there is plenty of room available downstage for the action of the scene to take place. The lighting of the scene will also reflect this by being dull to convey the candlelight aspect while still keeping the bedroom feeling evident.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2.10b the Crucible Essay

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Excessive pride is an inflated sense of one's personal ego or how they feel about their own accomplishments. The play, The Crucible, recounts the time period of American history in which the country was being plagued with accusations of innocent citizes working for Satan; these citizens were labeled 'witches' or 'wizards'. Most of the accused were hanged for their 'sins' and many were excommunicated from the Church. The author of The Crucible, Arthur Miller, employs the theme of Pride throughout the play to add plot twists and create suspense. In The Crucible, several main characters- Reverend Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor are dignified by their fleeting or strong standing acts of excessive pride in their individual roles.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although he first enters Salem determined to seek out the Devil and "...crush him utterly if he has shown his face," he sees the injustice being done to those accused of witchcraft, ultimately denouncing the trials and even sacrificing his orthodox faith. Hale is a highly educated intellectual who applies reason even to the pursuit of Satan. It is natural, therefore, that he should see the glaring errors in logic at the Salem trials. He first resists his reasoning, but later cannot possibly fail to see that the trials are a sham. At the play's close, he tries to convince the condemned to confess to what he knows are lies, reasoning "cleave to no faith when faith brings blood. It is a mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice... Life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it." Despite the eloquence of his pleas, the prisoners are not swayed, preferring to die honestly than to live a lie. Hale's own change is readily apparent, however, as he turns from the blindness of faith to reason and an individual spirituality. He now embodies a more modern, liberal…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Notably, Hale does not quite yet see what is to come from the foundation he has laid in helping to create a situation which hands power over to the girls. When the tables are turned and their word is given acceptance over that of those who would normally be believed. Reverend Hale demonstrates that he is passionate in his desire to destroy witchcraft by consciously manipulating the situation in Salem to bring the results he wanted to see. Reverend Hale considers himself sent directly from the Lord and a literal messenger from him. Hale questions himself for being responsible for so many deaths therefore he is starting to feel bothered by his conscience and not agreeing with everyone about the existence of the witches. He realizes the serious consequences of signing a paper that would allow people to be executed. Hale starts to question the sincerity of the accusations because John Proctor confesses his relationship with Abigail. Proctor is trying to save his marriage with Elizabeth at all…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story, The Crucible, Abigail Williams showed that she was very different from all the other girls. When all the girls were in the forest with Tituba she whispered to her that she wanted to sacrifice her turkey so she can kill John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth and be with John. When Tituba told her no, she smashed the turkey’s head and drank its blood hoping to kill her. The next day, when the girls are acting funny and John Proctor hears about it and comes into town, she sees him at her house. This is when it shows how crazy she is about him. She follows him outside when he is about to leave and flirts with him, reminding him of their affair and how much she misses him. When the whole town finds out about “the witch plague” Abigail is blamed and she throws everything at Tituba to save herself. She makes a big scene in front of everyone so she can convince everyone that it’s not her fault, but when Tituba confesses she screams out that she did see the devil; that she worked with him and that she wants to be cleansed for God. The group of girls begin to follow her and they basically take…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He gathers that innocent people die because the townspeople are too afraid to look past the lies of juvenile women to discover the truth. The tragic downfall of Salem is obvious to Hale as he realizes that death prevails instead of justice. He clearly sees this dark cloud as ?There are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere...? Hale finally admits to the horrors which had occurred in Salem. He knows that he signifies the spark that started the fatal flame throughout Salem, and he tries to redeem himself. As a ?minister of the light,? he has "come to do the Devil's work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!" The realization of his guilt unfortunately comes too late in the play as many have already died. Although Hale begs John Proctor, the last of the accused, to save his own life by confessing to a false crime, Proctor cannot be saved as he would rather die than to admit to a sin he did not commit. Hale recognizes that as a servant of God, he should be saving people?s lives, not taking them…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Crucible Themes Essay

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    If you don't believe in witch hunts, that's fine. But the idea of them is very real. The Crucible is a story that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. This small community is full of superstition and the towns people let their beliefs destroy friendships, and lives. Arthur Miller uses many repeating themes in the play The Crucible. There are many good, and bad themes that come up throughout the play. Some of the common themes of this story are lust, fear, and courage.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Entering these trials, Reverend Hale feels as though he is an expert on witchcraft. He is specifically called upon by Reverend Parris to diagnose his daughter and determine whether witchcraft is the cause of her illness (Act I Pg. 33-35). Although ambivalent about the nature of the child’s illness, Hale has a slight feeling of doubt that witchcraft has occurred. He understands that the townspeople are trying to lead him with false pretenses and mass hysteria toward the conclusion that witchcraft has occurred. He begins to see a weakness in the townspeople of Salem and tries not to let hearsay accusations be the support for his verdict.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible Theme Essay

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "You are combined with anti-Christ,are you not?"--Danforth. Within Miller's book The Crucible he portrays and explains how Puritan life was and how the people responded to it on a daily basis. Within The Crucible there is a horrific village known as Salem and in it everything runs off of the bible and the people's thought and if they think you are a witch you will be accused and have to either confess or be brought to death. By closely looking at how Puritanism caused such havoc and destruction . Two themes that obviously dealt with the outrageous destruction and the attitudes of those people would be the philosophical theme of examined their inner lives closely looking for signs of grace or of being damned and the religious theme of which are certain that most of of humanity would be damned for all eternity.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller is a great author that uses many forms of syntax, figurative language, and diction to enhance his writing throughout The Crucible. Miller uses figurative language throughout The Crucible, to put emphasis on certain ideas and things. Miller also uses diction in The Crucible to show that the story is taking place in the past and to give the story a more biblical feel to it. One other thing that Arthur Miller does really well is his use of syntax. He uses syntax throughout The Crucible to show the intelligence levels of different characters. Miller uses these three different things in combination throughout The Crucible to enhance the story and to tell the story of the witch craft trials in an insightful way.…

    • 846 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Woah nelly, The Crucible sure was something alright. It took place back when The Puritans were still a thing, and they spend their time hunting witches, spooks, ceiling monsters and hanging people for being in cahoots with the devil him(her?)self. It’s all fun and games till some ladies lose their chill in the forest and then, to protect themselves, accuse everyone else of being in cahoots with the devil. This sounds like something that would never in a million years happen on our doorsteps, especially when the “accusers” sound like a dried vulture's claw being scratched against a chalkboard, and truthfully, this really isn’t the case.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Everyone cares about their name in some way whether if it negatively or positively impacts that person or society itself. In the story The Crucible that Arthur Miller illustrated, begins in a small town in the name of Salem. Everyone cares about their reputation in the town. Even if it means exposing their friends. Every character has a different thing that they value. But Arthur Miller showed that they all have a similar value, reputation, which can negatively affect the people that they care…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Through my time being with the church I have never questioned or doubted the sacredness of our work once, but recently I have come to find myself realizing that the duty performed by reverends of this sanction are ill minded in determining the wrongfulness of a fellow towns member’s affairs. I am now considering leaving the church; I must record all of my reasons for doing so in this journal.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays