Anderson Petersen AP English III/Period 3 11 November 2012 Avarice and Vengeance in The Crucible The play The Crucible takes place during the Salem Witch Trials of the 1800s. Yet Arthur Miller does not reveal the tragedy of the witch trials in the manner expected. Miller expresses the underlying causes of the accusations made as those stemming from personal greed and the feeling of revenge. Abigail Williams‚ Mr. and Mrs. Putnam‚ and Reverend Samuel Parris all have their own agendas as to why
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Leading a multitude of people to find the "truth" about a village’s most respected townspeople is Abigail Williams. She was the finger that accused dozens of people‚ who in all likelihood were innocent of the crimes brought against them. Abigail was not the single candle that showed the judges of Salem the way but merely the candle that lit the others. Arthur Miller’s "The Crucible" makes Abigail the conveyance of everything the Puritans would have thought as evil. She had committed sins that
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IRONY in The Crucible | |Occurs when someone states one thing and means another; often recognized as sarcasm | |Verbal irony |i.e. narrator refers to honesty as an “incumbrance” or “burden” | | |A contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen | |Situational
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late 1950s—McCarthyism. In his play‚ The Crucible‚ Miller retells the story of the witch trials and relates themes that were prominent in Salem to those prominent during McCarthyism. In doing so‚ he creates a character who nearly exemplifies Joseph McCarthy himself—Deputy Governor Danforth. As the presiding judge at the witch trials‚ Danforth exhibits the themes of reputation
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What methods does Arthur Miller use to establish the character of Proctor in Act 1 of the Crucible? Proctor’s character is established initially through stage directions‚ and the initial view is not a beaming beacon of warmth as Mary Warren ‘leaps in fright’ at the mere sight of him‚ however we discover this is due to the fact that she is not where she should be‚ not because he is a man of evil actions. Then the stage direction that Miller uses merely for the actor and director to get a true sense
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?Irony is used extensively in The Crucible. Discuss three examples of irony in the play and the significance of each example. In The Crucible‚ by Arthur Miller‚ irony is used a number of times throughout the play. The main example of irony would probably be how the town seems and acts to be like a group of friends and a tight-knit community‚ but by the end of the play‚ the town has turned against each other and it turns into a question of morality how everything flips upside-down. The society
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How does Miller present the relationship between Abigail and Proctor? In The Crucible‚ we follow the adulterous and turbulent relationship between Abigail Williams and John Proctor‚ and watch it change and develop throughout the play‚ from Abigail trying to reinstate the affair in Act 1‚ to John Proctor confessing and therefore destroying it at the end of the play. John Proctor is an honest‚ plain-speaking local farmer. He is an impressive presence in the room‚ being described as ‘a man in his
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the pivotal trial in the story‚ Scout‚ questioning her father’s motive for defending Tom‚ the accused black man‚ receives Atticus’s insight that “’the one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience’” (Lee 120). Throughout the novel‚ Lee cultivates the idea of consciences through characters
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the crucible essay Rev. Parris and Rev. John Hale are both important characters in the story. These two characters can easily be compared and contrasted. There are some commonalities between the two in the story. Both men are lead male figures in the town‚ but they were also ministers in the Puritan faith. This was important during this time period because of the beliefs of the time period. And the obvious one if you read the book‚ is that both are main characters in the story. One area the two
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When you’re scared‚ sometimes it’s hard to go with your gut feeling‚ right? It may be hard to stick up for yourself‚ or stand up for what is right. This is the feeling most of The Crucible characters probably felt. Reverend Parris‚ Abigail Williams‚ and John Proctor are good examples of how fear and hysteria can destroy good judgment. Reverend Parris had one of the most difficult times with keeping his good judgment‚ especially since he was supposed to be leading the church in Salem. Since nobody
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