Chichiger Shyy
English 11 Honors
Ms. Keys
September 21, 2013
Crucible Essay In the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by JK Rowling, a fellow family friend of Harry's, Peter Pettigrew, lives a normal life with his good friends. However, when the antagonist Voldemort invades his town, Peter has to either join Voldemort’s forces as a traitor to his friends or die a hero. Peter, who is afraid of dying at the hands of Voldemort, ultimately joins Voldemort’s forces and in the process he betrays his friends. Scared that his name will be blackened in his town and his reputation will be ruined, Peter kills twelve innocent people and places the blame on his old friend, Sirius Black. Peter would rather lie and place his integrity on the line than blacken his own name. Similarly, in the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller writes a story based on the history of the Salem Witch Trials, where the villagers accused each other of practicing witchcraft in order to preserve their reputation. When people placed in a moral dilemma where they can either tell the truth or lie, they will chose what ever option preserves their reputation because a ruined reputation would blacken their image in a society and they would lose the respect of everyone in society. John Proctor's refusal to lie in order to save his reputation conveys the importance of one's reputation. Proctor is an innocent man who is falsely accused of collaborating with the devil and manipulating others to obey his commands. When Proctor is given the choice to speak the truth or lie, Proctor tells the truth to save his reputation. Danforth, the judge who is the head of the trial, prays for Proctor to lie in order to keep the people of Salem at ease, but Proctor blurts out, " Because it is my name! I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"(150). This quote exemplifies Proctor’s devotion to protecting his reputation at all cost. If Proctor lied then he will be absolved of blame but Proctor adhered to his morals and in the process condemned himself. The church wants Proctor to lie so riots will not break out; however, Proctor wants his name to remain clean no matter the cost. Proctor would rather throw his away his life than have the church ruin his name by publicizing his sins. Lying would have saved his life, but his reputation would be destroyed and his image in society would have been tarnished. Reputation in Salem society was as valuable as any amount of material wealth and if someone loses their reputation, they are at rock bottom. To prevent his family from hitting rock bottom, Proctor makes the ultimate sacrifice. Before Proctor is executed, his wife Elizabeth Proctor says, "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (152). When she says this, it exhibits how everyone sees his good reputation and how important it is. His actions not only maintained his image in the eyes of others but his wrongful death by the court led to the eventual end of the Salem Witch Trials.
Reverend Parris did not want to lose his reputation because he is afraid that losing his image in society will give his enemies the power to kick him out office. Parris is the minister for Salem, and he is a proud, haughty person who is always afraid that his enemies are plotting to kick him out of office. He believes that "there is either obedience or the church will burn like hell!" (31). When Parris sees his niece and her friends dancing in the woods, he is afraid that witchcraft has struck their town. However, as holes in the girls’ story start to appear Parris is afraid that the citizens of Salem will revolt after so many people were condemned of witchcraft. Parris says," But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know
Related Documents: America: The Crucible and Proctor Essay
Nagle Milo Nagle Mrs. Williams 0032: period 5 18 March, 2015 The Similarities Between The Crucible and The Red Scare Accusing someone of false accusations is easy. Seeing that someone face consequences for those accusations is difficult and often unheard of. In the case of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the false accusations made by the girls were carried out causing the victim’s lives to end with a rope around their neck and nothing more than air beneath their feet. A similar connection is found between Sen…
Stephanie Orube AP Language 9 September 2013 Our Similarities At first glance, the 1600’s and the 1950’s seem to have nothing in common. The Crucible written in the 50’s by Arthur Miller is set in the 1600’s in Salem when much binary oppositions were present. Rich against poor, powerful against powerless, and men against women are some examples. There was also the struggle to keep their social order…
illustrate that the conflicts that arise from fears of being different not only occur in individuals, but also in societies. The language chosen in this essay is intended to be for one with some prior knowledge of the context and setting that the Crucible was written in, including the parallels of Puritanism and McCarthyism that Arthur Miller has drawn from. The formality of the writing also expects the reader to be well literate as to be able to discuss and explore some of the more complex issues…
Author, Title, Type, Time Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Play, America early 1950s Plot The play opens in Betty Parris’s bedroom and her father, the Reverend Parris, is wondering what is wrong with her. The night before he caught his niece Abigail, his daughter Betty, and other girls dancing in the forest. He is worried about witchcraft in his household. Tituba confesses to witchcraft and reveals the names of many other women in Salem who are also consorting with the devil. The girls, led by Abigail…
Inverted syntax- what’s at the end is coming at the beginning (EX: “Whose woods these are I think I know,” when it should be “I think I know whose woods these are”) Idiomatic diction- you can’t take it literally (EX: lets hit the road, jack) The Crucible Logical Fallacies Help: 1. Appeal to Authority: accepting someone’s argument because of his or her field unrelated to the argument. EX: Whatever Abigail says, the judge, Rev. Hale, and Rev. Parris believe it. 2. Appeal to Emotion: FEAR. Abigail…
Long Essay - The Crucible q How is language used in The Crucible to express the emotional intensity if characters in conflict with each other and/or society and to convey the abstract ideas that emerge through that conflict? The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is a prime example of dramatic theatre using powerful language to express emotional intensity of the characters in conflict with each other and their society. The language used also helps to convey the abstract…
Magnet Fofanah Mrs. Morrison English 11 November 11, 2013 Crucible Persuasive Essay How many people in history have sacrificed themselves for their beliefs? How many of those people have seen what they stood for be put into action? Disregarding those who commit suicide to willfully hurt others, sacrificing oneself or risking one’s life for a strong belief is something respectable. Sacrificing oneself shows one’s willingness to stand by their belief through thick and thin. It shows not only…
people. The teams of The Crucible can be seen in our society today and in the past. Society today can erupt at any time because of all the fear people live in everyday just like a boiling crucible. Today we have heroes like John Procter that try to save society from exploding. The Crucible is a historical in accurate book wrote about the Salem witch trials. The book was really talking about the American society post World War II. The government had the people of America terrified of communism they…
AP Book Report 1. 2. 3. 4. Title of Work: The Crucible Author and date written: Arthur Miller, 1952. Country of author : New York, United States of America Characters : Major: Abigail The orphaned niece of Reverend Parris and the main conspirator of the witch trials. She was involved in an affair with John Proctor and remains infatuated with him. ● Conniving Abigail is caught dancing in the wood and conjuring spirits by her uncle. In order to avoid trouble she pus…
Analyse how an idea is developed in a text (or texts) you have studied In the play, the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, an idea that was developed is the idea of the perils of conformity. Miller develops this through the type of society he has chosen to set his play, a theocracy, situations mentioned and shown that hold significance which take place in closed in, tension filled scenes such as courtrooms, and the character Mary Warren, who helps signify the perils of conformity in people and…