Directing a Scene From Arthur Miller's The Crucible
In 1996 Miller wrote an essay for the New Yorker 'why I wrote the
crucible' in it he asserted "John Proctor the sinner might overturn
his paralysing personal guilt and become the most forthright voice
against the madness around him was a reassurance to me, and, I
suppose, an inspiration: it demonstrated that a clear moral outcry
could still spring even from an ambiguously unblemished soul." Reading
this article the final scene of John Proctor's final struggle with
life seemed to be one of the most pivotal scenes in the whole play.
In this final scene Miller managed to turn the adulterous man into a
heroic martyr. A man who dies in the name of all of the Salem sins.
More importantly, it is here that Miller makes his final comment; that
appearances and images are illusions that cover the essence of the
human heart. Proctor may have been the image of a sinner in Salem
society but it is ironically in Proctor that we find the 'greatest
goodness' as Elizabeth explains.
In my interpretation there is something hold and sacred in the last
scene. I want to convey to the audience this sudden blast of goodness,
and sudden blast of passion in the final scene. In staging it,
therefore, I will use particular non-conventional lighting, and
imagery that will help put across the overall message to the audience
and especially a 21st century audience who will hunt understand the
sacrifice of this innocence due to the new 'witch hunt' against
terrorism taking place in the world today. For all the sins of the
world, like Jesus, Proctor and many others today seem to have to die.
As Elizabeth speaks to john and tells him that she cannot judge him I
will have her go behind him and hug him from behind, as she does this
I will have Proctor's head hung low listening. Elizabeth will smear
some red stage blood on his face and then gradually raise his hands in
the Jesus on the cross position, the audience will see the crucifix
Is John Proctor a tragic hero? If you examine his actions and morale in the Salem Witch Trials there would be an indisputable yes. Example of actions and values are in the next two paragraphs.
The Crucible the film is an adapted version of Arthur Miller’s play of the same name, which was inspired by the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. The two main characters are Abigail Williams played by Winona Ryder and John Procter played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The Crucible’s opening scene is Reverend Parris catching Abigail and her friends dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits. Abigail did not want to get in trouble so she blamed Tituba, a Barbados slave, for making her drink chicken blood, and tempting her to sin.
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
There are many themes prevalent in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, with all of them manifesting in the actions and decisions of characters at some point in the story. One of the most outstanding themes in the play has to do with the connection between past experiences and future actions. Individuals lashing out at others because they felt they have been wronged, a guilty conscience causing someone to make a drastic decision, or even a person choosing a path due to possible social repercussions are all examples from the play of someone 's past effecting their future.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
The Crucible refers to a melting pot, a test of endurance, and the carrying of the cross. Explain why this is an appropriate title for this play.
In the story The Crucible, the plot and structure add meaning to the play. Arthur Miller does this by connecting the events of the Red Scare to the Salem Witch Trials. He does this by making the comparisons of how easily it is to trust false things, jump to conclusions too quickly, and believe irrational fears.
¨A tragic hero is a character that is noble and well-respected but he has one tragic flaw that causes him to fall from greatness.¨ John Proctor was known throughout the town of Salem as a well respected farmer and landowner. As the story progressed, John got more involved with the witch outbreak in the way that Abigail dragged him into it. Proctor had committed adultery whist he had a family. This quote relates to John that he is a tragic
Buddha once said, “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” Buddha states that the truth is one of the things that cannot be overlooked as the truth is eventually revealed, and the truth might end up having bad effects. Buddha’s quote is significantly true in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller which discusses the Joseph McCarthy era. Miller shows that McCarthy manipulated and abused his power and fame, leading to his downfall. In The Crucible, Miller uses parallelism between Judge Danforth and Joseph McCarthy to accentuate the horrific, unlawful, and untrustworthy complications that they brought to the United States in the 1690's and the 1950's.
Fear holds a great control over any mortal human-being through daunting and restricted words, most commonly seen while anyone is under pressure. While being controlled over fear, you may come to realize that you are being manipulated to the possibilities of a threatened punishment and may also be mislead by lies. Arthur Miller’s classic novel, The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, where a lot of times fear would be used to control anyone to blame another of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller elucidates this through Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren, that fear holds a great torment on the truth.
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is
A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.
Character: Concerned citizen of Salem just before the hanging of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor
can be happy as he knows she has always been loyal to him and made