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Motivation for the crucible
Salem possessed: the social origins of witchcraft
Salem possessed: the social origins of witchcraft
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Recommended: Motivation for the crucible
Choose three of the characters in the crucible and show how Miller presents the motivations for their actions.
Think about:
Reputation- is this a motivating factor for any of the characters
Power – Which characters are motivated by power
Witchcraft – how are the accusations used? Who benefits? How?
The individual and the society – how might the particular community situation in Salem be a motivating factor for some characters?
800 – 1250 words
In the crucible characters are motivated by various themes such as, reputation, power, witchcraft and society. John Proctor, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris’s actions are prime examples of how in the crucible these themes are dominant. From the very start of the text we can see that reputation is a
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It is seen countless times in the text that he defends his ‘name’, one prime example of this is the fact that he vowed not to touch Abigail again, in fear of losing his name in the town “I will cut my hand off before I reach for you” or even him not admitting to adultery at the earliest stage of the witch trials, which essentially could have ended the madness. However this point maybe invalid as he may be trying to protect his children’s and wife’s name rather than his. In my opinion this factor is still relevant – if he admitted to adultery as soon as possible in the witch trials, many lives would have been saved which in turn would have made him be seen as a hero by the reader.
At the end of the play, despite his admittance of adultery being dismissed, John Proctor’s desire to keep his ‘name’ leads him to withdraw his admittance of witchcraft however sacrificing his life., this fact alone shows his courage and individuality. This is seen by many as the defining characteristic of John Proctor’s heroic attribute. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” he cried to Danforth in Act 4, because of this heroic action he saved his name and died at peace, knowing his name is
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His great knowledge of witchcraft grants him this skill; it is instrumental in gaining both power and respect throughout Salem. Power is the thing that motivates him, as we all know knowledge is power and he is focused centrally on knowledge in witchcraft – granting him knowledge and power and this power disguised as knowledge motivates him throughout. Yet another motivation of the characters in Salem is witchcraft. Witchcraft became a major theme in the text, as it became a weapon which could leave innocent people hanging on a noose. Witchcraft had revealed to the reader that reverend Parris was ashamed of his child and niece, as they were supposedly ‘possessed’ by witchcraft; this could also link with the reputation theme. He uses witchcraft to state things he normally wouldn’t, like assuring that Abigail’s laughs during
He is very disappointed with how the people of Salem acted. He was outraged by the way they accused people they didn't like of being witches, just so they would have to deal with them anymore. He hated the way the girls who cried out did it all following Abigail Williams.
‘The Crucible’ is a great example of morally ambiguous characters. A plethora of characters with blurry ethics exist within the world of ‘The Crucible’, this makes it difficult to distinguish who is truly good and who is evil. Arthur Miller has a fantastic approach to how he displays his characters and their moral standpoints. Adultery, lying, and even the suspicion of witchcraft, within the community brings out the worst in the townspeople. John Proctor is an example of how thin the lines are drawn between a complete saint and a damned sinner.
In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.
Proctor’s prideful personality does not let him baptize his third son because he dislikes Reverend Parris (168, l. 516-520). Proctor withholds his affair with Abigail because of his pride, he was unable to confess it until his wife was accused. Before he confessed he stated that “a man will not cast away his good name,” this statement suggest that a man has a lot of pride in his name and therefore his confession must be true (189, l. 845-847). In addition, after confessing to witchcraft Proctor takes pride in his name and refuses to have his name nailed in the door of the church showing everyone that he confessed to witchcraft (207, l. 894-897). “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me!,” Proctor beliefs he is better than Sarah good and Tituba hence he would not sign his name (207, l. 899-701). Towards the end, Proctor thinks better of his action and rips the signed paper after declaring, “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (207, l. 725-730). Proctor compares himself with the brave people that are about to hang and takes pride in his name by refusing to keep on lying and ripping the paper with his signature; he bravely accepted death with the thought that his name is not tainted by
The Crucible is in the format of a play. John Proctor is established as the hero through the use of Miller's contrast in characters. Upon his introduction, Proctor seems to be the only calm, sensible and logical character among the rising hysteria of Abigail's threats, Parris' damnations and babble of the Putnam's. Proctor is easily set apart from the other characters and the beginning of the play due to the obvious differences in character. Miller also builds up the climax throughout the book by making the conversations very quick paced and intense.
People are mad at Parris because of everything that is going on: “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house- a dagger clattered to the ground” (Miller 1324). Parris, the town minister, is getting a lot of blame for all that has been going on lately in Salem. His neighbors wanted to prove a point of how angry they are by throwing a dagger at his door. Parris is a coward and is too afraid to just tell the truth about what happened in the woods that night with the girls. He is afraid his own name will be in parish, yet he is not worried about anyone else’s danger. The town has been torn apart with all of this witchcraft nonsense: “There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now their masters are in jails, and much disagreement who they will belong to now” (Miller 1321). Animals are being left uncared for and are just running ransom through the streets. People are arguing about who they belong to, wanting to keep the animals for themselves. Neighbors are accusing each other of witchcraft, and causing a lot of trouble. The tension is high, with a deep craving of revenge. (PrepPh). Some accuse because they want to take over that persons land for their own, or they have a bad history with them and want them gone. No reason is a good reason because they are not solid facts, just false accusations. A fear of riots runs through the town. Salem is surely unraveling, along with everyone in it.
This is a character essay on the “The Crucible”. The character I have chosen to be my subject of this essay is Reverend Hale. This essay is going to be over seven parts of this character’s life. His background, problems and concerns, development through the story, first impressions, what he thinks of himself, what others think of him, and what he thinks of others. Background
Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale share this motive because it would save more individuals’ lives in the town and validate that there are witches in Salem. Proctor has a good reputation in the town; therefore, if he were to confess, others would follow his actions. Parris believes John Proctor’s name in the village “...is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess. I beg you, let him sign it” (1230). Parris begs Proctor to sign his confession on paper to hang up on the church doors. He knows if the village and others being accused see John’s name signed for confessing, it would validate that there are witches in Salem and that Parris did not call Reverend Hale for nothing. Hale desires Proctor’s signed confession because others being accused of witchcraft would see Proctor’s good name and they will confess along with him. Hale believes the less people who get hanged for being accused of witchcraft, the less guilt he will have to feel for being involved with these trials. Hale still has guilt for the individuals who have already been hanged: “There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!” (1224). Hale’s guilt starts to grow on him and he regrets his involvement in the witch trials. He knows he has already committed enough wrong doings, and Proctor’s confession would stop others from being hanged. Reverend Parris and Reverend
Though he is a lecher and a sinner by his contextual Puritan standards, he is relatable to a 1950’s audience in a Christianised America. He is an ordinary man who has made mistakes, but is inherently good and is morally redeemed at the end of the play. John Proctor is dealt an injustice (the accusation of his wife of the practice of witchcraft, and his eventual signing of the legal that he was sentenced for witchcraft). Proctor is guided for much of the play by his desire to save Elizabeth, though these actions are not always quite ethical or compassionate, as recounted by Mary Warren: “ ‘I’ll murder you,’ he says, ‘if my wife hangs!’ “ In the style of a tragedy, Act 4 sees Proctor grieving for his morality metaphorically beyond repair; “My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man.”. Though Elizabeth assures him there is good in him yet, Proctor sacrifices himself by signing the legal document and being sentenced to hanging. Though Proctor was not a righteous man, it is the self-sacrifice for a crime that he did not commit that echoes (through biblical allusion) Jesus’ own death and assures John Proctor’s eventual
... name!" He knew that he could not deal with being seen as a witch in the eyes of the community, and preferred to keep the honour of his name, his loyalty to himself and most of all, his personal integrity. Elizabeth Proctor realised the meaning of his name to him, realising that his name was all he had left to keep him whole. "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!"
The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.
At the end of the play, John proctor is faced with the biggest calamity of his life. He was given the the choose to lie and say he is a witch or stand by his honesty and die as a marauder. john proctor name was everything to him. It made him who he is so he based his actions on it.. John wanted to live and keep his good name
A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.
In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays the downfall of judgment in society when challenged by individuals willing to deceive to satisfy selfish interests. In an attempt to explain the unexplainable, the town of Salem is strongly interested to the idea of witches and devils as an excuse to make sense of tragedies such as dying infants or incurable illnesses. As a result, it is vulnerable to manipulation by greedy individuals looking to escape consequence or sustain reputation by inculcating “fear and guilt [...] in the air of Salem” (Huftel 3). Multiple characters contribute to this outbreak; however, three antagonists stand out: Abigail, Proctor and Parris, all of which spread the hysteria to fulfill personal motivations.
...nue the witch trial by calling all defense against the witch trials an attempt to overthrow the court. He benefits from having the witch trials legitimized as they would help him consolidate his power over the parish and protect his reputation in Salem. The conceited action of these individuals are influenced by power and contribute to the death and arrest of many in Salem.