Comparing The Crucible And On The Waterfront

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In Educated by Tara Westover, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and On the Waterfront by Elia Kazan, the protagonists face depressing situations as a result of their own actions as well as that of those around them. The tone of the text changes to more optimistic, as the protagonists undergo their redemption arcs, amending their prior mistakes, under the influence of religion, guilt, their dysfunctional relationships and the society they live in. In all three texts, our protagonists face personal crises that originate from a culture of hysteria and fear that mutilates their communities. In Educated, Tara Westover’s confinement to her restricted home life emerges as her father emphasizes the importance of a god-fearing nuclear family unit in response …show more content…

The impression of the women on the protagonist’s lead to the texts changing to a more positive tone. The manic love and devotion that Abigail Williams has for John Proctor is the defining cause of his personal crisis, and his reaction to this enamorment drastically changes the trajectory of the text. Her deranged obsession with Proctor embeds the text in a stressful and depressing tone. In Educated, Tara’s originally positive relationship with both her father and older brother Shawn, sours throughout the novel as she is abused both physically and emotionally. Whilst there is a dynamic of familiar love, as both Shawn and Gene, occasionally show Tara love and she is desperate to impress them, their manipulative and abusive behaviour is the origin of her personal crisis and sets an immensely negative and depressing tone to the beginning of the novel. Educated and the Crucible are similar, as whilst the protagonist’s unhealthy and destructive relationships never change, their decision to disobey the wishes of their abusers leads to a positive change in the general vision and viewpoint of the

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