Tension and Conflict Between John and Elizabeth Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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Tension and Conflict Between John and Elizabeth Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Works Cited Missing In Arthur Millers Crucible he creates a lot of tension and conflict between husband and wife John and Elizabeth Proctor, in act 2. We first come to this thought in act 2 page 41, when john seasons the pot of his wife's cooking as he didn't like it the way she had cooked it, but later on in the paragraph john compliments Elizabeth on her cooking. I think Miller has used this technique to show lack of communication between the 2 characters. Later on in page 41 the "caught rabbit", maybe a metaphor for a warning of danger for example letting Abigail in, or Elizabeth's entrapment by Abigail. Miller shows us that there is no affection shown between John and Elizabeth, he also shows us their estrangement with each other. On page 42 Miller creates conflict between the couple by stage directions as Elizabeth 'receives a kiss', this may hint to us that Elizabeth is still angry at John. Miller uses dramatic irony to show that, she knows about john's adultery. John then mentions the potent smell of lilacs, this could suggest that he is still thinking of Abigail as we know; smell is one of the senses and many 20th century songs link lilacs with lovers. Much more tension is show when Elizabeth mentions 'its cold in here' which may be a metaphor for the coldness in the heart of Elizabeth. Flowers may show readers the meaning of intimacy, but miller tries to emphasise that he wants colour and warmth in his home. I think M... ... middle of paper ... ...ng the puppet with the needle in; Miller had used dramatic irony once again. Miller introduces a new character - Ezekiel Cheaver "a shocked silence". There is a great deal of dramatic irony in pages 60/61 as we know that Abigail was the one that planted the doll….. In conclusion there is much more tension that increasingly arises and Miller has used many techniques cleverly to show this. Many uses of dramatic irony is shown to show conflict and tension between both husband and wife john and Elizabeth proctor, and this as shown readers the full impact of the relationship between all characters including Abigail. I think miller has used Abigail's character as the 'evil villain' maybe to show the tension between john and Elizabeth and to conclude on the marriage and how john committed adultery towards Elizabeth.

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