Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The miller tale essay
In the prologue, the Miller is characterized to be a hefty, and strong fellow and brought up from a much different class of a knight. He is told to have immense strength for he could, “heave any door off hinge and post” with his head. This tells the reader that he is not much of a gentleman and presumably, not that intelligent. To be introduced as a boisterous drunk, as well as dishonest for stealing and swindling grains from his customers, it is possible that he may tell a tale of scandal and vulgarity. His stories may be spewed out in honesty and raw crudeness since he is a “wrangler and buffoon” that had a “store of tavern stories, filthy in the main. “Most of the stories shared by the pilgrims share the same theme of romance and love. Therefore,
Miller presents the character of John Proctor in an important way to show two sides to his character. These qualities make him have the most important role in ‘The Crucible.’ The key events that show him in this way is when the audience find out about the affair, how he tries to defend his wife, his confession in court and his hanging for the sake of others. Through the events in The Crucible, Miller then portrays John Proctor’s character with tension and suspense. This then makes the audience question whether or not he is a good man.
In order to appreciate the melancholic and serious temperament of the Reeve, it is nec-essary to view him in comparison to other characters, as Chaucer intended. The identities of the pilgrims are relative. They are characterized by their description in the General Prologue, but not fully developed until they are seen in contrast to the pilgrim they are “quiting.” As the Miller’s personality is developed by his dissimilarity to the Knight, so is the Reeve by the Miller. Therefore Robin’s enjoyment of life shows just how little Oswald receives from the same. For instance, the Miller’s large frame and excessive drinking show his delight in small pleasures. The Reeve, however, is “a sclendre colerik man” who controls his beard and hair (in opposition to the unruly strands that grow on a wart on the miller’s nose) as manipula-tively as the accounts of the farm on which he works (I 587). The Miller mastered the bag-pipes for entertainment in his spare time while the Reeve trained with more practical tools: “In youthe he had lerned a good myster: He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter” (I 614).
Proctor exemplifies an ordinary second class Puritan of Miller’s adaptation of the bloodthirsty town of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller fabricates the character of Proctor to appear wholesome and scrupulous, however, acts of sacrilege in the form of adultery tarnish the character’s reputation, thus bringing to light the scepticism of an exclusively Puritan society. Proctor embodies the qualities revered by the Puritans; diligence, integrity, and frugality. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is an advocate of John’s morality, describing her husband as “a good and righteous man. He is never as drunk as some are, nor wastin’ his time at the shovelboard but always at his work” pg. 100. Miller skilfully constructs a well-rounded character epitomising the ideal Puritanical figure, however, man’s tendency to be fallible resulted in a fatal flaw in the character of John Proctor. This flaw, also being a sin, is his lust and infidelity. Miller demonstrates the influence of cultural relativism through Proctor’s incapacity to absolve his own sins, despite his wife’s forgiveness, “I do not judge you. The magistrate that lives in your heart judges you.” pg. 55. This ‘magistrate’ is denoted by Miller to symbolise Proctor’s conscious, which was moulded and cultivated by the Puritans of Salem. The
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 first way Miller illustrates the theme of lies and deceit is through Abigail’s conniving
Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie.
Alison in the Miller's Tale and May of the Merchant's Tale are similar in several ways. Both are young women who have married men much older than themselves. They both become involved with young, manipulative men. They also conspire to and do cuckold their husbands. This is not what marriage is about and it is demonstrated in both tales. What makes the Miller's Tale bawdy comedy and the Merchant's tale bitter satire is in the characterization. In the Miller's tale we are giving stereotyped characters. The principals are cardboard cut-outs sent into farcical motion. The Merchant's Tale gives us much more background and detail of the character's lives. The reader is more involved and can feel their situations. Here we will focus on the two women of each tale and how they demonstrate this difference.
Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" should be tragic, because a lot of horrible things happen to the characters. The carpenter's wife is disloyal to him, sleeping with others and making fun of him with Nicholas. Also, he is depicted as a fool. However, readers get a humorous feeling from the story, rather than feeling sorry for the carpenter's unfair life. Chaucer makes the whole story come across as comic rather than tragic. This humor is created by the Miller's narration, the use of irony, the cartoon-like characters, and the twists of plot. These elements combine to produce an emotional distance which enhances the comic effect.
This is why he gets upset when the pilgrims tell stories about death and tragedy, like the Physician or the Monk. He always thoroughly enjoys stories that are comedic like the Nun’s Priest’s story. The Host also takes all the stories seriously and he becomes emotionally invested in them. After listening to the Physician’s tale the Host declares “"a draughte of moyste and corny ale / or but I heere anon a myrie tale"(Pardoner's Introduction 29–30). Because of how serious he takes the tales, he is quick to draw lessons from each tale that is told. He says that the merchant’s story proves all the negative stereotypes of
...mainly to be something characters use and abuse in order to get what they want. Absolon forgoes piety for attention when he takes a role in the local miracle play in hopes of attracting Alisoun. Nicholas uses the Biblical story of Noah and the flood, and a false piety, to set John up so he can frolic with Alisoun undisturbed. And then, of course, there's the whole obscene religious allegory and symbolism in the story: the huge "Goddes pryvetee," or genitals, John hangs from his roof; the fart of thunder and cry of water that could allegorize Noah's flood; and the way in which Nicholas's God-role and John's fall play on the Fall of Man. As is true with love, the only character who seems to truly have faith in this tale (John) suffers for it in the end, appearing highly ridiculous. All of this adds up to a highly irreligious take on religion in "The Miller's Tale."
A group of teenage girls were secretly dancing in the woods with a black slave, named Tituba. When they were discovered of what they were doing, the girls started accusing certain individuals in the village of dealing with witchcraft. Within a blink of an eye, the entire village is controlled by a devil that exists within the fear of each person. A drama of suspense and impact, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, explores through the individuals' vengeance, fear, reputation, and quest for power.
Florio, Thomas A., ed. “Miller’s Tales.” The New Yorker. 70 (1994): 35-36. Martin, Robert A., ed., pp.
Undoubtedly, religion was a huge part of society and culture, but it seems that Chaucer only dealt with religion as it related to social class. This is evidenced by the way he set up The Canterbury Tales, with a member of several social classes being tasked to tell a story. On the other hand, The Miller’s Tale deals directly with religion, and a religious message may be interpreted depending on the reader. However, the most easily made observation when comparing the two is the immediately obvious difference in their level of commitment to creating a religious message.
This quote was used as foreshadowing for the end. In the end, the wife just about repeats this statement at his funeral. This is used as a way to say that you may have the house, but your humanity is all but gone once you get the house. Willy had to sacrifice his pride and give in to the fact that his pursuit for the American Dream was useless in order for him to get the house. He needed money from the neighbors to pay off the house and still wanted to believe that his job was sufficient enough to achieve his dream of the American
Arthur Miller’s playwrights were an astonishing work of art to the theatre culture. His most notable epic pieces of dramas are: A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible. During Millers lifetime, Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, are his most prized dramas. Millers dedication and hard work show off in the two works which has his name known for in the theatre culture. Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, two powerful dramas by Arthur Miller, explore the themes of appearance versus reality, politics, and the narrow mindedness of society.