The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller regarding Salem Witchcraft Trials. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692. To summarize the play, Abigail, Betty, and other girls are seen running around the forest naked by Reverend Parris. Soon girls fear accusations of being witches and start blaming innocent people of Salem in order to get out of trouble. Giles Corey is one of the characters in the play, who is in early eighties at the time.
Rough Draft “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” Edmund Berke said. In this story the crucible by Arthur Miller. There is a small town in Salem where an outbreak of witch trails has happened. The people are being accused by a group of teenage girls. Many people are hanged for crime of witch craft…many for their land.
And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud---God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together” (1151). To stand up to Danforth was very brave of him, because no one ever stood up to Danforth. Proctor hangs to remain loyal to this friends. He does not sell his friends out over a lie just to save himself.
A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem.
(1.3.71)” Banquo also doubts the intension of the witches, he believes that evil always tells one part of the truth in order to earn one’s trust and lead him to destruction. Banquo warns Macbeth, ”But ‘tis strange./And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,/ the instruments of darkness tell us truths,/win us with honest trifles, to betray’s/In deepest consequence. (1.3.124-128)” On the other hand, Macbeth ignored his friends warning and believes in what the witches say. He is over whelmed by his ambition to be king, he said to himself,”Glamis, and the thane of Cawfor!/The greatest is behind. (1.3.118-119).””Two truths are told/,as happy prologues to the swelling act/of the imperial theme.
The outside world around him could have been deceiving by him still being a follower of God, and this somehow could make him seem vulnerable. This way it would be easier for the village to prey upon him. Also tying in with his vulnerability, the entire witch meeting could have been a trick to intentionally try to destroy his life, by which I am not certain why they would. Both viewpoints make the interpretation of the story very ambiguous. Although one is inclined to believe that his experience at the witch meeting was a dream because of literal evidence, the non-literal viewpoint does make one challenge the innocence and honesty of the village.
Reverend Hale tried to help Proctor as much as he could but all he could do was convince Proctor to plead guilty to the charges. If John pleads guilty to the charges, he will have to spend a short time in jail; but when he is asked to sign a paper to make it known to all that he was with the devil, he could not. His integrity was too strong to let him lie to himself or in any way, tie his name to a lie. Reverend Hale tries to convince Elizabeth to save her husband, but she admits that at last, John is at peace with himself, and she won’t interfere with that. His choice was to die an honorable and honest man.
Rachel Morpeth Honors American Lit- 2 Ms. Story December 1, 2009 Reverend Benevolent Reverend Hale is perhaps the most complex and dynamic character in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. At the start of the play Hale is summoned from East Hanover to Salem when fear and rumors of witchcraft have just begun to spread. He is an expert in the demonic arts and is adamant in his belief that he will bring nothing but sanity and righteousness to Salem. However, as the story evolves, Hale finds himself caught up in the mass hysteria that he helped to create. Hale’s purpose, contributions, and conflicts in the play are all much more profound than what may appear on the surface and significantly impose on his one hundred eighty degree character spin.
She once was servant for the Proctor household, but was fired when Elizabeth Proctor discovered that her husband was having an affair with her. Abigail becomes obsessed with Reverend Proctor after their affair. She did whatever she could to keep Proctor for herself. Abigail later on accuses Elizabeth Proctor of damaging her name in the community saying “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me!
Deciding if a library patron under eighteen should be aloud to read a questionable book is the decision of the patron and their parents. That is it, no one else. A town council or public library cannot have the knowledge to know whether some patrons are more advanced and could accept and understand the somewhat questionable material. If a patron under eighteen checks out what their parent feels is an unacceptable book, it is only the fault of the parent for not checking up on what their child is checking out. Once a person under eighteen checks out one of the controversial books, there is a high chance they can learn something from it.