Dennise Gamez Grimmett English 11 Honors 19 April 2023 Argumentative Essay: The Crucible “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it,”- John Proctor. Arthur Miller is an American playwright and author whose most famous work was The Crucible, a slightly fictional play written about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s. Miller decided to write this play as an allegory to the Red Scare, a time when fear of communism was rising, most notably in the United States. His own personal experience with the House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC, accusing him of being a communist and condemning him when he refused to testify and accuse others of communism, was greatly part of his decision for writing The Crucible. …show more content…
Unquestionably, Danforth with his power in Salem village thanks to his position as Deputy Governor and judge throughout the trials, could have done more to attempt the end of the hysteria plaguing Salem. There are a series of actions he could have done, but there is one which comes to mind the most. First and foremost, the most obvious action Danforth could have taken to end the hysteria was making the decision of postponing the executions of those charged. If Danforth would have swallowed his pride and listened to the advice of Reverend Parris and postponed the executions for some time, everyone else would have questioned the legitimacy of the executions and taken more initiative to prevent others from hanging. Danforth was incredibly prideful and only cared about losing his power in Salem village. Instead of doing what was morally right, he was adamant and decided to move forward with the executions of the respected John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey. Moreover, he himself proclaimed he’d kill more people if he must in order to keep his power (104, Act 4, The Crucible). …show more content…
Just as those who held a high position in the American government during the Red Scare, preferred to accuse people of communism and ruin their reputation, knowing they were likely innocent, in order to make their position in the government seem legitimate. Danforth’s pride was too high just as the American authorities, to stop the hysteria from continuing, although he had the choice and ability to prevent further destruction he chose not to. However, Danforth did try to take action and prevent further hysteria and death from occurring by wanting Proctor to sign a confession to prevent him from hanging, though ultimately Proctor decided not to sign and go to his death instead (259-294, Act 4, The Crucible). Based upon this action, Danforth’s character proves he could have stopped the hysteria, even if it was down to the very last
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller based on real events, but Miller adds to the play for good reason. Miller adds love, hatred and revenge into a factor of why the trails happened. To show love can move someone to do anything, to show hatred can ruin a good mans name, and to show even if a person did nothing wrong, revenge could be reason to accuse and change their life. In real life, John Proctor is known as a successful farmer, but known as a mean man. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays Proctor as a “Good and righteous man” (Miller 221).
In The Crucible, John Proctor's death could be viewed as an unjustified sacrifice. However, Proctor's death was a moment where action and theory coalesced. In a society where everyone is driven by selfish motives and built upon lies, John Proctor realizes his own content and liberation through his sacrifice. By accepting his death, and doing what he believes is right, he ascends past other characters by refusing to acquiesce to what the majority was doing. His death was symbolic; it forced others to realize how unjustified Salem's governing body's decisions were, as countless amounts of suffering came from the accusations of a group of teenage girls.
Argumentative Essay Hook:John Proctor is a hypocrite. Exposition: The author of The Crucible is Arthur Miller, I would say that the author has a connection to the characters in the story. The reason behind that is because Miller and The Crucible share a connection from him living through similar occasion in the story. Thesis: I believe John Proctor could have adjusted in Salem with confessing all his sins, Elizabeth shouldnt have lied, and Abigail and Elizabeth shoulnt have messed with witchcraft.
Argumentative Essay: The Crucible John Proctor was a strong-loved man. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950s to compare the events happening in The Crucible to the real Red Scare. In The Crucible, I believe John Proctor could have ended the mass hysteria in Salem by telling the truth about his sins sooner. He could have never gotten close to Abigail and had a stronger voice against the accusations. John Proctor could have ended the mass hysteria in many ways.
The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.
Scapegoating: Taking Heat From Someone Else's Flame In an interview on Faith and Religion with Bill Moyers from PBS, Margaret Atwood once said, “Under stress, society will always scapegoat a person or a group of people.” This belief is shown in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the cartoon “It’s okay -- We’re hunting Communist” by Herb Block, and her own poem “Half Hanged Mary”.
Many ask for his mercy towards the accused and he denies it to them to keep his reputation, “... Postponement now speaks floundering on my part...” (Miller 667). This shows that Danforth could have ended the hysteria in Salem by admitting that he does not believe that any of the accused are guilty and claiming the accused not
Brianna Batten Gore English III 7 February Why did this happen? A title identifies a book, a story, a poem, a play, or other work of fiction or nonfiction. Titles often carry symbolic or even thematic significance. Arthur Miller did just that when considering the title for his most famous play and book The Crucible. The word “crucible” means "a container for melting or purifying metals" and "a severe test.
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
The Crucible Argumentative Essay John Proctor should have risked taking a stand against a system that was against his beliefs. In the past, people have sacrificed themselves for what they believed in. As seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor defies the court, and it results in his execution. John Proctor should have risked taking the stand, because he maintained his reputation as a good man and role model.
The end of the Crucible is very suspenseful when the protagonist, John Proctor, is faced with choosing between confessing to a lie or dying for the truth. At first, Proctor is hesitant and signs the papers, confessing himself to evil, but before the signed paper is collected by the court, he tears it apart and is sentenced to death. This was his best option, for it stopped him from living a remorseful life. His decision to tear apart the signed confession was the most correct not only for himself but for his family and the community as well.
This attempt shows that Danforth contains a bias in his court against and toward certain characters. This bias led him to situate himself on the wrong side of the argument and witch acquisitions, which caused Danforth to not be able to find the truth. Danforth was siding with Abigail and was unable to be convinced that this person he thought was trustworth was not afterall. He took abigails fiction, the easiest way out, and deemed anything else as false information According to Harild Bloom, “He immediately tells Danforth that he must pardon the prisoners. When Danforth remains
In The Crucible, logic and reason play an active role as the counterpart to the fear that fills the Puritan society and the characters themselves. The characters Proctor and Hale represent the voice of reason against the voices of fear. Though they are outnumbered by those who give in to the paranoia, they stick with what they believe is right despite knowing they will become a pariah. On the other hand, Danforth and Parris represent the driving forces of fear and paranoia that plagues the minds of the people in their society. Society’s reaction to their driving force is to comply because to do otherwise is to be an outcast, and to be an outcast could get one killed.
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is accused of performing witchcraft and contracting with the Devil. He is faced with the decision to either confess to or deny the accusations. Ultimately, Proctor chooses to deny the accusations and dies a martyr. Proctor’s decision to sacrifice himself is justified because he protected the reputation of those who died and risked being arrested to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor’s death is justified because he was willing to sacrifice his life to protect the reputation of others.
“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.