The most skilful composers will be able to effectively represent the deception which can arise from the ulterior motives behind politics. The indication that political motivations may be ambiguous but control is the ultimate goal, is represented in Author Miller’s play The Crucible and Richard Eyre’s 2006 film, ‘Notes on a Scandal’. Both textual forms are able to demonstrate relationships which revolve around political influences for the motivations of power and control over a desired companion. This, in turn, displays an authoritative status that often comes into concern over the wellbeing of others. Knowledge of the truth has the ability to bind relationships into a manipulative and controlling state with the power to disassemble an individual …show more content…
However these motivations are justified through religious self-righteousness. A form of this corruption is particularly evident in Reverend Parris, the main minister of the village, as his supposedly holy character is stained with a greed for money, reputation and control of the court; “There is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning!” Exclamatory dramatic language is seen in the scene of their quarrels over the minister deserving a house to be donated by the community. This emphasises his god-like power as a minister which enables him to control the fate of the church and the fate of the people. “I have Sought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me”, demonstrates a tone of voice which is high in modality to dramatize the importance of status to Paris as he distresses over losing his control in the village. Author miller represents Paris’ continues selfish concerns from the beginning of the play, ever since the possibility of witchcraft came about as he states to Abigail, “Now tell me true, Abigail. And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you, for now my ministry’s at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousins life”. Furthermore, the main antagonist Abigail’s threats in Act 1, as Betty became ill and witchcraft was suspected …show more content…
John Proctor’s tragic hero attempts to redeem himself through his individuality and non-conformist attitudes but this resulted also in his death. The thematic representation of the play takes the audience on an extremely tense and frustrating cycle of events that is ultimately pointless and destructive as Danforth claims; “We burn a hot fire here, it melts down all concealment”. Tension is emphasised in the dramatic techniques such as lighting devices. In Act 1; the darkness represents mystery and dishonesty, as the play progresses into Act 2, there is a weak light symbolising the rise of politics. By Act 3 bright lights stream through the windows, representing confessions and revelations. However, Act 4, begins in darkness then ends in bright light, representing that while Proctor’s resistance of political corruption resulted in his death, he is able to claim a moral victory and this gives the audience a sense of tragic catharsis as they journey with this tragic hero. Such theatrical techniques and representations emphasise the succession of tension throughout the play and the widespread effect of individual politics. The significant characterisation of John Proctor comes into effect as he is made the hero with the fatal flaw of lechery, “It is a whores vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your
The focus of Miller’s The Crucible is an appalling witch trial that morfs the once-peaceful town of Salem into a cutthroat slaughterhouse. As a lucrative playwright and a not-so-subtle allegory author, Miller is a seasoned wordsmith who addresses people akin to himself, and is not secretive about that information. The Crucible best serves its purpose as a learning device and a social statement, especially at the time of its publishing. Miller‘s piece showcases the appeals in an easy-to-identify manner that is perfect for middle or high school students who are new to the appeals, or for English majors who have no problem pinpointing them, making this play ideal for a classroom setting.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how authority is a characteristic that can easily become a problem throughout a society. Many subjects were addressed in The Crucible such as guilt, hypocrisy, justice, hysteria, and courage. However, the most important subject throughout the play would be the nature of authority. There is a fine line between the concept of having authority and having power. In the book, the authority weakened and led to the antagonist Abigail Williams leading the law as opposed to the law leading Abigail Williams. At the instant that Abigail was granted authority over the townspeople she acted on it in order to have power. Not only is there power that comes with authority, but there is also responsibility which was demonstrated
They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop; here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life. ' A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.
Also important to the play is how Arthur Miller depicts how one selfish, evil person like Abigail Williams can bring others down and make others follow her to commit evil acts. These evil acts affect even the most honest people in the town like John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Rebecca Nurse who cannot fight the accusations made against them by those following Abigail. Those following Abigail are considered to be holy men that are full of honesty and justice, but the play shows that even those who are thought to be respectable and right, like people of government or community leaders can bring death to innocent people if they are driven by something wrong. II. Plot: The plot begins with the inciting incident where Rev. Parris finds his niece Abigail Williams and his daughter Betty along with his slave Tituba doing some dance in the forest.
"Power tends to corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" - Lord Action. In "The Crucible" composed by Arthur Miller control, power, fear and greed were the main factors that began the Salem witch trails. Power brings out the true nature of a person and we see that happening to Abigail throughout the play. That brings me to my next point fear, Abigail used the fear of accusing people of being witches to gain power and control. It all started with Abigail misunderstanding lust for love. John Proctor thought softly of her and she began dreaming of replacing his wife willing to go to any needs necessary.
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.
Explore Miller’s dramatic presentation and development of the theme of power and authority. Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court
The plot of the play is pushed by her lies because of the severe consequences they cause and the hysteria that floods the town’s once pure society. Abigail commits her first lie as she tells her uncle Parris and Reverend Hale of Beverly, “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba…” (43) Abigail Williams has been questioned by both her Uncle Parris and Hale, a weighty spiritual doctor that has been called into their town, about what she and her friends were doing in the forest when her uncle spotted them. While Abigail knew the conjuring of spirits and casting a spell upon Elizabeth Proctor was not permitted in the Puritan society and could lead to banishment or death of both her and her friends, she decides to give in to the propensity to lie and put the blame elsewhere. Her initial motivation to lie about what she was doing in the forest stemmed from the natural tendency to avoid punishment, however a deeper motivation blooming from this lie comes from her desire to seek vengeance on Elizabeth Proctor and conceal her lonely emotions she has towards Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor. Abigail and John both commit the sin of adultery, however while John deeply regrets his behaviors with Abigail and condemns himself back to his marriage with Elizabeth, Abigail has not accepted that fact of being alone and forgotten about. When she blames Tituba for being
The Crucible is a play which brings to our attention many timeless issues. The nature of good and evil, power and its corruption, honour and integrity and our tendency to create scapegoats for all manner of problems are all brought up through the course of the play - sometimes in very dramatic fashion.
The witchcraft trials became a significant event in Salem. There were 20 innocent people that died and many more accused. There is a debate on whether who was the main reason for the witchcraft trials and all the deaths of the accused. There are good arguments on about every side. Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are all the main arguments for the blame. Personally, I believe that Abigail Williams is the main reason why the witchcraft trials came about and that so many people have died and were accused.
Each act tells the audience more about the characters and gives insight into what others think of them. John’s character is slowly revealed to the audience as the play develops. It is one of Millers devices, which means that Proctor’s character is slowly developed and the audience slowly become more aware of his different sides leading to this climatic moment in Act 4. The play begins with a group of girls practicing witchcraft in the woods. The next morning several of the younger girls fall seriously ill, some are unable to wake.
A crucible is a severe test or trial; at one point in their lives everyone is going to be faced with a crucible. When this severe test comes people are often put under a lot of pressure and do unexpected things. During the 1690's many people were put under a test when they were accused of witchcraft and put on trial for it. The test that some people had to undergo can be demonstrated in, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The characters Paris, Hale and Proctor were all put under pressure and revealed their true colors when they acted under the stress of the situation; Parris entered a power struggle, Proctor stood up for what was right, and Hale’s actions turned into regret.
The desire for power and authority has always been a part of the human nature. Today’s society most often use power to dominate one another and fulfill one’s personal intentions, which can affect other people in many ways. Having power and authority is truly gratifying but it is terrifying if abused and used for selfish acts. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is an example to illustrate the consequences of abuse of power. The characters Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris use their power over society by manipulating people and using their authority to fulfill their personal intentions, like material gain, vengeance, maintaining social status and reputation, and attention, which eventually lead into a mass hysteria.
However even though the church cannot be openly defied it can be manipulated, Reverend Samuel Parris uses the authority of the church to place himself higher then others in the community. He makes his own requests through the church, demanding that he should be given golden candlesticks. This shows manipulation on a small scale; on a much larger scale, Abigail and the other girls (who have no power whatsoever in the beginning of the play- eg them dancing is prohibited, young girls are used a maids until they are old enough be married) are able to manipulate people’s beliefs and the law of the Bible. They claim to have seen witchcraft and accuse many people of using it. And because the village is filled with devoted Christians, whose whole world revolves around God, what would expect their reactions to be, to these accusations?
Great events, whether they are beneficial or tragic ones, bring change in a person. These scenarios can give one an entirely new perspective on life, and turn around his way of thinking. Events such as the Salem Witch Trials show the people involved what they could not see before. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor gain valuable insight into themselves, as well as others.