Literary analysis: The Crucible

1. The Crucible is a playwright that is based on the Salem Witch trials. A bunch of nonsensical girls in Danforth try a few spells and other forbidden things with a black servant. They soon get found out, but deny it all. They then proceed to act like they've been cursed and possessed by witches, all in order to stay out of trouble and to also gain things they wanted. The Puritan community is scared by the girls' actions, and many innocent women accused of being witches are sent to jail. The proctors are targeted by the lead girl, Abigail Williams, because she wanted to be with John Proctor. Ultimately John himself is sent to the gallows, and a year later the witch trials had caused lots of trouble, and came to an end.

2. I picked up two themes from this book. One big one is how quickly people can succumb to fear. When a few people started becoming afraid of the Devil and witches in their community, all the citizens began to panic, and started to think irrationally. The effect of this widespread panic was the death sentence of many innocent women accused of being witches. Another theme would have to be the way they treated the people they charged. Many of the women sent to death by the trials were women (and a few men) who didn't really fit into the community that well. They were known for odd things here and there, but not something that would've made them a witch before the girls started with the accusations.

3. Since this was originally a playwright, the author provided different tones for each person that was talking in different situations, since 85% of the book was dialogue. Yet a common thing between all character's voices and the bit of narration was how solemn it sounded, and sometimes even fearful. The story took place in a time of panic and fear.
"Mrs. Putnam, softly:Aye. Her voice breaks; she looks up at him. Silence." - Act One, pg. 39
"Hale: Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." - Act Two, pg. 71
"Mary Warren, hysterically, pointing at Proctor, fearful of him: My name, he want my name. 'I'll murder you,' he says, 'if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court he says!'" - Act Three, pg. 119

4. There is dramatic irony used in this story. Most of the time I knew what the girls were really up to, while the other characters did not. Arthur Miller is also very descriptive with some of his character's dialogue. The dialogue itself can be considered a literary element, since he uses it to provide indirect characterization of his characters. There is conflict between the innocent accused (Proctors, others) and the "possessed" girls and the juries and judges of the trials.

1. Direct Characterization:
“Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.”
“He was the kind of man- powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led- who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment.”
Indirect Characterization:
“In Proctor’s presence, a fool felt his foolishness instantly- and proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul.”
All of the dialogue between the characters can be used as indirect characterization of all the characters, e.g. how evil Abigail really is.
Miller uses both to show his character’s true colors, in a way that is obvious and a way that you have to really listen/read closely to figure out. This really helped me in order to see what the characters were really up to, like Abigail and her reasons for her acting possessed.

2. Since Miller is writing with dialogue for 85% of the story, each character has their own unique diction. Most characters share the same kind of Puritan-style speaking, while there are some uneducated characters speaking differently, like Tituba. She speaks with words such as “git” and “goin,” showing she can speak English, but not properly.
3. John Proctor is a dynamic and round character. He changes completely through the book. He starts out as a kind of quiet, farmer man who was having marriage troubles after he was fooling around with Abigail Williams. But towards the end he gives his own life for his wife and to make a statement about the wrongdoings of the girls accusing people of witchcraft.
4. To me, I felt like I was reading a part of a history book, and not in the bad way. This is very close as to what really happened in the Salem Witch Trials, with a few exaggerations to make the story more interesting. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, even though I did sympathize toward John Proctor and his wife.