2019 EA The Crucible Notes Rochelle Collins Notes 4 PDF

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Power and Justice Quote

Technique

Effect

ABIGAIL: “I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!”.

Asyndeton Alliteration Rhetorical question Hyperbole

Abigail’s power was derived from her need to acquire her own justice against Proctor and the town. Proctor ending their affair broke Abigails heart, and caused her emotions to spiral and her hunger for power to become unsustainable. Through alliteration Abigail’s distaste for the puritan beliefs is expressed. Puritans wanted to purge evil from the world, doing this through their witch hunts, similarly to how McCarthyism aimed to eradicate communism. Ironically, after Abigail expresses her sinful love for Proctor, revealing her fragile state and hatred for the puritan society through an asyndeton and a hyperbole, she planned her revenge using the system she so hated. Her actions are fueled by her hurt and motivated by the betrayal of Proctor and the town. Abigail begins a domino effect, causing the Salem society to spiral into hysteria, about fear of witchcraft, and the devastating trials these accusations bring.

HALE: “ Be his helper! - What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!”

Frantic dialogue Personification Anaphora Stage direction Rhetorical question

Hale’s negative experience with the church was a catalyst for his metamorphosis, his reaction to the witch trials being severe, conveying not only his disgust for the church, but also himself. Hale’s frantic dialogue and stage direction of ‘rushing out the door’ just before Proctor was to be hung shows the tension he feels within himself and the situation that he finds himself in. Personification is used to convey his emotional despair, and the guilt he feels over his part in the injustice of these trials, the hysteria they caused, and how he had the power to stop

them, yet was too naive to foreshadow the repercussions of his meddling. Anaphora is used to show a stark contrast between Hale at the beginning and end of the play, demonstrating the damaging effect the witch trials had on Hale’s persona. PROCTOR: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! … I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

Anaphora Symbolism Repetition

While Hale’s lack of power and guilt from the injustice he caused breaks him, Proctor accepts the fate he is powerless over, in return only wanting control over himself. The repetition of ‘name’ is used to emphasise the importance of it to Proctor, being symbolic of his power over his own identity. Proctor wants to remain his own man, with his own morals and beliefs, being who he wants to be. Signing his name over to the church is symbolic of surrendering everything that makes him Proctor, and he cannot accept that loss of self, on pain of death. It can be assumed that Miller, particularly in this scene has projected his struggles of protecting himself, as well as his reputation from UAAC and accusations of communism onto Proctor’s character. In this scene Anaphora is also used to emphasise the strength of Proctor in this scene, repelling the destructive ideals of puritan society, and keeping true to his own ideals and morals. He has finally gained control over his life in spite of the church, only to be unjustly killed for it moments later, further highlighting the unjust nature of the church.

Transgression and Redemption Quote

Technique

Effect

PROCTOR: “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I’ll cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.”

Metaphor Violent imagery

Proctor throughout the play struggles to redeem himself from his past transgressions throughout the play, in fear of ruining his good name and reputation. This mindset is influenced by puritan beliefs, protecting their good name above everything else. Proctor wronged himself, his wife and God when he committed adultery with Abigail. The metaphor and violent imagery highlights the drastic nature of his feelings towards Abigail and himself. He feels a sense of guilt towards his wife, yet his sense of pride is more important to him than confessing and redeeming himself from his transgression. This need to keep his good name comes from the beliefs and morals of the puritan society, and the perceived importance a good name has in the eyes of God. However Proctors transgression also involves Abigail and is essentially the cause of the witch hunting and hysteria in salem. His transgression has affected and involves the collective community of salem.

PROCTOR: “ I have known her, sir. I have… known her. DANFORTH: (A pause. His eyes stare incredulously at Proctor.) “You… you are a lecher?”

Euphemism Stage direction Ellipses Lexis (lecher) Repetition

Proctors guilt of the witch hunt in Salem causes him to disregard his hubris and finally confess to his wrong doings. Proctor feels responsible for the witch hunt and hysteria in Salem, causing his crushing guilt. Repetition and a euphemism is used to convey the struggle Proctor has revealing his transgression, having kept it repressed for so long has hindered his ability to speak about it. Stage direction and ellipses is used to show Danforth’s shock towards the confession, furthering the audiences understanding of the puritan society, that a good name is extremely

important in this society, making Proctor's confession all the more redeeming. HALE: [continuing to Elizabeth] “I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion”

Simile Frantic tone Alliteration

Hale does not redeem himself from his past transgressions, due to his selfish response to the witch trials. A simile is used to convey Hales guilt of giving rise to the devastating witch trials, and the hysteria they caused within the Salem community. His frantic tone is used to show tension within himself and the situation that he finds himself in, showing his desperation to redeem himself, trying to convince a man to go against his morals to make himself feel less responsible. In the face of tragedy, Hale responds selfishly to the witch trials, and is left weeping at the end, crushed by the guilt of the witch trials, and paying not only for his transgressions, but also the church’s.

Witch Hunting Quote

Technique

Effect

Metaphor DANFORTH: “You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court Asyndeton or he must be counted against it, there be no road between”

Witch hunting is seen as a propaganda technique driving the community into mass hysteria. The idea of witch-hunting is an allegory to McCarthyism. During the 1950’s in America, the communist upheaval became a ‘collective witch hunt’, driven by the governments political agenda. A metaphor and an asyndeton is used to show the power the court has over people using witch hunting propaganda. This parallels with the power the Un-American Activities Committee (UAAC) gained by accusing Americans of communism. In the crucible, Danforth uses his power to find find and punish the townspeople who signed Francis Nurse’s testament, as they do not conform to the puritan society, and therefore threaten the churches power. This abuse of power is shown specifically through Danforth and Hale’s interaction with the people of Salem, using the threat of witch hunting to manipulate and control the people into submission.

HALE: “Did you feel a strangeness when she called him? A sudden cold wind, perhaps? A trembling below the ground?”

While Danforth actively and knowingly uses witch hunting to gain and maintain his power, Hale encourages others to do the same. Hale’s manipulative nature is highlighted through the use of hypophora and a tricolon, giving Abigail the knowledge and ability to use the war on witchcraft as a means to enact her own revenge. Hale targets Abigail as she is young and impressionable, wanting to get a confession from her, hoping to use this experience to further his career. This began the collective witch hunt, causing widespread fear and other false confessions to further an individual's personal agenda (as shown through the Putnam's

Hypophora Foreshadowing Tricolon

actions). Using fear to control people can be successful temporarily, but will ultimately fail as it did in the crucible, and as Arthur Miller foreshadowed would happen with the era of McCarthyism. ABIGAIL: “I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!”

Epizeuxis Anaphora Tricolon

Hysteria during the witch hunt also played an important role in the church keeping power over the townspeople, as the people couldn’t fight each other as well as the church. The townsfolk, particularly Abigail accepted and become active in the hysterical climate as it presented an opportunity to act on long-held grudges. Epizeuxis is used to further convince others of Abigail’s lie, allowing her to further the hysteria in salem for her own selfish purposes, similar to what would happen during the McCarthyism Era. Anaphora and a tricolon is used to show how Abigail was quick to abandon the puritan morals and beliefs rather than face the punishment for witchcraft. The other girls involved in the ritual were quick to follow Abigails lead in cleansing themselves from responsibility, and blaming other citizens for their actions, highlighting the power of mob mentality....