COMMON MOD - The Crucible Flashcards
Major insights
- Individuals with integrity can still uphold their individuality during a period of mass hysteria. (Proctor)
- Through condemning rigid societies in which power is afforded to deceitful individuals, Miller scrutinises people who use their manipulative qualities to control others. (Abigail)
- The blind obedience to the law leads to mass destruction and corruption in a society that is morally bereft. (Danforth)
- Corrosive effect of collectivism and its assault on individuality (forgoing positive qualities to seek safety in the collective) (Mary Warren)
- Miller explores the transformation of individuals through introspection within corrupt societies (Hale)
Proctor quotes and analysis
Tragic hero archetype – has a tragic flaw that consumes him but in his moment of self realisation as a result of the painful process of self-examination. Aspects of this are seen when he “made no promise to Abigail” - he accepts responsibility for his actions in the past by regretting them and being truthful about his actions
and confessing that he committed a sin - “I confessed, I confessed!” - Miller suggests that the human condition is flawed and vulnerable
Moment of anagnorisis - “rung the bell” of his honour, “made the bell” of his “good name” – metaphor of Proctor’s honour as a bell exposes how he must sacrifice his reputation - miller criticising that in order to stay alive in this world, one must become morally bereft.
shows how the miscarriage of justice has led to Proctor tarnishing his reputation in an attempt to overcome his weakness and managed to uphold his integrity. Shows that despite living in a period of mass hysteria and the lack of advocation of justice, he has managed embrace his positive qualities of honour and integrity – having the ability to put society on a morally correct path.
Moment of catharsis in the stage direction “proctor tears the paper and crumples it” - Miller suggests that despite holding up his integrity and accepting responsibility for his sins, Proctor has been punished, leading to a miscarriage of justice.
Danforth quotes and analysis
Stage direction – “exact loyalty to his position and cause” – Danforth has no intention to seek for the truth, challenging our assumptions that the authority figures are there to advocate for justice – inability for one to no accept the truth has led to them becoming ethically devoid (also seen in “when evil mixed itself with good” – exposing clear rigid binaries that give the court power)
When he asks Francis a multitude of rhetorical questions: “upon my signature” and “seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” – symbol of signature representing Danforths power challenges our assumptions by showing how collective justice differs from individual justice – miller also criticising the blinding nature of self-righteousness – doesn’t restore justice
“I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for it” – irony emphasising how Miller challenges the assumption that justice is always advocated for by exposing how corrupt individuals favour self-preservation as a result of the paranoia and fear that arises in a time of difficulty.
Abigail quotes and analysis
Stage direction that describes Abigail as an “orphan” who had passion for “dissembling” and is now “all worry” and “propriety”. Contrast of “dissembling” and “propriety” further exposes the idea of her duplicitous identity – allowing the audience to experience true devastation at the way revenge has consumed her, leading to the demise of society.
Notion of Abigail’s cunning and desire for revenge as she threatens the girls by saying that she will “bring a pointy reckoning” if they do so much as “breathe a word”
This is being juxtaposed with Abigail flaunting her false facade of being a “good” and “proper” girl in public spheres to exploit others. This creates a sense of dramatic irony for the audience as they have experienced Abigail acting inconsistently in private and public spheres, with miller condemning the individual who acts dupliciously, restricts individuality to the extent that it causes personal and collective suffering and societal trauma, resulting in the breakdown of traditional ethical standards.
Mary Warren quotes and analysis
“I feel a clamp around my neck”, in which the symbolism of the “clamp” represents the suffocating nature of collective pressure - Miller is criticising the power of fear to degrade one’s moral codes and can trigger inconsistent behaviours as Mary knows that wrong to condemn a poor woman but was pressured by her desire to be accepted by the collective, due to the safety and power that results from aligning with collective viewpoints.
Stage direction “she points at John Proctor” and calls him “the devil’s man”, unveiling how she has completely and utterly succumbed to fear and lost her integrity. The accusatory nature of the stage direction and the exclamatory tone reveals her inconsistent behaviour that is influenced by fear of losing the collective acceptance at the price of her own integrity- survival exists in unity and commonly held ideologies.
“pretense” - Tone of conviction she has for one moment. Showing her rational understanding in this moment as she is directly references the false claims of the witched, displaying this sense of integrity in this moment. Miller emphasises the power of collectivism as Mary has the ability to display integrity, but is consumed by grief and fear of not aligning with societal viewpoints.
Introduction - bits i need to memorise
THESIS.. EFFECT ON READER - This invites the audience to reflect on their own personal and shared experiences that manipulate their responses to life’s challenges. CONTEXT - Arthur Miller’s tragedy “The Crucible”, functions as a political allegory by providing a fictional and historical account on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, equating the witch-hunt madness with the McCarthyist ‘communist hunts’ of the 1950s - a period of high cold war tensions in the USA (Red Scare). INTRO TO PARAS - Inspired by his own contextual events, Miller exposes how the greed for power as a result of the inability to accept the truth paradoxically undermines the search for legitimacy, how love can cause an individual to take revenge in the form of manipulating the truth for their personal gain, and the devastating consequences of this on the individual who refuses to exist in a world of such mistruth and abuse of authority. BACK TO THESIS STATEMENT…
