Witch Trials
The Crucible
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The Crucible
If only Hester had majored in English...
The Alchemist
Welcome AP-Kateers! Lets journey through language together.
The Crucible
The AP-Kateers, 2008-2009
- Belknap, Laura
- Bueno, Aaron
- Cruickshank, Chelsea
- Del Carmen, Julio Cesar
- Disch, Samantha
- Dunbar, Christina
- Florendo, Anna
- Garcia-Angel, Maria Socorro
- Hua, Hayley
- Idika, Nneka
- Kane, Holly
- Kass, Gina
- Mc Cormick, Maddy
- Mejia Aceituno, Jennifer
- Mikkelsen, Stevie
- Minjoe, Mari
- Ocampo, Vianey
- Pham, Benjamin
- Randazzo, Samantha
- Reyes, Alejandra
- Riveros, Felipe
- Rodriguez-Ruiz, Manuel
- Samano, Nayda
- Shafer, Allison
- Stojanov, Tatiana
- Tiffany, Connor
- Winslow, Myles
- Yuasa, Tomomi
Summer Reading Assignments
Summer Reading Assignment
Relax with a good book!
http://milazzoap0809.blogspot.com/
Blog your opintions!
The books you need to check out or purchase (your choice):
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Crucible By Arthur Milller
The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho
Here are the five steps to be ready for AP English next year:
Step One: Sign up with your important information by June 6th.
Go to Mrs. Milazzo, and create a gmail email account (if you have one, you can use the one you already have). Important information to share:
Email
Phone Number
Mailing Address
Step Two: Log on to the Blog
Post a general response on the Blog before June 9th.
http://milazzoap0809.blogspot.com/
Step Three: Curl up and read a good book with your dialectical journal.
As you read your book, you will be required to write 5 dialectical journal entries for each novel for a total of 15 entries. These are due the first day of class.
Warning: You will be in danger of being dropped from AP English for not completing this summer assignment.
Step Four: Respond to the books on the blog.
Choose one dialectical entry for each book, and post it on the blog.
Step Five: Chat, add comments, questions, or suggestions to entries posted by other classmates. You must respond to at least three entries.
Again, completing this assignment shows that you are serious about this class. It is posted on the blog, the school web site, and has been given to Mr. CH. “I didn’t know” will not be an acceptable excuse for not completing this assignment. You may be dropped from the class if you choose not to complete this assignment.
Relax with a good book!
http://milazzoap0809.blogspot.com/
Blog your opintions!
The books you need to check out or purchase (your choice):
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Crucible By Arthur Milller
The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho
Here are the five steps to be ready for AP English next year:
Step One: Sign up with your important information by June 6th.
Go to Mrs. Milazzo, and create a gmail email account (if you have one, you can use the one you already have). Important information to share:
Phone Number
Mailing Address
Step Two: Log on to the Blog
Post a general response on the Blog before June 9th.
http://milazzoap0809.blogspot.com/
Step Three: Curl up and read a good book with your dialectical journal.
As you read your book, you will be required to write 5 dialectical journal entries for each novel for a total of 15 entries. These are due the first day of class.
Warning: You will be in danger of being dropped from AP English for not completing this summer assignment.
Step Four: Respond to the books on the blog.
Choose one dialectical entry for each book, and post it on the blog.
Step Five: Chat, add comments, questions, or suggestions to entries posted by other classmates. You must respond to at least three entries.
Again, completing this assignment shows that you are serious about this class. It is posted on the blog, the school web site, and has been given to Mr. CH. “I didn’t know” will not be an acceptable excuse for not completing this assignment. You may be dropped from the class if you choose not to complete this assignment.
The Scarlet Letter
If only Hester had majored in English...
The Alchemist
The Alchemist
Blog Archive
About Me
- Mrs. Milazzo
- The English teacher with a little bit of crazy in every box!
48 comments:
So I realize that no one wants
to be the first person to comment
or anything, but i guess I'll
be the martyr because I've read it
so Idk, why not?
The Crucible really annoyed me.
The characters and their actions were really ludicrous.
That scene where Mary Warren
confessed to her lie and then
Abigail "saw" Mary's spector was the dumbest thing. I literally thought I was gonna pull out all my hair and eat it -__-
The book was good in the sense
that It served to show the absurdity of human nature and the
faults of a theocractic society.
It was pretty nice i suppose.
oh yeah:
"DANFORTH: Proctor, you mistake me. I am not empowered to trade your life for a lie. You have most certainly seen some person with the Devil. Proctor is silent. Mr. Proctor, a score of people have already testified they saw this woman with the Devil. (MILLER 130)"
When John Proctor is submitting his false confession, Danforth tries to badger Procter into incriminating several others in addition to his own testimony. Danford becomes incredulous during the proceedings because of Proctors unwillingness to name others. Danford is disbelieving
of Procter because many people claim to have seen Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey with the Devil. It just goes to show that if a lot of people say they saw or heard something people are going to be quick to assume validity in the statement, however absurd it may be.
Ok, I'm the second person putting a comment on this blog, so pardon me if I'm doing something wrong. Here's my entry:
“No—no, I come of my own, without the court’s authority. Hear me. I know not if you are aware, but your wife’s name is—mentioned in the court.” (Act 2, page 60)
Uttered by Reverend Hale, this quote revealed his fair and honest traits that were otherwise deficient in Salem. By visiting the Proctors on his own, he gave them the opportunity to explain and defend themselves against the incriminating evidence set down before them. He wanted to hear for himself the reasons why John did not attend church and why one of his sons was left unbaptized. Unlike the several higher authorities in Salem, he doubted, even for a little, the words of Abigail and her cohort. He was a fair individual who wanted to administer justice honestly, and refused to take innocent people’s lives without stronger evidence than the words of Abigail. This quote revealed that he was a just man, because he gave Elizabeth a fair warning that her name was mentioned in court, which implied that her arrest might soon come after.
If you wish to comment about my entry, just go here: http://ohwellsummerreading.blogspot.com/
This is my comment on Nneka's entry:
I agree with all the things that Nneka just said. I think that if there weren't a lot of girls who accused people of associating with the devil, nobody would believe them. For instance, if Abigail was the only person who made the accusations, people will think that she's crazy. However, since there were people who backed her story up, people thought that she was telling the truth.
"PROCTOR. If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem- vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance; I will not give my wife to vengeance!" (Miller, 44).
Proctor brings up a good point. Parris and Abigail are presumed as innocent as newborns, but they are pulling the strings here. Proctor dislikes Parris as a preacher and is also very well known. If he gets ousted, then Parris will have one less enemy to worry about, and people will presume that the Devil advocates opposing Parris. Abigail wants Elizabeth dead so that she can marry Proctor and live happily ever after, according to her fantasy. However, real life doesn't work out that way; Proctor knows that Abigail wants Elizabeth dead. If Elizabeth dies, what's to keep Proctor from despising Abigail? Even if they do marry, how can she be sure that it's because Proctor loves her and not because he fears her? If Proctor is killed, then Parris's plan may actually backfire; the people might riot because a popular and morally upright man is dead. Parris might be hated even more because people will doubt that Proctor is evil. In any case, the plans are not thought through very well.
I also agree with Nneka's comment. People say that they've seen the Loch Ness Monster, but the only actual proof is a blurry photo that's been proved to be a fake. The women were accused because Abigail and the girls didn't like them, and other people accused them just to show how morally upright they were or, if they were in prison, to stop the torture. However, the reader must remember that this is a highly Christian community where everyone thought that witchcraft and the Devil did really exist. Plus, there were no cameras back then, so the judges did really have to depend on "eye witness accounts."
"MERCY: Her grandma come. She's improved a little, I think - she give a powerful sneeze before.
MRS. PUTNAM: Ah, there's a sign of life!
MERCY: I'd fear no more, Goody Putnam. It were a grand sneeze; another like it will shake her wits together, I'm sure. (Miller 17)"
As I read Mercy's comment about how a sneeze could "shake her wits together," I couldn't help but think to myself, "What an idiot. Who told her that?" Then, I realized that that was exactly what Miller wanted me to think. Mercy's ignorance is a demonstration of the silly convictions of the townspeople, and leads the reader to form an opinion of 1690's Massachusetts in general. Here, Miller is setting the stage for the witch trials, an event that could only be allowed by a group of people who have been terribly misinformed, or, quite simply, have formed stupid ideas. Mercy's statement is just the beginning of a slew of others, both absurd and maddening, that the reader must endure to get the full effect of the lunacy behind the tragedy.
I might be bringing about the same idea as Miss Randazzo, but as they say "Great minds think alike".
"PROCTOR: Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my lief! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How many I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! (Miller 143)"
This play script is filled absurdities which helps represent the insanity of Salem's citizens during the devastating witch hunt. This quote, recited by John Proctor moments after falsely confessing to conversing with the Devil, seems to be one that in contrast to the words of other characters actually has substance and makes sense. It is amazing that during a time of chaos and death he is able to understand that one's word is flexible and renewable in certain terms, but that one's name and self identity is not. This simple fact is one that separates John Proctor from the majority of the other characters in this story. It's ironic that the one person the town is singling out and condemning as an ally to the Devil is one of the last stable members of the community, and a man that could have probably helped Salem out of its misery if they were willing to listen.
“Elizabeth: I came to think he fancied her. And so one night I lost my wits, I think, and put her out on the highroad.
Danforth: Your husband--did he indeed turn from you?
Elizabeth, in agony: My husband--is a goodly man, sir.
Danforth: Then he did not turn from you.
Elizabeth, starting to glance at Proctor: He--
Danforth, reaches out and holds her face, then: Look at me! To your knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery? In crisis of indecision she connot speak. Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!
Elizabeth, faintly: No, sir.
Danforth: Remove her Marshal.
Proctor: Elizabeth, tell the truth!” (Miller, 113)
Elizabeth Proctor is one of the only characters that made me sad while reading this novel. She seems to be a very loyal and loving wife, and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her husband, John. John, on the other hand, found himself not to be such a loyal husband in the beginning, after sneaking around with Abigail, but tries to fix it all in this scene by confessing that he is a lecher. During the court scene, the sorrow that I felt for Elizabeth drifted in because she went through extremes to keep her husbands name safe, even if it meant lying to the court. This section of conversation really shows how loyal of a character Elizabeth is because she, for the first time, lies, saying he has never committed the crime of lechery (knowing he really has) which caused herself to be put back into jail.
I felt the Crucible was the best book out of the three because it really kept me on my feet and wanting more. It was full of twist and turns which created it to a be very dynamic novel to read.
"HALE, pleading: I have seen too many frightful proofs in court-the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!" (Miller 68)
This play was written at time when a similar witch-hunt was occurring, not for actual witches but for communists. Indeed the Devil did seem to be alive in Salem, and he took the peoples' good sense and rationality. A frenzy overtook the town, and they were quick to accept even a young girl's accusations of witchery or risk being accused of witchcraft themselves. They were willing to betray others, who were almost certainly innocent, to save their own lives. During the Cold War, the United States was overcome in a frenzy to identify Communists. The young girls of Salem acted like HUAC of the 1950's, who interrogated and accused everyone they thought to be "un-American." If the accused admitted to being a Communist but also gave names of others who were, they were let off the hook and allowed to live normally in society. The same was true of those who admitted to being a witch but accused others of witchcraft and promised to give up their sinful practice. They were allowed to live and accepted back into the Salem. For the accused Communists who refused to confess or give names, they were blacklisted, excluded from society. The accused of Salem who refused to confess were hanged. Miller uses this story to show that this terrible event can be repeated in history, and how ridiculous it all seems when we step back and look at it all. This is what can happen when we allow ourselves to be swept along with the crowd and don't take the time to see the full effect of our actions.
My response on Sam Randazzo's post:
I thought the same exact thing while reading the first act. The people in this book are completely ridiculous, which I find a little bit difficult in trying to figure out their motives and such. I can't grasp their idea of common sense because these people are just way too crazy for me to relate to what any of them are saying.
There are parts of Nneka's comments that I totally agree with but for the most part I enjoyed reading this book. I am familiar with the text after being in the production and I thought that gave me an advantage becuase not only did I know what they were saying, I also got to see the different ways a character can be portrayed. I thought thye characters made the plot come to life (Sam's comment about Mercy being the "town idiot" was brilliant) and made me really enjoy the play.
this is Fiona Condon by the way...I am not technically savey and still havent figured out how to create my username, anyone want to guide me to the light?
I figured it out...whoops
"I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she come into court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in ditches, and so very old and poor...but then...then she sit there, denying and denying, and I feel a misty coldness climbin' up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep..."
(Pg. 32)
This monologue is interesting to me mainly because it shows the reader that Mary Warren had no intention of sentencing Goody Osburn to death; monly when she was surrounded by the towns people was she "overcome" with hate for the old woman. Mary did not want to kill her just for fun (like certain others) but wanted to keep herself safe against the crazed girls. They would have said Mary was a witch and then she would have to fight for her own life.
In response to Sami's comment:
This book was also my favorite of the three. I enjoyed reading a play as a change, and although it was frustrating at times, the absurdity was definitely entertaining.
Like you, Elizabeth was one of the few characters in this play that I wanted to succeed because she was simple and forgiving. However I also wanted John Proctor to be acquitted because even though he had an affair with Abigail it was obvious he loved Elizabeth greatly. After reading The Scarlet Letter it was hard for me to hate an adulterous character.
The most heart wrenching part of this play for me was when Elizabeth denied that John had an affair because she was trying to uphold her husband's good name. She didn't know he had already confessed, and because she didn't provide substance to his confession, he was charged.
It was truly devastating to see Elizabeth and John suffer for trying to be good people in a time of utter chaos.
I agree with what nneka said at the top of the page. This was the only thing I've ever read that ever made me want to go inside it and smack some characters.
“Abigail: I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil!
Betty: I saw Goody Bibber with the Devil!
Abigail: I saw Goody Booth with the Devil!” (pg. 46)
This is the scene at the end of Act 1 where the girls start to accuse various people of witch craft. When I had first read this part I figured they were just creating scapegoats to cover up for themselves. Then I began to think that there might be an underlying cause to them doing that. Back in those times (especially in places like Salem) women had little rights or control over anything in society. I believe that being even more powerless due to being unmarried and a servant; Abigail saw this as a chance to control the society she lived in. Without a legitimate way of gaining power she took an abstract way, which was to accuse her enemies of witch craft and eliminate them. It’s almost like a Napoleon complex but in the sense of figurative size instead of literal size.
My comment to nneka.
I HAVE to agree. When I was reading this I truly wanted to step into the book, make a noose and hang her with it. To think that someone was so quickly blinded by their power and what they could do with it sickens me.
For them it was all a frigging game. It really made me so angry I had to stop reading.
ABIGAIL:"Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam's dead sister. And that is all. And mark this. Let either you breathe a work, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents heads on the pillows next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
Well I think it is an extremely important moment when the reader comes to this point in the book. If for no other reason that one sees that they did more then they said. However, more importantly one sees Abigail's true side. One sees that she is there for not only her friends wellbeing but also to see if she is going to rat them out. This is very important because it shows that she had been lying the whole time. Which is what she is capable of, to say the least. The reader will establish a sense of mistrust as of this moment for the character of Abigail. Therefore, very important.
I agree with what ya'll said about going into the book and slapping some people...There were points in the crucible when I felt so angry I had to put down the book and stop reading. But I think this book really illustrates how ridiculous people can get when they become hysterical. The only reason the trials continued to proceed was because everyone was so caught up in it that it was like a snowball rolling down the mountain that can't be stopped.
To be honest I felt so sad for John Proctor. He obviously made a mistake with Abigail and paid a price that no man should have to pay for something like that.
Anyway that’s my two cents of the day
Dialectal journal coming soon
This book was ,really, an absurd book in my opinion. It had characters who where undecicive and bad tempered, especially the proctor, as he grabbed people by their neck collars and threatning them with suing or whatever might pleasure him. Now the girls where freakishly weird and extremely diabolical, mouthing words and killing people with ragdolls. At least this book was better than the "Scarlet Letter" ,in my opinion.
anyway inresponse to earlier comments I think John Proctor had it coming to him after what he had done with Abigail, he should have been "Hester Prynne" of "The Crucible", he did something that leaves people with a pain that does not leave someone with time alone, thats why he condemmed himself at the end of the book. I agree with Nneka when she says that the character's actions where ludicrous, thats all from me.
This is in response to Connor's comment about how abigail was really looking to have some control over the town in which she was living in, especially after what she had been through with the Proctors. I thought the exact same thing, wondering if they were just spouting out names to cover themselves up. But I also thought that people would be stupid not to see that they are just randomly accusing people to keep their own innocence. I had never thought about the fact that Abigail and her friends were kind of in it to get attention and authority over something in their lives. I guess Abigail's reasons might have been leaning somewhat towards revenge as well. Too much symbolism!!!
Hale: Woman, plead with him!
Woman! It is pride, it is vanity.
Be his helper! What profit him to bleed!
Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms
declare is truth? Go to him, take his shame
away!
Elizabeth: He have his goodness now.
God forbid I take it from him.
Sorry, but I was super confused by this remark. It is probably staring me in the face and I'm just not seeing it, but seriously! Is Elizabeth proud of her husband or has he gone crazy. He was trying to confess himself so that he could live and stay with elizabeth right? Or was he just trying to prove the court wrong? did he finally give in because he felt like he was pleasing the court by signing and confessing with that document. I am so confused.
In response to Maddie's comment:
I definitely don't think John did anything just to please the court. Of course he wanted to live and stay with Elizabeth, but to do that he would have had to sacrifice his good name and be forever marked as someone who had made a deal with the devil. He didn't testify against Abigail so his name wouldn't be tainted from his having an affair with her. I guess he wanted to die heroically rather than live without the full respect of the town, even if that meant leaving his wife. Personally I think living to stay with your wife is more important than keeping a spotless reputation, but then again, pretty much everyone was crazy in Salem.
in response to Sam's entry:
I totally get what your saying, and agree with it. I believe that some of the dialouge that Miller allows the characters to say really stands for their absurd ways of acting. It makes them out to be idiotic and sensless to things around them.
This i turn allows the reader to wonder who teaches the people of Salem such stupid things...
It also made me feel sorry for some of the characters because they seemed like little kids who are unsure of the world around them.
“Elizabeth: It is her dearest hope, John, I know it…. She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John.
Proctor: She cannot think it! He knows it is true.”
(Page 58)
John Proctor and his wife have been put into an extremely undesirable position in the midst of the town’s witch-related insanity, which brings out different sides in the both of them. Proctor is trying his hardest to keep his former relationship with Abigail a secret because he has learned his mistake, but he is in denial that she still longs to be with him. Elizabeth, on the other hand, faces her fear of Abigail’s threat upon their marriage and her life by flatly admitting it to her husband. Elizabeth’s suspicions are obvious and undoubtedly correct because they know that Abigail is cold-hearted enough to do such a thing, but neither of them can mention it to the court because that would entail Proctor to confess of his lechery. Proctor is still in the process of maturing into a man who can take responsibility for his sins, so it is foreshadowed that he will one day become respectable enough to step up to his actions and admit his past to the people solely for the benefit of his wife.
It seems to me that the people of Salem have a problem of getting into other people's business. I truly think that if so many of the characters had paid no attention to or did not spread rumors of witchcraft, those women wouldn't have been killed. It is a great lesson to learn: don't stick your nose into other people's problems. Haven't we got enough of our own?
“ABIGAIL: I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!”
This is when we fully understand that Abigail Williams and John Proctor had an affair. Abigail is telling Proctor that she is still deeply in love with him, and he with her, though in reality he is not. He is actually trying to get away from his past and forget the affair all together. This shows early on how delusional Abigail is. Later it seems that everyone is against her, but she continues to lie or alter the truth to save herself, and in return, many others die.
In response to Connor:
I think this is an extremely interesting point. As I was reading, I just thought of them as stupid little girls who had words put in there mouths by those of higher social status. But I think this idea is very valid and digs very deep into the character's motivations - and when you think of it in context, it does make perfect sense. There was even a point in the story where Abigail told Parris that she wouldn't be the Proctors' slave, that she wouldn't "black her face for them." Thinking of it the way Connor has suggested, this comment makes perfect sense and shows that Abigail has a superiority and/or power complex and a sense of entitlement.
“The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims. It suddenly became possible-and patriotic and holy-for a man to say that Martha Corey had come into his bedroom at night, and that, while his wife was sleeping at his side, Martha laid herself down on his chest and ‘nearly suffocated him.’ Of course it was her spirit only, but his satisfaction at confessing himself was no lighter than if it had been Martha herself. One could not ordinarily speak such things in public.” (Miller, 5)
I really liked this quote because it gives the reader insight on a key reason for why the Salem Witch Trials happened. It was not just a bunch of idiotic girls with their own stupid motives. It was also the society that allowed for selfish behavior that encouraged these people to throw darts at one another.
This quote really speaks the truth about the motives behind the witchcraft accusations. The justice system during the colonial times was very dysfunctional, so tension between fellow townspeople became built up over time. Problems were shoved under the rug, and issues weren’t exactly disputed in courts in an orderly manner. During the witch hunts, the people of Salem were given the message by their community that it was alright to make false accusations about another person in order to liberate themselves of various emotions of guilt for past sins. If these people healthily worked out their social and legal issues with one another by simply talking things out, accusations made against woman who were thought to be witches could have at least been honest misunderstandings. Nobody would have needed to go around and point fingers at anyone they felt contempt for, in order for them to feel like their problems would be solved.
"I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a god man, John only somewhat bewildered." (Miller 52)
John Proctor wanted Elizabeth to see his goodness after confessing to her and he asked her to not judge him. To our surprise after everything, Elizabeth tells him that she does not judge, his heart is the one who is judging him; and she also tells him that she only sees him as a good man. This means a lot because after all, Elizabeth is showing that she is a caring and lovely wife.
This is my response to myles' comment:
I really agree with you myles because that's when we first find out about them and it seems that John Proctor just wants to forget all about it, and keep living his life with his wife.
"I'll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never tear it free!" Act,scene 2, pg.59
Elizabeth wants Proctor to go and see Abigail and deny any promise that he may have made to her, so that Abigail will know she has no chance of becoming Proctor's wife. Proctor is angry because his wife will not drop the mistake he made of getting in an affair with Abigail.
Response to nneka:
I agree with what she said at the top of the page. That scene showed the absurdity of human nature.
"'Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!'"
(Proctor 90)
Near the end of the play, Proctor refuses to sign a false confession to witchcraft and save himself from being hanged. In Salem, reputation is extremely importantant, so it would seem that it is only his pride that keeps him from this false confession. But now he truly understands what it means to have a good reputation- that he must tell the truth, not lie to save himself. His refusal also reflects his feelings of unworthiness and betrayal to the other prisoners - why should he survive through a lie while the others are condemned to die? By refusing to sign his name, he redeems himself for failing to speak out earlier in the play and dies with honor.
Proctor:"I never knew until tonight that the world is gone with this nonsense."
Hale:"Nonsense!Mister,i have myself examined Tituba,Sarah Good,and numerous others that have confessed to dealing with the devil.They have confessed it."
Proctor:"And why not,if they ust hang for denyin'it?There are them that will swear to anything before they'll hang; have you ever thought of that?"
Hale:"I have.I--I have indeed."
I found this passage one of the most interesting passages in the book because it shows Proctor's character as well as his values that differ himself from the rest of the citizens.Proctor is able to realize that what is going on in the town is ludicrous,as noone else besides his wife agrees with him.Yet we can tell by Hales stuttered words that he believes what Proctor is saying when Proctor explains that when people are accused of being witches they are not free from the accusation until they confess the crime.(which they didnt commit).We as the audience can tell by Proctors words that he sets himself apart from all the other people in the town,and serves as an important character in the play.I found this one of the most interesting passages because i couldnt believe how brainwashed the citizens were intown to believe in such nonsense.As well as how crazy it was that only two people were sensible to not get caught up in it.
I agree with Kayla.Proctor is the only one who is willing to show pride and honor by not signing the confession.Proctor is the only character i like in the book because of his rebellion against somthing he did not believe was right.
Whoops! that didnt make much sense.:/
The book just started and we already learned a lot. One is the girls were doing witchcraft but wont admit it. Two is two of the girls supposedly have the devil in them. We also learned that mosrt of the village is not in agrument with Parris the minister. WE also lear about Jhon Procter one of the main charecters. We lear he says what comes to his mind and is an honest man. With very few sins. Jhon hears about a party in the church that wants to get rid of Parris. He says he needs to find this party and join it.
In response to Savannah's journal:
It is true, sad but true, that the Puritanical society in Salem and other small towns around the country had, perhaps consciously or unconsciously, brainwashed its people in these overly strict laws. Everyone was entirely gullible if someone cried "WITCH!" or "DEVIL!" and so it was very easy to manipulate a village into turning upside-down and hitting the "frappè" button.
PROCTOR, counting on his fingers: Thou shalt not steal… He is stuck. He counts back on his fingers, knowing one is missing. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
HALE: You have said that twice, sir.
PROCTOR, lost: Aye. He is flailing for it.
ELIZABETH, delicately: Adultery, John.
PROCTOR, as though a secret arrow had pained his heart: Aye.
(Miller, 65)
John Proctor is a very strong man, both in physical strength and spiritual faith; however, his one true weakness is wholly revealed in this conversation when Reverend Hale asks him to list off the Ten Commandments. John Proctor names them all (verbatim), except for one: “Thou shalt not commit adultery!” Ironically, Elizabeth, John’s wife, who has not committed adultery, temporarily saves him from answering (and remembering) one of several Commandments and sins.
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