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Higher English Model Essay: The Crucible (16/20) - Conflict with Surroundings

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

25 January 2021

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This is a Higher English A-grade critical essay which examines Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible in relation to the following question:

*Choose a play in which the main character is in conflict with his or her surroundings. Briefly explain the nature of this conflict and discuss how the dramatist’s presentation of this feature helps you enhance your understanding of the play as a whole. *

The essay has been colour coded to show the different types of sections to an essay. A non-colour coded version is also attached beneath.

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The Crucible Essay and Quote Booklet Bundle: NAT 5/Higher

This bundle contains 5 example Higher English critical essays and 1 example National 5 critical essay. It also contains a booklet of the most significant and useful quotes necessary for studying Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' with accompanying analysis. This bundle is useful for teaching by example, reference for both students and teacher, and for general information of the play and playwright.

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• Arthur Miller
• The Crucible
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The Crucible- Conflict & Resolution

The Crucible, a film by Arthur Miller, depicts the conflict and resolution of the Salem witch trials in 17th century Puritan New England. In this story, a group of young girls is discovered dancing and chanting in the woods at night, leading to strange occurrences in the town. The conflict begins when Reverend Parris, the local minister, finds the girls in the forest under the guidance of a black slave named Tituba. Following their exposure, two girls from the group, including Reverend Parris’s daughter Betty, fall into an unconscious state resembling a coma.

The town begins to question if witchcraft is to blame for their illnesses, prompting doubts about the events that transpired in the woods. Abigail, Reverend Parris’s niece and the story’s main character, denies anything beyond dancing occurred and warns the other girls involved to keep quiet. Concern grows and Reverend Hale, a minister renowned for his expertise in identifying witchcraft, arrives in Salem to examine the sick girls. Hale quickly develops an argument regarding the girls’ intentions on the fateful night in the forest.

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The young girls are accused of conjuring spirits, so Abigail leads them to pretend they can see spirits. Afraid of consequences, the girls accuse many townspeople of witchcraft, triggering the Salem witch trials. In The Crucible, conflict is explored in various ways. While there is internal conflict among these characters, a prominent one is between Abigail and John Proctor, a farmer who previously had an affair with her.

Despite Proctor ending their relationship, Abigail still harbors feelings for him. Consequently, she accuses Goody, Proctor’s wife, in an attempt to reunite with him. Only when Goody is imprisoned does Proctor make the decision to expose Abigail’s deceit during the trials. However, when faced with his own accusations of witchcraft, Proctor grapples with whether he should confess to save his life. His refusal to sign the public document results in his return to jail, where he is accused of consorting with the devil alongside his wife.

Goody is pregnant and will not be executed until her child is born. John wants to protect his reputation for the sake of his children. Abigail flees when she realizes her plan to be with John has failed. The trials and accusations continue, resulting in the execution of numerous individuals accused of being involved with the devil. Hale tries to persuade the accused to confess instead of facing death by hanging, but they all refuse. The Crucible explores conflict in various ways, with the court’s resolution being the execution of many townspeople.

In this story, many characters face their own inner conflicts, and the outcomes vary in each situation. Abigail decides to leave the town, fleeing from the situation she had caused. On the other hand, John Proctor refuses to confess his adultery or the witchcraft accusations against him, resulting in his death. The main conflict in the story revolves around the clash between conformity to religious practices within the community and individual conscience. The Salem community embraces its uniform lifestyle, but when the trials commence, chaos ensues, as suspicion lingers among residents. Consequently, Salem undergoes a lasting transformation.

The young girls, fearing punishment, divert attention towards others to avoid prosecution. Although The Crucible depicts several internal conflicts, the primary conflict involves the court’s confrontation with the townspeople and the concept of witchcraft. To prevent further witchcraft issues, the courts sentence numerous individuals to be hanged. Just as in the 17th century, change was unwelcome – a similarity still present in today’s society. However, the methods employed to handle and prevent these changes were exceedingly extreme. Presently, we still confront the issue of individuals resisting conformity, which is likely an unresolved problem.

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Crucible John Proctor Conflict

Crucible Essay In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller produces many conflicts between characters throughout the play; John Proctor’s big conflict is the reconciliation of his act of adultery. The conflict between John and the characters in the town is the struggle with their compassion and forgiveness, also the respect and reputation from his misdeed. In act II the way John tries to redeem himself to his wife is a big part of trustworthiness throughout the story’s hate through blaming one another, even in act III he confronts his fear to explain through the trials of his misdeed and is misunderstood, and in act IV gives up trying to be heard and dies being a man of his word. Through act II John is fighting for forgiveness from his wife to redeem himself internally. …show more content…

The other speech from characters in Act II is when John is getting angered at the point that Elizabeth is not backing down about the Abigail conflict. He yells “like a Christian, [he] confessed, Confessed!” his powerful words back off and still never full gets his forgiveness from her through the whole act II (Miller 167). In act III John Proctor is trying to be heard by the judges of his misdeed and be forgiven to save everyone from Abigail Williams’s wrath of getting what she wants. In the middle of Abigail’s attack by sprits Proctor yells “How can you call Heaven! Whore! Whore! ” this states his anger towards the conflict between them to get rid of the guilt of his relationship between the both of them (Miller 193). As the rant continues John explains the crime he committed to the judges and says “I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name…” explaining his reputation is ruined but throughout the mayhem is still willing to get rid of the guilt to have reconciliation (Miller 193). As Elizabeth comes in to make sure John’s validation

John Proctor's Actions In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Act Three of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, John Proctor admits he has committed adultery with Abigail motivated in trying to save his wife, while his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, lies about why she kicked Abigail from their house to protect her and her husbands privacy. I feel as though John’s actions were justified and Elizabeth’s actions were not. John Proctor was trying to get the court to see Abigail was a terrible, unsaintly fraud in her claims of being witched. John tells the court that his wife, who has never told a lie, would concur to the affair accusations brought against Abigail. When brought into the court Elizabeth was questioned on why she had kicked Abigail out of their home and she replied in a manner that did not show

Cold Mountain John Proctor Character Analysis

The Author Charles Frazier wrote in his book Cold Mountain “[No] matter what a waste a man has made of ones life, it is ever possible to find some path to redemption, however partial” John Proctor is a prime example of this quote. Towards the beginning of the play Miller gives the reader an impression that he is a selfish and immoral man that does not care about his family or the feelings of his wife, Elizabeth. As the play goes on however Miller’s representation of proctor can sway the opinions they have of John when he decides to let himself be hanged for good reason. Within the short timeline of the story John Proctor was able to look past his mistakes and restored his morals. John Proctor was denounced in the story when he was seduced

The Crucible John Proctor Reputation Analysis

I have given you my soul; leave my name!" (Miller 143) Because John wants his name clean for his family and because he refuses to ruin his reputation with lies of witchery, John chooses the only thing he can do. John rips the signed confession and is sentenced to hang. John cared about his reputation so much that he was

Pride In The Crucible

He finds his goodness that and has concerns about whether his sons can “walk like men in the world” when he himself has “sold [his] friends”, so he refuses to confess (Miller 143). Elizabeth praises John for not confessing until very late, but he says that he hasn’t confessed out of “spite” and that it is “hard to give a lie to dogs” (136). John Proctor cries of his whole soul: “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(Miller 143). At this point in the play, John Proctor has lost nearly

The Crucible John Proctor Guilt Analysis

Guilt is emotional torture that transforms one's psychological operation. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, before the Salem witch trials emerge, John Proctor cheats on his wife Elizabeth Proctor, with young Abigail. Causing him to live with an eternal shame that generates dispute. Proctor’s endeavour is to elude from his wrongdoing, but he cannot because of the disgrace he feels himself to be when around Elizabeth. Miller shows that John Proctor's emotional and behavioral conflict rises from his guilt.

John Proctor Guilt Analysis

This shows how the theme of guilt works through John Proctor. In the beginning Acts, the reader finds out about the sin John Proctor has committed and the guilt he is struggling with. John knows what he did was sinful in the eyes of God but he does not know how to forgive himself. John shows his guilt about the affair with Abigail by telling her, “I may think of you softly from time to time.

Act 2 Scene 2 In The Crucible

The scene is needed to confirm that Abigail’s actions are motivated by her love for John Proctor. When John Proctor comes over to see what is wrong with Betty in Act One, Abigail believes that John has come to see her. She informs him that she knows that he truly lovers her. Proctor denies her ludicrous statement, but she doesn’t believe him claiming, “You love me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” (Miller 22).

Goodness And Nobility In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

This quote reveals, Elizabeth’s genuine understanding and faithfulness in her husband. She believes that John carries the burden of his own guilt, which is a lucid indication that he has a sense of morality. John feels this guilt, as he recognizes and takes responsibility for the sin he commits, against his wife. Additionally, due to John’s guilty conscience, he also realizes the value and tenderness that his wife brings him. He accepts his misdoings, and never utters a blame against his wife, for his actions.

John Proctor Sacrifice In The Crucible

In Act III he says “ you whore! You are lying”. He then tells the court about their love affair and how he committed adultery. It says in the definition of a tragic hero that “ This errors usually physically and spiritually wound the tragic hero.” You see how upset and ashamed John Proctor was over his actions.

Internal Conflict In The Crucible

The Crucible - Conflict Analysis John Proctor Internal: John Proctor’s most eminent internal conflict is over the sin he has committed, adultery. Proctor cheated on his wife with Abigail Williams, and this makes Proctor feel incredibly guilty because in the town, he is “respected and even feared” (19). He tried very hard, and succeeded, with keeping this moral crime to himself. He still walked about Salem as if he was “an untroubled soul,” (21) however, avoiding the sin again would be a difficult task. Abigail flirts with him, in attempt to have him for one last night, and it’s obvious Proctor has an arduous time pushing her away.

Opposition In The Crucible

Proctor’s Opposition to His Society In the book, The Crucible, Arthur Miller introduces us to John Proctor. Proctor is married and simple, yet he's argumentative toward his town for the persecution of “witches.” Proctor faces conflict throughout the town, his morals are challenged and his view on ethical implication are changing.

The Crucible Quote Analysis

I have known her"(Miller 110). Here John Proctor is admitting to his relationship with Abigail thus admitting his lecherous nature. This is a pivotal point in the story, at this point, John

What Is John Proctor's Reputation In The Crucible

John Proctor never settles for keeping his opinion or what he thinks is right to himself. He knows telling Danforth that he is guilty for adultery won’t help his cause but it shows his desperation to win the case in order protect his wife, Elizabeth. John Proctor was sick and tired of watching Abigail win with a lie, in this case he spoke the truth knowing his consequences. John states, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave!

Unhealthy Relationships In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

John Proctor’s words towards Elizabeth signal irritation and annoyance. John Proctor, the main character of The Crucible, has an affair with a much younger girl, Abigail Williams, breaking his wife, Elizabeth’s trust in him. Her suspicion of him rises when he tells her he was in a room alone with Abigail. Elizabeth’s growing mistrust begins to aggravate John, which is revealed when he says, “I’ll not have your suspicion any more” (489). Elizabeth is doubtful after learning about John’s affair with Abigail and her lack of trust in her husband begins to anger him.

Theme Of Conscience In The Crucible

John has the conscience of an honest man even though he has committed a severe sin, which he hides, adultery. Because of this his name is tainted, making the reader doubt the goodness in him. When Proctor reveals the truth in court, we are surprised because he has confessed knowing it will blacken his name, and he has done this in order to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Because of this we are able to see that Proctor bears responsibility for what has occurred. However when he confesses, Abigail turns against him and accuses Proctor of being a witch.

More about Crucible John Proctor Conflict

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Examples Of Conflict In The Crucible

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Plot : In “The Crucible” Arthur Miller made the plot develops through the conflicts by using high tension and climaxes. He ends each of the four acts with a climax. In addition, he allowed the protagonist to develop throughout the acts. “The Crucible” has many internal and external conflicts. The major external conflict is John Proctor trying to save his wife from being hanged by the town officials for supposedly being a witch. The major internal conflict is John trying to decide between saving himself and family from being hanged, or accept the death penalty for false accusations against him. The main conflict sharply differentiated good and evil as John Proctor, the protagonist of the play is faced with the …show more content…

We can see that shifts are made as the narrator inserts times to describe characters and tell us what we should think about them such as when Miller tell us that Judge Hathorne is a bitter man. In addition, each inserted stage direction indicates exactly what a character is thinking or feeling. The narrator is able to jump into any character’s mind at any given moment in a justified way. Miller allowed the narrator to weave in and out of many characters’ internal workings, letting the audience see what drives them. This helps establish the tragic events throughout “The Crucible” and allows the audience to have a better understanding of the factors that led to the accusations and the impact of those actions. Arthur Miller shows the audience the good and evil within people and brings out the mad hysterical qualities in a mob. He displays that even deeply religious people make mistakes in their lives. He does this through his characters, who through their own imperfections and beliefs bring the witch-hunts to a complete

Analysis Of ' The Crucible '

The Crucible is a historical play by Arthur Miller, and is set in the town of Salem during the late 1690s. The main characters are John Proctor, the protagonist, and Abigail Williams, the antagonist. The conflict occurs when Abigail falsely accuses others of witchcraft. This leads to hysteria in the town, with people turning in innocent people for witchcraft. Many people including John and Elizabeth Proctor are arrested and put on trial, despite their innocence. John Proctor is sentenced to death after refusing to denounce his friends as witches, forgiven by Elizabeth for his affair with Abigail, and restores his reputation of being a good man. The Crucible delves into the extent people will go betray others in order to benefit themselves

Examples Of The Dilemmas In The Crucible

People believe that actions happen for many different reasons and tend to blame others before themselves. Some believe that the devil is doing the work in the body of someone else, and some believe that the devil does not, and some even believe in witchcraft. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, nineteen innocent people are hung for accusations of performing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of young girls go out into the woods which is forbidden in Salem. They are sent into a frenzy when the town’s reverend, Parris, spots them dancing in the woods. The girls are led by Abigail Williams, a young teenage girl who lives with her uncle, reverend Parris. Abigail is not the most truthful girl, which ends up causing 19 innocent people their lives. Previous to these events, Abigail was a servant in the Proctor household, but was sent off after Elizabeth Proctor found out about the affair between Abigail and her husband, John Proctor. In Abigail’s case the more lies she told, the more lives she ended.

Social Criticism in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is a chronological narrative including a large cast of characters with a constantly moving setting.* The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and an allegory of the McCarthyism period. Throughout the play, Miller explores the destruction of freedom by the ignorant and tyrannical society in which his characters live.* By exhibiting how easily a member of the community can become an outcast, Arthur Miller displays social criticism in the Puritan society as well as in today's society in The Crucible.

John Proctor's Moral Struggle in The Crucible Essay

The primary dramatic focus in the play The Crucible is the moral struggle of its protagonist, John Proctor. Certain characteristics of John Proctor's character and also the environment of the Puritanical Salem alleviated this problem for him. The main issues running through out the play are a series of dilemmas that John Proctor faces. The first and foremost of these is his guilt over his adulterous affair with Abigail Williams, the second his hesitation to testify against Abigail to bring out the truth and the third, his final decision to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Essay about John Proctor: A Character Analysis

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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, various characters, whether it is from physical trials or unseen personal struggles, experience some kind of major conflict. There are those who spend every day in fear, wondering whether or not they will be falsely accused of witchcraft. There are others who struggle with more internal trials, such as forgiving those who have hurt them. The protagonist, John Proctor, was a man of strong moral constitution, and held himself to a high standard for the sake of his good name and family. As a result of this, he struggled with a major internal conflict throughout the play.

How Does Arthutr Miller Create Tension and Conflict Between John and Elizabeth Proctor at the Start of Act 2

''The Crucible,'' is a 1952 play written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of Mcarthyism. The play follows a theocratic society in which the church and the state are one, and reputation plays an important role in Salem where private and public moralities are the same. In act one, the secret affair of John Proctor and Abigail Williams was revealed that led to conflict between John and his wife. Divorce was not permitted in the late 16th century, hence, the Proctors had to maintain their marriage causing discord within the Proctor household. At the start of Act 2, Miller creates a tense atmosphere of animosity portrayed by John and Elizabeth Proctor in their lack of affection, awkwardness, appraisal and guilt leading to affliction.

Examples Of Internal Conflict In The Crucible

American playwright Arthur Miller, in his play The Crucible (1952) displays to us that which hunt still exists in American society. Miller supports this claim by drawing parallels between the Salem Witch trials and the senator Joseph McCarthy. His purpose is to warn his readers of the dangers of mass hysteria. He uses emotional appeals and logic to convince the readers that mass “hunts” are still a danger to Americans today. The crucial way however, that Miller achieves his supreme objective of revealing the risks of reputation vs. integrity is through a fascinating character, John Proctor. John is an example of an internally conflicted character because he had a huge argument with Elizabeth over Abigail, Proctor also had an affair with Abigail, and lastly John had a choice between life and death at the end of the play.

The Crucible A Melodrama Or A Tragedy

Critics differ whether The Crucible is a melodrama or a tragedy, but they all agree it always encourages thought. Brooks Atkinson in his book At the theatre argues that Miller "is not pleading a cause in dramatic form" yet he suggests that Miller was " concerned more with the technique of the witch hunt than with its humanity.... There is too much excitement and not enough emotion" (15). He also wrote that Miller cared for the theme more than the characters (16). Critics praise Miller's depiction of the Proctor's tragedy. They saw John and Elizabeth as lovers involved in a tragedy with epic consequences (Hurwitt D 18). Leonard Moss implies that The Crucible is better understood when it is not about the witch hunt but when it is about McCarthyism

Elements of Good and Evil in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The play, The Crucible, is a fireball of guilt, evil, and good compiled into one magnification. It is a play with tremendous feelings, with many inside twists hidden in the archives of the true story. It is a play with emotional feelings; feelings of anger, hate, and evil, yet also feelings of goodness, and pureness. Undeniably, The Crucible is a play illustrating good versus evil.  The principal characters, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Ann Putnam and Marry Warren all contain within them elements of good and evil.

Like others, Corey’s internal conflict is deciding if he believes in witches, or if the whole commotion is just a fabrication. When Corey tells Hale that his third wife reads books in secrecy, he does not mention it because he believes she is connected with the devil, he is just not use to this, due to the fact that none of his other wives showed an interest in reading. One of the external conflicts that Corey faces, is when he begins to question Parris for being so quiet during the horrid witch trials, and wonders if the minister really does praise God, and is curious if he believes in witches or not. Giles Corey is often found motivated to prove that the group of girls claiming to have seen townspeople associating with the devil, are indeed

Examples Of Corruption In The Crucible

“The arrogant are wise in their own eyes, but the wise will recognize their lies” (Anonymous). This quote accurately describes how the events in the Salem Witch Trials unfolded. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, places the reader into the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller tells a fictional story based on real events of how people who were wise in their own eyes used others to better themselves in a community based on honesty. Three characters from the story stand apart in their arrogance. Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris were conceited and cared only about their personal gains. These characters used their power to blame, but not to be blamed or accused of alleged witchcraft which resulted in the deaths of several townspeople. Arthur Miller used these characters to illustrate how simple lies and rumors can spread and become an unstoppable force. With these simple but powerful accusations, well respected citizens soon became the targets of these characters manipulation.

Abigail Williams, the Villian of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

In writing short stories, novels, or plays, there are certain standards the writer comes to meet. He will choose a basic story element to go by; either man versus nature, man versus man, or man versus himself. Then, a setting that is appropriate to the writer is chosen, a place where the writer envisions the story happening. Inevitably the characters are introduced one by one, and the writer tries to convey their personality and instill a mental image for the reader. There have always been the heroes, the villains and the victims. Any story can revolve particularly around any of these, but often they all have roles that create equilibrium in the plot. However, in The Crucible, Arthur Miller did not need to create any such

The Effective Use of Dramatic Devices in Miller's The Crucible

Throughout the play Miller creates tension between the characters, however this tension is mainly shown in Act Two. Although the main theme of the Crucible is witch craft, this act concentrates mainly on the relationship of John and Elizabeth Proctor. Miller uses a variety of dramatic devices such as, stage directions, long pauses and silences, entrances of other characters (interruptions), use of contrast, length of sentences and punctuation to express mood and feeling, use of figurative language and repetition and how other characters react to a particular problem.

How Does Arthur Miller Present Human Failings In The Crucible

Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.

Theme Of Conflict In The Crucible

There are multiple types of conflict in The Crucible that forwards the plot, these types of conflict are in the play and most characters have some type of conflict with another person, the town, or themselves. The Crucible is a play that is absolutely filled to the brim with conflict and is set in the time period of the Salem Witch Trials that lasted from February 1692 up until May 1693. In the play, many people were deceived, accusations were thrown around town, and people were hung or burned at the stake.

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