English 20-Radmadical

Whether it is the accusatory and malicious niece of the town pastor, or the octogenarian suspicious of his own wife’s reading, there are several strong and memorable characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The small town of Salem is seen to change drastically over the course of a few months, responsible for the self-destruction of the towns’ society. And liable for these changes are a few dynamic characters in the book; John Proctor, Reverend John Hale, and Reverend Parris. These are the characters whose personality changes most noticeably throughout the play, and provides the majority of the reason for uproar in Salem.

Dynamic Characters

John Proctor

Though a strict follower to the church, and a fairly well respected citizen of Salem, John Proctor is one of the more unique citizens of the small town. He has deeply immersed himself in acts frowned upon by the church he follows, such as having an affair with his maid as well as going against the witch hunts supported by the town. After a desperate inner struggle, Proctor rightfully accuses Abigail of lechery and confesses his own participation with “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly.  God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat.  But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it” (Act III, page 110). After this attempt at clearing his wife’s name, Abigail turns on him and inculpates him for witchcraft and Satan worshipping. After a heroic fight with the towns folk and the court, he accepts his own death and say the famous line “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Act IV)

John Proctor being accused by Abigail Williams

Reverend Parris

The uncle of the cruel and spiteful Abigail, John Parris seems like a genuinely good man near the beginning of the play. He has real concern for his young daughter Betty after she participated in a suspicious ceremony with the young girls of the village. As the play progresses, the audience discovers his avarice after he became the minister of Salem. He demanded a house, as well as a higher pay all justified by his devotion to god. His pompous attitude takes a drastic change after the witch trials, and he loses some of his gloating attitude as the residents who support his ministry are accused of witchcraft. He loses even more of his original character traits after Abigail runs away from Salem and leaves him penniless. His true personality; weak and cowardly, only appear when his life takes a turn for the worse.

Reverend John Hale

The character John Hale, though important to the plot line, has a fairly small character transformation. He starts as a good, honest man of the church, and only changes slightly when he decides to go against the church and helps John Proctor escape his death. Hale is the reverend of a neighboring town, renowned for his experience finding and destroying witchcraft in the county. Hale is convinced of

Proctor’s innocence, and goes against his own mission to save John Proctor. He is a man of the church, but has an obvious devotion to justice as well.

Static Characters

Abigail Parris

The role of Abigail Williams in the Crucible is one of extreme importance, but the character herself is far from being complex. She is constantly deceitful and greedy, and continuously lusts after power over citizens as well as her former lover John Proctor. After threatening the adolescent girls of the village to join her in a witch hunt hoax with the line “And mark this.  Let either of you breathe a word, 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 pillow 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!  (Act I, page 20), she accuses a great deal of Salem’s residents. Abigail, never actually sees an error in her ways, and continues to indict all who have ever crossed her., but flees near the end of the story out of fear and anger at John Proctor.

Abigail Williams convinces her Uncle of the devil’s presence in Salem. 

Elizabeth Proctor

During the witch trials, the main cause of John Proctor’s aggravation is the sudden accusation of his wife, Elizabeth. Her role is important, but she does not change as a character throughout the play. Elizabeth remains the calm, sweet tempered wife she was at the beginning, even through the lechery accusations of her husband. When Goody Proctor is lead away for imprisonment, she merely instructs her husband to calm down, and to talk care of her children. Near the end of John Proctor’s life, she tries to sway him onto confessing his sins, none of which involve dealing with the devil, and tries to save her husbands life. Elizabeth remains kind and caring throughout the play.

Works Cited

1.     Angry Mob. Digital image. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/angry_mob.gif>.

2.     The Crucible 02.jpg. Digital image. Blogspot. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ayhLR1Jn3to/SuHa5EgfClI/AAAAAAAAACI/cIzL744Va3s/S692/TheCrucible02.jpg>.

3.     “The Crucible by Arthur Miller.” Summary Central. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://summarycentral.tripod.com/thecrucible.htm>.

4.     “The Crucible.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucible>.

5.     Jd_cruc.jpg. Digital image. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bawds.org/jd_cruc.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bawds.org/james_dowson1.htm&usg=__XboXHlR3gwKz0KE-hECjN9dD8iA=&h=764&w=736&sz=123&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=9wedm3q_onOzUM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dreverend%2Bparris%2Bthe%2Bcrucible%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1241%26bih%3D609%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=66&dur=65&hovh=229&hovw=220&tx=132&ty=76&ei=0kUGTbb2NIqWsgPEg9CvDQ&oei=0kUGTbb2NIqWsgPEg9CvDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0>.

6.     John Hale.jpg. Digital image. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://showcase.arts.uci.edu/Tyler/097D1469_by_Celeste_Thomas_sm.jpg>.

7.     “NovelGuide: The Crucible: Top Ten Quotes.” Novelguide: Free Study Guides, Free Book Summaries, Free Book Notes, & More. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.novelguide.com/thecrucible/toptenquotes.html>.

8.     “Photos of Abigail Williams.” The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2601359360/ch0033208?slideshow=1>. 

Vocabulary Words

• Voltaires-a French philosopher advocating for freedom of religion
• paramount-important above all others
• ajar-slightly open

Questions

Does this mean he questions the values of religions along with the values of social issues? Are they connected?

Does Feynman think that socials are irrelevant or useless?

Feynman mentions that “everybody dislikes war”, which is probably a true statement. Does he acknowledge that science has also assisted in the escalation of conflicts?

The first and most important of dystopian literature is how it takes place in the future. Oryx and Crake fulfils this requirement by occurring in two upcoming time periods: the society of Jimmy and the life that Snowman leads. The oppressive government is another key theme in the novel, especially during the flashbacks to the life of Jimmy who’s entire childhood was within scientific communities trying to genetically engineer pigs into “pigoons”, used for harvesting human organs. The condition of each area claustrophobic, clean and eerily secure. There is 24 hour supervision of the inhabitants, and high security to insure the safety of the test animals. The industrial settings are modern, and there is rarely any mention of nature or a piece of environment untouched by human modification. Some of the research being done in Oryx and Crake is similar to the controversial research being done today, but with less of the the moral questioning that we see today. Another interesting feature of the societies mentioned in the novel is that all within them believe that anything outside their community is dangerous and should be avoided. In summary, the communities mentioned in the novel are like fish bowls, where every occupant is trapped, and lives with a distorted view of the outside world.

http://trustdevice.tumblr.com/

I really like your view on the marriage of Jane and Rochester! I agree that it is strange that Jane goes back to Rochester after so many lies and secrets, and still manages to trust him. He does however; prove he to be a very caring person when he saves all the inhabitants of Thornfield before saving himself when Bertha Mason lights the manor on fire. He has a good character, but one would have expected that Jane, being fairly intelligent, would go for a man with a little less worrying history. Nice response!

3.     Explore the dynamics of the relationship between Jane and Rochester now?  Are the roles traditional or progressive?  Have they reversed? 

When Jane returns to Thornfield, she finds a lot has changed since her departure. The old manor has been reduced to a pile of ashes and rubble, and her former flame Rochester has lost a hand as well as his eyesight. Having Rochester in this damaged and handicapped state, it both confirms and contravenes with the traditional roles. The man in the relationship, fears that his love will be repelled by his maladies, and shows insecurity with the conditions. Jane has to be the one to reassure Rochester that she will remain faithful and loving, despite his ailments. In short, Jane is the one with the power during her decision to stay with Rochester or not, and has to be the one to confirm her feelings toward him. However, the infirmities of Rochester also mean that Jane must be somewhat of a caretaker to her husband. One can assume by Rochester’s character that he would become frustrated with his condition, and would seek Jane for comfort. This is where Jane would take up the role of loving wife: calming, convincing, and caring for her husband in the emotional way that servants cannot.

5.     Is Jane’s marriage ideal?

Really?

Despite the unlikely paring of a poor, young governess to a wealthy, decades-older man, there is the history of the pair to support the idea that this marriage is far from ideal. Plain, orphaned at a young age and having experienced a more difficult existence than she should have, Jane Eyre is the complete opposite of what sort of woman that Rochester should be courting (this perfect wife is portrayed through Blanche Ingram, regardless of her occasionally harsh behavior).  Jane came to Rochester as an employee, and worked for several months before there was any romantic interest. After a fairly quiet and intellectual romance between the two, a small wedding is planned for the pair, which is then interrupted by the brother of the current and mentally damaged wife of Rochester.  The wife, Bertha Mason, is the cause of the mysterious and ghostly happenings at Thornfield, and Jane decides that it would be in her best interest to leave the manor to either clear her head to make a sensible decision not clouded by love, or to start a new life altogether. After a new fortune and a nearly accepted proposal, Jane returns to an incapacitated man who becomes her husband. The marriage and story behind it is far from the expected marriage in the Victorian era but, due to the romantic themes, end in a “love conquers all” conclusion.

An image from the film interpretation of Jane Eyre. In illustrations and the media representations, the physical differences are less apparent than they are in the novel, creating a more ideal couple for viewers.

One reading On Self Respect by Joan Didion would automatically expect yet another woeful tale of self-degradation from a female standpoint, but this is not the case. Didion takes an analytical view on self-respect and how it can shape our futures our entire character. Though it will unquestionably change our views on almost everything, is it really necessary to have self-esteem? For those in doubt, yes it is completely necessary to respect yourself. Having a whole and reasonably healthy view on yourself will allow you not only to see others in a more positive light, but can help you see the bigger picture (Didion mentions this in her piece). The author also makes reference to several famous names in both literature and history, such as Cathy from Emily Bronte’s gothic novel Wuthering Heights and Napoleon. How would these characters be changed if they had a different view on themselves? Some could argue that having a lower opinion of yourself would drive you to accomplish more, and better yourself with more motivation. But would dislike of yourself really give you enough strength to completely makeover your traits? It completely depends on your initial character; if you are brave and courageous and feel you can face the world without it completely beating you down, then it is all the benefit to you. If you are a little closer to the average person however, it is more like that you can become discouraged by outside influence. Self-respect would make it easier to deal with external pressures and opinions, and therefore is useful in maintaining physical and mental selves.

Blog Comment #3: http://an4ppleaday.tumblr.com/ 

This is very well done! I like how you added the quote “I had not intended to love him; ……He made me love him without looking at me.” It is a very important line and realization for Jane, and provides one of the first glances at her fear of marrying Rochester. The choice of picture was great to, because it demonstrates one of the few “real” romantic moments that come about in Jane Eyre. Very insightful and has some excellent quotes from the book. Amazing post!