https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m Final Project en-us 2018-04-09 02:29:53 UTC 2018-04-09 14:15:27 UTC hello@padlet.com necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249622208 Discuss how a theme functions in the play, choosing appropriate characters and discussing how they embody and develop this theme. Explore how the theme, in all of its manifestations and transformations, reveals Miller’s underlying message; connect that message to historical and current events. (Sample thematic areas: hunger for power/authority/respect, protectiveness of reputation, preservation of self-image, morality vs. social pressure, etc.)]]> 2018-04-09 02:39:48 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249622208 necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249622272 This was a fitting theme for The Crucibles because the entire story is a great example of how large of an impact a mass hysteria can have on a community as well as the negative effects it can have on individuals. The main reason that I found this theme to be relevant was that the mass hysteria in the play turned into an entire lifestyle for the people who experienced it.  ]]> 2018-04-09 02:40:22 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249622272 necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249624349 In Arthur Miller's "Why I Wrote The Crucibles An Artist's Answer to Politics" Miller points out how the theme of The Crucibles is a theme that is applicable to many political aspects of societies around the world. In the second to last paragraph Miller states, "Certainly its political implications are the central issue for many people; the Salem interrogations turn out to be eerily exact models of those yet to come in Stalin's Russia, Pinochet's Chile, Mao's China, and other regimes. (Nien Cheng, the author of "Life and Death in Shang- hai," has told me that she could hardly believe that a non-Chinese -- someone who had not experienced the Cultural Revolution -- had written the play.) But below its concerns with justice the play evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation, a combination not unfamiliar these days." In all of these cases the theme of mass hysteria being dangerous to the way society operates is easily noticed. The role of mass hysteria in the political culture of a society is the key concept that Miller drills in throughout the essay. In this quote Miller also references the transformation of the theme from a political aspect to a more societal aspect that serves to show the "illicit sexuality and fear of the supernatural" spectrum. ]]> 2018-04-09 02:57:18 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249624349 necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249631623 The theme of mass hysteria is dangerous to the functioning of a society is the most important aspect of the play because it serves as the link to connect the Salem trials in the late 1600's to the Anti-Communist efforts in the 1950's. Miller uses the theme of the story to help draw parallels between the way that society functioned during the witch hunts to the way the society functioned during the anti communist outbreak. In the article Miller states, "In the stillness of the Salem courthouse, surrounded by the images of the 1950s but with my head in 1692, what the two eras had in common gradually gained definition. Both had the menace of concealed plots, but most startling were the similarities in the rituals of defence, the investigative routines; 300 years apart, both prosecutions alleged membership of a secret, disloyal group. Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates. The informer became the axle of the plot's existence and the investigation's necessity." Miller is able to connect the way both parties operated since both relied on the accused to either accept the severe penalty or give up the names of others regardless if they were true or not. This fits the theme of how hysteria plays a role in a society because it shows the audience of hysteria can feed off of threats and the fear of the people being accused to spiral out of hand. ]]> 2018-04-09 03:51:49 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249631623 necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249638657 The role of certain characters in presenting the theme of the story and drawing parallels to the "red scare" cannot be overstated. Characters such as Abigail, Mary Warren, and John Proctor are essential in showing the audience how similar the Salem Witch Trials were to the '"red scare". Perhaps the most essential character in the play was Abigail Williams. In the play Abigail served as the ringleader of the accusers and used her personal goals such as her feelings for John Proctor to justify her lies and false accounts of many others. Williams use of the hysteria to achieve personal gain was very similar to the way Senator McCarthy used his list to invoke the "red scare" on citizens. The character of Williams is a direct example dangerous mass hysteria is to the functioning of a society. Another important character in the play is Mary Warren. Mary Warren is conflicted on whether or not to tell the truth throughout the play because while she wanted to tell the truth, the truth would've left her punished and in much more danger than simply lying. Warren is similar to many victims of the "red scare" who were innocent but due to the way the mass hysteria operated and fed off of the accused, Warren ended up playing into the mass hysteria even more. John Proctor is another example of a victim of the mass hysteria. Although Proctor had many personal issues in his life such as his affair with Abigail, Proctor was ultimately overtaken by the mass hysteria as well. Proctor was seemingly accused out of nowhere although with a deeper analysis we can see the real reason was for Abigail's personal gain. This is another key example of how the characters were able to develop the theme of the play. Williams used mass hysteria to her advantage in accusing Proctors wife and personal vendettas achieved through the mass hysteria that enveloped the lives of the citizens. ]]> 2018-04-09 04:08:54 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249638657 necessaryconner https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249815217 http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html
https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-crucible-characters-list
http://www.plosin.com/beatbegins/archive/millercrucible.htm]]> 2018-04-09 14:14:24 UTC https://padlet.com/necessaryconner/24gpigjlyt8m/wish/249815217