10 January 2012

The Crucible

Please use this thread for all blog posts relating to the 3rd quarter lit circle reading of The Crucible. Posters in this group are: Danielle, Kaitlin, Cailin, Olivia, and Josh.

Happy Reading!

18 comments:

Josh said...

So, I guess I will start this off. For some reason, the quote “in unity still lay the best promise of safety," really stuck out to me (Miller 4). Maybe I watched too much Lost in the past, but the quote reminded me of "live together, die alone." The quote from Lost came at a time when survival depended on the group staying strong and unified. If unity could not be reached, some of the characters knew that devastation would transpire and the chances of rescue would be slim to nil. In a similar manner, had the people of Salem stuck together and not pointed fingers at each other, then the trials most certainly would not have occurred. Just a thought

Danielle. said...

As I started reading this, I found it interesting that they had breaks to introduce the characters and their backgrounds. I've read a lot of plays in the past few years, but never one that did that. I can't help but wonder if that makes a huge difference when they perform on stage, since it doesn't say that it's read to the audience.

cay-bay said...

Along the lines of the reasons why that unity was broken up, I see mainly two reasons. I think the main one is that the girls who were dancing in the woods and what not were afraid to have any danger come to them, thus they blamed others who had no connection to the situation. Another possible reason I can think of is that these were silly, teenage girls stuck in an extremely tight and religious society. They were probably just dying for some drama in their lives. This would also explain the foray out into the woods ordeal. What other reasons can you guys think of? Do you agree with mine?

Katie Alex said...

I agree with your reasons Cailin, the girls definitely think the girls wanted the attention and drama. I also think that the girls saw that Tittuba had power to get revenge on her enemies and the other girls wanted that too. Especially Abigal, she wanted Mrs, Procter out of the way so she could be free to love Mr. Procter, and she saw the witch accusations as a way to get rid of Mrs. Procter.

cay-bay said...

Make sure to read Act 2, Scene 2, found in the appendix of your book! After reading this, what do you guys think Abigail means by "I will do it to save yourself"? I believe that she intends to cry out against Elizabeth because she thinks that it will "release" John from what she sees as a bondage relationship. In our last lit circle we talked a little about how we thought that John never really loved Abigail, though she is in the worst form of denial of this. Do you think that Abigail's reasoning is something she truly believes, or a further excuse for her to take revenge? Kind of a means for redeeming herself? Oh, by the way, I hate Abigail's character. Piece of work.

Katie Alex said...

Well, I have not yet finished reading, but i do think that Abigal will cry out against Elizabeth. Abigal is in love with John, but he does not love her. I am not sure wheter or not she sees Elizabeth as a burden to John but Abigal does see her as the reason she cannot be with John. Abigal thinks that by crying out on Elizabeth she will be free to be with John. However I think that if she does cry out against Elizabeth then John will never go near her again.

Olivia Tesreau said...

I agree with you guys about Abigail. I do think that she is in love with John (or at least just wants to possess him because she's an evil person). I think that John sees her as a living, breathing reminder of his sins and doesn't return her feelings. I actually like John, although he hasn't proved it lately. I agree about Abigail though, I think she's evil and awful. I think it's interesting that when John was asked to recite the 10 Commandments, he forgot only one- thou shalt not commit adultry. I really like the story so far, although it is frustrating that all the townspeople just believe the girls when they point fingers.

Danielle. said...

"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!" (Miller 77). As I was reading, this really stuck out to me. It's like Olivia said, it's incredibly annoying that all of the townspeople just believe Abigail's accusations. I can't help but wonder how this town has functioned harmoniously thus far when they are willing to end the lives of their citizens based off a teenage girl's mad ravings. And I certainly think a theme of vengeance is starting to present itself, which we brought up in our discussion earlier this week.

Josh said...

So, I guess as the man of the group, I will point out the unwillingness of John Proctor's wife, Elizabeth (shall I say Goody Proctor?) to forgive him of his "affair" with Abigail. I understand her reasoning to some extent, but the fact that she will not fully forgive him is kind of troubling. I am by no means saying John is in the right in this situation, but do not all men deserve second chances? She should at least not be so quick to jump to conclusions, he did tell her about the "affair". He could have just denied it when she confronted him, but he chose honesty. And if he chose honesty, does that not mean he chose to show love?

APLITCOMP/LINNEMAN said...

Great start, ladies (and gentleman)! Fortunately, I don't think you should have ANY problems finding outside sources or applicable prompts for this essay :)

Katie Alex said...

So as I was reading act 3, this quote stuck out to me, "Do you know, Mr.Procter, that the entire contention of the state on these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?" This quote demonstrates what we were talking about in our last lit circle, and why Salem believed the girls. Children are always seen as innocent, especially in the Bible. On many occasions Jesus draws the children to Him because of their innocence, and pure hearts. Therefore children in Salem were naturally seen as innocent and the best place for honest answers.

Josh said...

Good find, Kaitlyn. It’s interesting in today’s society though, that not as much emphasis is put on children’s words. Perhaps this is due to the imaginative mind that is in greater form during childhood. More people are willing to call a child’s sayings as being simply influenced by their imaginations. On a different note, was anyone else transfixed with Proctor’s “God is dead!” statement? I will not go terribly in depth into the psychology of the statement, bud I did find it rather interesting. Yes, I will discuss it tomorrow; no, it will not be too dry.

cay-bay said...

Yes, I did find the "God is dead" phrase interesting, mainly because that statement back then would have been like saying "The Earth is square" in the world of today. Also, I find it significant that, in John's eyes, from all the chaos around him, he is justified in making this statement. Although it is not so much right in material truth, the phrase springs from the feeling of hopelessness, of knowing that sin has entered the town without any good chasing it away. Whew. Sorry, I just realized how depressing that was. Actually, good question: Is there any light in this tale? There are morals of a warning nature, but anything leaning towards hope?

Olivia Tesreau said...

Alright. This is the third time I'm trying to post so it's going to be short. Sorry, I don't know what's up with my computer. Anyway, yes I thought that the "God is dead" statement jumped out and I also agree that it was a really radical thing to say back then. This whole section was very frustrating to me because it seemed like everything went completely wrong. For example, it was frustrating to me that John confessed his sins in an effort to save Elizabeth while Elizabeth lied about John's sins to save his life. However, this only condemned them both. This section was just really depressing (I thought anyways). Espeically Mary Warren's role in all this. First, she's helping John and admitting that she just pretended to be bewitched. Then, suddenly, she is bewitched and claims that John is serving the Devil. It's just a complete turnaround. To me, this section was very depressing and upsetting.

Danielle. said...

Olivia, I definitely agree with you about Mary Warren's character. I really was convinced that she would be loyal to John and stick to the truth, but she turned on him so easily to save herself. I feel like this contrasts Elizabeth and John's relationship very starkly; Elizabeth and John want to save each other, while Mary Warren is looking out only for herself. I feel like it showed that Elizabeth and John have a true relationship and their love runs deeper than I originally anticipated.

cay-bay said...

Okay, first comment of the night, right here. Ya hoo. Here goes: I find that it greatly increases the drama and message of the play by the way that Miller ends it. He writes the ending in a suspenseful, jarring way that brings out the essential "truth", you could call it, of each character. We find John to be the honorable man who stands up for those who do right by paying the greatest price. His wife, Elizabeth, despite her concerns , agrees to honor his decision . And Parris finally has his "oh s***, I really just caused the death of this guy" moment.

Olivia Tesreau said...

Danielle- I agree! I didn't really see John and Elizabeth's relationship as being very strong because of his affair and her reaction to it, I just didn't have a lot of faith in it. However, it turns out that they're love is a lot stronger than I thought. Also, cay-bay ( ;) ) I liked the ending too. Although I would've liked to see Abigail get set on fire or something because she's so evil, I think that John went out very honorably. I also agree that the ending shows the true characteristics of each characters.

Katie Alex said...

while I see your point about Reverend Paris I honestly do not believe he has changed that much. I still think he wants Procter to confess more for his own sake than anyone elses. Unlike Reverand Hale who is attepting to save those doomed to hang Paris seeks Procter's confession to condemn the others. If Procter confesses to witchcraft then the rest will also seem guilty and the town will once again be behind Paris. However I could be basing this on how much I dislike Paris as a person... What do you guys think?