The Crucible Essay

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Directions:

Select one of the following topics for your minimum 600 word literary analysis essay. A literary analysis focuses on a key element or character in a work of literature and examines how the author has developed that element or character. It is imperative that you make an arguable claim about the text and support your claim with specific paraphrases or quotations from the text.

Possible Topics:

- Think of what you mean when you use the words “honor,” “truth,” “justice,” or “courage.” Choose one character that exemplifies your idea of one of these ideals and explain how he/she lives up to your standards (or do the reverse and show how the character fails to live up to your standards).

- What motivates Abigail Williams to lie about her affair with John Proctor? Is a good name more important than the truth? Explain your answer using at least three examples from the text to support your opinion. One piece of your evidence must be John Proctor’s dialogue in Act IV, when he says, “[With a cry of his whole soul.] 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!” What is John Proctor trying to explain with this outburst, and how is it related to your answer to this question?

- Reverend John Hale enters the play’s action during Act I as an authority on witchcraft. He believes that through objective investigation, he can work as an advocate of the court to root out witchcraft, should it be proven to exist in Salem. By the end of the play, he has quit the court and presses the innocent to offer false confession to save themselves from the corruption of the court. Develop an essay that analyzes Reverend John Hale’s transformation over the course of the play. In your analysis, include examples of factors (characters, events) that influence Hale’s evolution. Do NOT just summarize the plot.

- “Tragedy” is defined as a drama in which a character, usually a good and noble person, is brought to a disastrous end in his or her confrontation with fortune, the gods, social forces, or universal values. Additionally, the tragic hero typically suffers a downfall as the result of a fatal flaw in his or her character and comes to understand the meaning of his or her deeds and accepts an appropriate punishment. With this definition in mind, explain why you believe that John Proctor is or is not a tragic hero. In your analysis, include specific examples from the play to demonstrate your point.

RUBRIC:

- Introduction paragraph includes the name of the play, the author, and a one sentence brief summary of the play.

- The thesis makes an arguable claim about the text and body paragraphs support the claim with specific paraphrases or quotations from the text (textual support).

- Analysis focuses on a key element or character in a work of literature and examines how the author has developed that element or character.

- Essay body is a minimum of 600 words

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Literary Analysis Outline: Complete the following outline closely following the directions above each box. Introductory Statement: Your chance to get the reader’s attention and display your awareness of the world around you. INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH Transitional Ideas: Connect your opening idea to the book (two + sentences). Identify Author and Title: As an additional transition sentence (can appear before or after the other transitions). Basic Background of Book: One to two sentences Thesis Statement: Remember, this has to take a position about the book that can be supported by events in the book. Topic Sentence: Identifies focus of the paragraph; should clearly connect to / develop / support the thesis statement. BODY PARAGRAPHS Examples from the Book: This can take the form of two to three short examples or one extended example. Introduce Example: Example: Use quotations from the book or briefly paraphrase an event. Do not just summarize the plot. Avoid excessively long quotations unless absolutely necessary. Commentary: Follow example with explanation of its connection to the topic sentence/thesis. Repeat for each example/quotation used Closing Sentence: “Clincher” to end this paragraph and wrap-up the idea. Begin next paragraph with a transitional phrase or sentence before the topic sentence Topic Sentence: Establish that you have reached the end of the essay, perhaps by echoing the idea of the thesis statement. Do not use trite expressions like “in conclusion” or “to sum up.” CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH Reflect on Your Ideas: Make it clear to the reader why your paper was important. Stress what was unique about your interpretation. Give the reader something to think about that connects to the world around. Closing Statement: Wrap-up this discussion of your topic. Let the reader know the essay is at an end, and leave him or her with something to think about.
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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: THE CRUCIBLE

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The Crucible
Institution Affiliation
Date

THE CRUCIBLE

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According to Adade-Yeboah & Ahenkora (2016 Pg. 25), “Tragic heroes are often
those noble people who end up quite unfortunate in the end. They experience a total turn of
events in their lives, more like from grace to grass situation.” Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’,
is basically about Salem which is ruled by religious leaders. They cringe at witchcraft and try
to root it out of the society. According to how events turn out in this play, we can confidently
say that John Proctor is indeed a tragic hero. He even ends up dying despite not being guilty
of witchcraft.
Infidelity is John’s biggest flaw. His affair with Abigail threatens his reputation and
he tries his best to keep this mistake a secret. We see that John’s wife Elizabeth fires Abigail,
who used to work for her, due to this and at one point even says that she would not like to sit
near a soiled girl. John deeply regrets this and when Abigail tries to seduce him, he resists her
and even calls her child to make her keep her distance. In his quest to protect his reputation
he refuses to testify against Abigail so that his name is not tarnished. When the play is almost
coming to an end, he says that can only have one name in his lifetime (Campbell, 2016, Pg.
143). He goes on to say that people should not interfere with his name. Things, however, spin
out of control and he ends up confessing to his mistake to save the situation. It is however too
late...


Anonymous
Just what I was looking for! Super helpful.

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