A Play The Crucible By Arthur Miller - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1283 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/05/28 Category History Essay Level High school Topics: Salem Witch Trials Essay Did you like this example? The play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is set in a Puritan society; a society which is a theocracy, where priests and church figures have all the power. The setting of the play takes place in the village of Salem. This village is very strict when it comes to religion. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Play The Crucible By Arthur Miller" essay for you Create order Everyone was in each other’s business trying to find weaknesses of others in order to make themselves look and feel purer. This society of division and paranoia is what motivated people to engage in witch hunts. The Salem Witch Trials is a result of the corrupt Puritans beliefs. The people of Salem corrupt beliefs is the main cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller is speaking to the audience right in the beginning of Act 1 and he was introducing Reverend Parris as well as the people of Salem. Miller’s author note says, â€Å"Like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak† (Miller 4). This quote relates to the stance of the corrupt beliefs because it shows that the children felt the need to get the attention they want and in order to get the attention they felt the need to stir up some trouble. The message shown from the quote is that the Puritan beliefs of God are not the way it should be. It should not be people against neighbor but it should be you and your neighbor as a family. As it is known with prior knowledge of the Puritans, they are meant to be religiously pure. Arthur Miller is still introducing the norms of the Salem people. He provides an explanation of the human condition for hysteria. Millers author note says, â€Å"Long-Held hatreds of neighbors could now be openly expressed, and vengeance was taken, despite the Bible’s charitable injunctions† (Miller 7). According to this quote, this is the only time they are allowed to go against the Bible by holding grudges against fellow humans. They used the biblical premise of the witch trials to mask the true nature of their selfishness and greed. Miller uses this quote to explain the religious indifference. Even though the people were supposedly very religious, they jumped at the chance to condemn others. They used the witch trials as an excuse for their immorality. McCarthyism was clearly used since they were throwing false accusations at each other with little evidence. Miller wanted the readers to see the terrible times among them where a neighbor would turn against neighbor. This was a dark era for the Puritans. As one goes further in the book, the people of Salem tries to impose their beliefs on everyone that is not Christian. John Proctor is seen speaking to Parris in the first Act of The Crucible. The conversation between Parris, Proctor, Putnam, and Giles led to this conversation and Parris keeps on trying to say he needs things like money, a house and so on. Then Proctor says, â€Å"Proctor: Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again?. Parris: It is not for you to say what is good for you to hear† (Miller 30). Parris tries to assert his religious authority to Proctor whereas Proctor is uninterested in the minister’s message. Parris suggests that there is a battle going on, a battle of good vs. evil and Proctor is on the wrong side. John Proctor complains to Parris about the sermons Parris gives that always relate to Hell. Proctor believes Parris is not worthy to be a preacher and despises his consistent attempts to bully the community by instillin g fear in its members. In fact, Proctor claims that his poor attendance at church is due in part to Parris himself. Proctor says, I have trouble enough without I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore (Miller 28). Proctor also believes that Parris is more concerned with the acquisition of money and earthly things. Proctor is talking about the hypocrisy of their so-called religion. Instead of preaching about the goodness of God and having faith, the witch trials go on. People point to each other and blame each other of using witchcraft, for their own benefit! To seek vengeance! To get more land, power and other things theyve got their greedy minds on. Proctor also says that because of these witch trials, God seems so unimportant. They are no longer praising God, but praying or preaching about each others damnation. In the second Act of The Crucible, Reverend Hale is talking to Elizabeth and John Proctor. Reverend Hale believes the Proctors to be good Christian people. During the course of their conversation, Hale expresses concern that the Proctors havent been to church as often as they should, and that their third son has not been baptized. John and Elizabeth explained that it was due to the fact that Elizabeth has been sick but really they dont like Parris at all. Hale talks to them about the religion and then he found out that the Proctor’s last son was not baptized and says, â€Å"God keep you both; let the third child be quickly baptized, and go you without fail each Sunday into Sabbath prayer; and keep a solemn, quiet way among you† (Miller 70). Hale begins questioning the Proctors about their religion. He points out Proctors irregular church attendance and asks him why his third son has not been baptized. Proctor says he finds Parris greedy, but Hale is not moved. Hale then asks him to recite the Ten Commandments. He remembers nine but must ironically be reminded of the last adultery by his wife. John Hale urges Elizabeth and John Proctor to adhere to the rituals of religion for their own safety. He hopes to prevent an outcome that by now is inevitable to prevent an accusation of witchcraft. He is trying to look out for them so nobody has any doubts about their holiness. The people of Salem developed a theocracy -combining state authority with religion- in order to establish unity. If everyone in the community shares the same beliefs, they support one another. They sustain a sense of kinship and similarity with one another. Miller writes, the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combination of state and religious pow er† (Miller 7). This tie to the corrupt puritan beliefs because by using the law about witches the witch hunts were an opportunity to publicly express guilt and sin, they were able to express and take vengeance. As a part of the initial setting, the narrator explains how a theocracy which is based on the principle that some people should be included and some excluded from society because of their religious beliefs and actions or else it leads to witch hunts like the Salem witch hunts. This is basically the idea that when religion is taken to the extreme could lead to a tragedy. Salem was a community that believed God was the one in the highest authority and that religious laws and state laws are equal. The corrupt Puritan beliefs caused all these witch hunts. Puritans that were trying to establish a fundamental religious community controlled the village. Religious sins were seen as legal crimes. This made the society paranoid. Everything in this Puritan society is either good or evil. They are intolerant of anything against social norms, so expressing your thoughts were not allowed. The people tried to blame others in order to survive leading to terrible mass hysteria.

Effects Of Smoking On Society And The Economy - 1853 Words

Imagine yourself in a densely-packed room, sitting with a group of fellow friends or family. They are very good friends with you, but they are smokers as well. Now picture yourself surrounded by a repulsive stench, from the diffusion of your mates’ cigarette smoke. As your throat becomes sore and the earaches commence, you begin to notice that you start to feel ‘relaxed’ but with a nauseas feeling as well. Not many people know what this is, but we may label it as secondhand smoke (SHS). Cigarettes have caused noxiousness to society and the economy for the past twenty years. They’re not causing a detriment to just the people who proceed to use them, but to those who are around it as well. Cigarettes have bounteous accouterments on active smokers, and even have immense long-term holdings on nonsmokers. The entryway that causes effects for active smokers is called ‘mainstream smoke’ and the results for nonsmokers is called ‘secondhand smokeà ¢â‚¬â„¢. Second hand smoke is just as destructive as smoking and leads to a higher prevalence of cancer and heart disease, causing it to be crippling for anybody around a smoker. Second hand smoke, or better known as SHS, is the precarious waste of tobacco combustion released from the end of a burning or lit: pipe, cigar, cigarette, or even the exhaled smoke from smokers. Over the past twenty years, medical biology and technology has affirmed that nonsmokers have or will endure many of the feebleness ofShow MoreRelatedInformative Speech : Effects Of Smoking816 Words   |  4 Pages Informative Speech Title: Effects of Smoking Speaker: Kevon Jones, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University student Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to avoid smoking Thesis Statement: Smoking has many dangerous effects on a smoker s health and the health of those around them; it harms every organ in the body and leads to premature death. Introduction I. 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The hookahs are mainly used in bars, cafes, and in peoples own home. People do hookahs to have a great time with friends without knowing the consequences that they produce. If people are aware of the consequences of smoking anything from hookah to cigarettes may be used with the acknowledge of the effects. Many peopleRead MoreAdvantages and Disadvantages of the Baning of Somiking Inside Your Own Home659 Words   |  3 PagesAuthority has placed a smoking ban on public housing properties, whereby â€Å"residents can no longer smoke inside their homes, nor within 25 feet of a main entrance†. This is an example of an externality, a side effect on third-parties caused by production or consumption activities. 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Dancing free essay sample

I watch her from across the crackling fire. She’s wearing a worn out t-shirt with a picture of a small child looking up at a tree and asking, â€Å"Will you be my role model?† Her eyes dance in rhythm with the flames. Sparks fly when she speaks. I feel myself thriving and growing in her infectious energy, like a seed planted in nutrient rich soil.She’s a great storyteller, full of motion and emotion. Last night, instead of simply telling her story, she acted it out with a series of hilarious interpretive dances. She went on for hours. I couldn’t stop laughing and my sides ached afterward. She has a wild imagination and an intellectual sense of humor. Conversations with her are like a roller coaster ride, always thrilling. She intrigues me with her incessant drive to live, experience, feel and above all, laugh.Her name is Elori, but I call her El Train. We will write a custom essay sample on Dancing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We met in early September. I was in the midst of an internal struggle, suffering from a classic modern aliment called, â€Å"the unhappiness of not being happy.† I couldn’t figure out why I was so sad and it both frustrated and frightened me. Determined to drive the lurking shadows from my mind, I had done everything I could think of to help myself. I tried yoga and meditation. I explored religion and divinity. I ran miles and miles. Over the summer, I devoured prodigious piles of self-help books and wrote dark poetry. I fasted for days on end trying to trigger a mental epiphany. What I hadn’t realized was how far out of balance my perspective had become. I had tipped the scale of light and dark too heavily toward the dark side.Exasperated and looking for inspiration, I signed up for a National Outdoor Leadership School adventure course, a ninety-six day long journey in the Rockies. It sounded completely insane and I was nervous, but I wanted to shed my skin and wake up in the wilderness each morning. Maybe I was walking into the wild in a Chris McCandless state of mind, counting on nature to illuminate me. What I hadn’t counted on was catching a ride aboard the El Train.She was laughing when we first met. Laughing hard. Red cheeked and nearly out of breath, she introduced herself, â€Å"I’m Elori and yes, that does rhyme with celery.† We were assigned to the same cook group and soon discovered a shared love for soupy oatmeal and mint hot chocolate. We spent the next few weeks hiking in the Wind River Range. Through rivers and meadows, over passes and on top of peaks, we slowly bonded over Thoreau, Wayne’s World quotes and the Minnesota hip-hop scene.She’s funny and consistently lives with a smile on her face. About halfway through our adventure, she acquired a terribly painful skin disease called impetigo. Her face was covered in quarter-sized boils that burst open and dripped a thick, yellow fluid. She was advised to apply the wrong type of medicated ointment, so instead of helping heal the sores it turned them black and crusty. When I touched her skin, it literally felt like asphalt. It hurt her to move her face, but this little roadblock did nothing to stop the El Train from tootin’ on full steam ahead. She drew a smiling face on the backside of her hand and held it up to her mouth whenever she wanted to let me know she was doing her best not to laugh.She gave me just the push I needed to add a little weight to the bright side of my scale, inspiring me to see the light in my own life and hold on to what’s good.It’s funny. Last night she told me that I am an inspiration to her.This is the last night of our NOLS adventure. Tomorrow, we’ll go our separate ways. I’ll be flying home to spend Christmas in Alaska and she’s off to celebrate Chanukah in Israel. We’ll walk different paths into our futures. In the comfortable silence of our last night together, the Grateful Dead song, â€Å"He’s Gone† comes to mind. And it rings the crystal clear truth, â€Å"nothin’ left to do but smile, smile, smile.†From across the fire, El Train looks over at me. In her eyes, I see laughter and love. I see compassion and companionship, and I know my eyes reflect the same. â€Å"Sierra!† she bursts out and begins singing one of our favorite songs, â€Å"Hey ma, what’s up, let’s slide, alright†¦cause we gon get in on tonight†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stretches her arms out beckoning me to join her. I tilt my head back and laugh. My tongue recognizes this moment as a taste of simple happiness. I’m no longer dwelling in the deep darkness of the night. In the glow of the fire, I’m on my feet and dancing.

Rabbit-Proof Fence grossly inaccurate, says Keith Windschuttle free essay sample

The Rabbit-Proof Fence is a movie based on a true story. This movie is based on a novel book written by Doris Pilkington Garimara (the daughter of Molly in the story), called ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’. The movie, Rabbit-Proof Fence, is directed by Phillip Noyce and was released in 2002. The story of Molly, Gracie, and Daisy is portrayed in this movie. They were part of the Stolen Generation in Australia which the movie shows. The length of the Rabbit-Proof Fence is one hour and thirty-four minutes long and has an adventure film, biographical film, drama and historical fiction genres. The purpose of this film is to show the extent of the Stolen Generation and the journey the half-caste girls, Molly, Gracie, and Daisy took from Moore River Native Settlement to Jigalong where they were from.The Rabbit-Proof Fence is set in the outback village of Jigalong, WA, 1931. The girls Molly Gracie and Daisy are taken away from their families and tribe and forced to live in an official government camp called Moore River Native Settlement. We will write a custom essay sample on Rabbit-Proof Fence grossly inaccurate, says Keith Windschuttle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A true story of Molly Craig, a young indigenous Australian girl who leads her younger sister and cousin away from the Moore River Native Settlement which was put in play because colonial Australia wanted to assimilate and breed out the native Australians and to integrate aboriginals into white society. With determination, Molly leads the other two girls on a long trek back to their homeland always being careful not to be caught by the authorities. They traveled 2414 kilometers north to Jigalong along the rabbit-proof fence. The three children, Molly, Gracie, and Daisy, were part of the ‘stolen generation’.Many different camera angles, sounds, symbolism and other effects were used in the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence to make the movie more realistic and engaging. Establishing shots are taken of Jigalong giving background knowledge. Also, close-up shots are taken of major characters in the story explaining who is talking. A long shot was taken during the chase to capture the three half-castes. This long shot was used to make the scene more dramatic. Close-ups were taken at any points in the movie to create suspense or change our attention. Symbolism is used with the rabbit-proof fence signifying the separation and exclusion made by the white Australians to the aboriginals. The washing of the three girls and the giving of new clothes plus the new rules, speech, food, and people symbolize a forced change of identity for the three girls, taking away their heritage. The spirit bird represents hope, freedom and to Molly and Daisy their home. Sound and lighting indicated the mood and feelings of the scene and characters. Lighting shows the changing theme of their trek.