Act 1: Overall, I find the play to be very interesting and unusual. The puritans, like in the Johnathon Edwards sermon, are very paranoid of spending their eternal afterlife in hellfire, and will do anything and everything to get into heaven. The characters in this play reflect that perfectly, and when Betty is found unconscious, the reverend and the community begin to worry about the treat of the devil residing in their town, and the general topic was fascinating to read about. I found the connections between the paranoia from the witch hunt and the Red Scare interesting, and I was amazed by how much the two were interconnected, and I found that America doesn't learn from their own mistakes. Also, the fear of the hunt also drives people like Abigail to make claims that others are witches, and they can enact any revenge they want without justified reason, and I found that very appalling to know people could die by accusation. In addition, with the unusual vocabulary and grammar style, I found it difficult to comprehend the story completely, but discussing it in class aided my understanding of the play. Finally, the ending wasn't very suspenseful, but it begged the question: what's going to happen to the people who were accused? I am eager to find this out in Act 2.
Act 2: The play at this point has also become interesting. Here, we find out about Proctor's affair with the slave Abigail and how she's using that against him to imprison his wife, along with his moral dilemma at the end of the act. We also find out about the voodoo doll Mary Warren gave Elizabeth and how it conveniently was stabbed with a pin while Abigail was found with a pin in her stomach, not to mention it is used against Proctor's wife. I found this chapter pretty interesting and suspenseful, and I was surprised to find out Abigail had an affair with Proctor. I also found it very ironic how the one commandment Proctor didn't say was adultery, once again reflecting on his affair. When I read Elizabeth was accused of being a witch, I immediately made the connection after finding out about the affair that Abigail was the accuser. In addition, the scene where Proctor is questioning the interrogation methods and how the accuser is innocent even if accused reminded me once again of the connection to the Red Scare that was elaborated on in Act 1. Finally, the ending where the author explains the dilemma of Proctor defending his wife from Abigail and the potential charge on his head definitely made me think, and the accusation against Mary for making and using the voodoo doll definitely added suspense from Act 2 to Act 3.
Act 3: I found Act III to be very suspenseful and interesting to read. Once again, the language was difficult to comprehend, but reading this in a group and answering the questions helped me to comprehend it. During the trial, I found Parris' outburst very annoying and I'm surprised the judges allowed him to have these outbursts. I also found it unusual how all the girls decided to turn on Mary Warren by faking that they were being enchanted by her and that the court bought it. It was pretty obvious they were faking it. However, with this strict and uptight community, anything can be considered possible. The hysteria of witchcraft drove everybody crazy and they'll believe anything they think they see. It was also disappointing to see John Proctor's plan to tell the truth about his affair backfire because the courts power still remained in tact and they didn't realize the error of their ways. I'm curious to know what will happen to John Proctor in Act IV (even though we already read Act IV).
Whole play: Overall, I found The Crucible a very interesting play to read. The whole connection between the witch trials and the red scare was fascinating and it shows that America hasn't learned from its mistakes. The mass hysteria of both situations allowed any innocent person to be accused and anybody who was accused lost the battle unless they implicated somebody else. The language of the play was very difficult to comprehend and the narrations in the beginning of the play had a tendency to drag on for a while. However, when the main character, Proctor, was presented the story began to pick up and tension and suspense grew. I did not expect to hear that John Proctor had an affair with Abigail and because of the extremely strict rule the Puritans uphold, it was very shocking. In addition, I also was taken aback when Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, was accused of witchcraft and arrested for supposedly using a voodoo doll to harm Abigail. At the trials, I was amazed to find that Mary Warren, the Proctors’ servant, was betrayed by the rest of her friends when they pretended to be under the influence of “witchcraft.” It was also interesting to note how much power these young girls had within the Salem courts, knowing that they were still young and immature enough to be dancing naked in the woods. Finally, I was shocked that Giles Corey had been executed under torture, that Elizabeth’s case was put on hold due to her pregnancy, and that in the end Proctor was executed for being a wizard. It was a very complicated play and a very interesting read.
No comments:
Post a Comment