John Proctor Essay

The Crucible is an ingeniously written play by Arthur Miller. The story is based on a real life tragedy that arose from trumped up hysteria that gripped Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. At the same time that this play was being written, a certain American paranoia arose, McCarthyism. This created a perfect parallel between modern day and the story for Arthur Miller.  The second act starts in the Proctor household. This is the first introduction of the two characters together and already Miller has engaged the audience’s attention. Their marriage is very frosty and cold and this chilliness is portrayed to the audience by the way that the couple speak to each other, using short, harsh words to express their feelings, â€Å"Pray now for a fair summer/ Aye.† It is clear to the audience from these brief answers that Elizabeth is trying to avoid talking to her husband and is somewhat dismissive of him. Their tentative conversation is mainly derived from the affair that John and Abigail had had: the audience is well aware of this. The audience is also gripped by the way John is trying to forget the past, shown by his declaration of his only intent, ‘to please’ Elizabeth, whom coldly accepts. Salem is finally mentioned and on that note the tone is set to a standard civilised manner, but Elizabeth’s mention of Abigail later on again stirs up heat, â€Å"†¦the town’s gone wild†¦she speak of Abigail.† This rekindled heat shows the audience how eager Elizabeth is on dwelling on the past, frequently raising issues related to the affair, â€Å"I do not judge you,† the two colliding personas intensify drama in the scene effectively. Elizabeth’s provocation gives perfect cause for John to get angry and also is vital when Hale enters. Luckily for Elizabeth, Mary Warren walks in. John uses her arrival to divert his rage in a successful attempt to reduce apparent tension between his wife and himself. Mary then decides to recite a list of the accused in the trails in Salem, Miller’s endeavor to create even more drama pays off as when Elizabeth’s name is ‘somewhat mentioned’ in the court. At this point John becomes infuriated. Mary tries to calm everyone down and gives Elizabeth a doll that she had made during the proceedings in court. This in turn indirectly creates drama due to the fact that the audience is prefixed on the belief that it is a kind gesture, but it is later used against Elizabeth when she is being condemned, â€Å"‘Tis Hard proof†¦I find here a poppet†¦in the belly†¦a needle’s stuck.† John, after hearing his wife’s mention tells Mary Warren to ‘go to bed’ where she shows the power that she has to the crowd and to John by telling him that she ‘will not be ordered to bed anymore.’ The heated conversation between John and Mary reaches a crux. The conversation’s temper level is suddenly dropped and Mary goes to bed. Miller carves drama from every aspect of this conversation. The audience is obviously familiar with the charge for communicating with the ‘Devil,’ imminent death. In this sense it is obliviously clear that Miller has ventured to create suspense for the audience, what will happen next, how will Elizabeth react, will she die? Elizabeth is then forced to think pessimistically. She then starts to contemplate what will happen to her after this is resolved, indicating the worst possible outcomes. Miller has done this to show the audience what the character must be going through, letting them adopt Elizabeth’s persona, creating drama by indoctrinating their thoughts to fit the pessimistic way in which Elizabeth is thinking, â€Å"†¦the noose is up!† Hale’s entry into the scene is very peculiar. Miller’s intent when writing the stage direction, â€Å"Quite suddenly, as though from the air, a figure appears,† is so the person directing the play can have the entry very mysterious, so as to arouse suspicion about the character of Hale amongst the audience. His mysterious welcome and his reason for coming to the Proctor household, to determine ‘the Christian character of this house’, makes John very hostile towards him. John sees his invasion as a form of provocation and becomes aggressive towards him; â€Å"we are not used to visitors after dark.† Hale proceeds in explaining how the witch-hunt has intensified and that there are a numerous amount of people accused. So far Arthur miller has kept drama in this scene at an extraordinarily high and constant rate, keeping the audience at the edge of their seats, hardly dropping dramatic tension anywhere. Hale appears at a tense moment that startles Mr. and Mrs. Proctor, the audience knows this but Hale does not and so is not aware that he is unwelcome. The scene that follows is very intense and hilly with the dramatic tension constantly pulsing up and down. From the beginning the conversation between Hale and John Proctor is rather heated especially when issues of the church are concerned, â€Å"Powers of the dark.† It is clear to the audience that both Hale and Proctor are sceptical about the goings on Salem but do not want to show it. For example, when they are talking about the accused and Rebecca Nurse’s name gets mentioned Hale’s insecurity is shown when he says, † God forbid such a one be charged.† Miller also shocks the audience over the accusation of Goody Nurse showing them the power the girls have over adults and Salem, also displaying to them how the girls position has been uncontrollably elevated, Mary Warren: â€Å"I’ll not stand whipping any more!†