Month: November 2019

Innocent Until Proven Guilty…

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Overview of Unit

During this unit, we learned about the Salem Witch Trials through reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller. We annotated the text and analyzed it in a multiple of ways including TIEA, blog posts, dramatic readings, sketchnotes, post its, and book snaps. The historical significance of this book was brought back to life through the characters and imagining of what their lives were like. By reading this book, we learned about how people’s morality were judged by people in charge who abused their power and took advantage of their position in order to benefit themselves.

Dramatic Reading

 

TIEA

Blog Post – To Do What’s Best

Unit Reflection

To Do What’s Best…

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Introduction

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Danforth’s rigid beliefs in the proceeding trials highlights Hale’s conflict to reach eventual altruism.

Foils

Hale starts off being confident and certain in his work and what he teaches people. He follows the Bible completely and is sure that his life’s work is to identify and bring to trial witches. He forces Tituba into confessing she’s a witch and accuses many others. However, as Proctor makes Hale question the integrity of Abigail and the girls,

HALE: …I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it (92).

Hale starts to doubt in his abilities and everything he knows to be true. At the end, he comes to the conclusion that living is more important that anything, so he has to save the condemned by convincing them to lie about partaking in witchcraft.

HALE: You know, do you not, that I have no connection with the court…I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer (122).

Hale goes from emphatically convicting those of witchcraft due to naivety to wanting to prevent those accused from being hung. After Hale thinks over the trials, he realizes and doubts the righteousness of the court. It leads to him losing confidence in the fact that he is doing good work. He then counsels those condemned to lie in order to save lives. He loses faith that the law and those in charge are doing things for the good of the people. Having changed his mind, he tries to be altruistic, going against his religious beliefs in order to save the condemned.

“Blindfold Justice” by Shutterstock on Pixabay

In the trial, Danforth considers himself to be the righteous and neutral. However, due to his belief that he is not biased, he fails to see both perspectives as he is not open minded. As Hale doubts the validity of the trials, Danforth refuses to listen to his worries, thinking that he is right.

HALE: …and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it.

DANFORTH: Mr. Hale, you surely do not doubt my justice.

Danforth’s rigid belief in the girls makes it all the more obvious of Hale’s change from overconfidence to being humbled. Danforth thinks of himself as fair-minded and refuses to fathom that the court is unjust. This results in him taking on an authoritarian role who can’t see the other perspective due to his own beliefs that the court is altruistic and has the people’s best interest at heart. Meanwhile, Hale has opened up from being confident in his abilities, to going against his own beliefs that he is correct in order to save people.

In the show The Politician, River helps Payton to realize his own altruistic nature by helping him find strength in vulnerability/wanting to help people. Although Payton is a political man, manipulating and deceiving to get what he wants, his motivations are altruistic. He manipulates in order to be able to do what is best for the people.

via GIPHY

Citation

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play In Four Acts. New York : Penguin Books, 1976. Print.

An Act of Survival 

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A restrictive society, like in The Crucible and The Handmaid’s Tale, drives people to hide themselves from others. When there are deadly consequences for any small mistakes you make, it forces individuals to put on the guise of being perfect in fear they will be killed.

Reputation 

In The Crucible, any act that goes against the Ten Commandments will immediately put one at risk of danger in their religious town. John Proctor, a respected man in the town holds a dark secret; his affair with former servant Abigail Williams. As Abigail charges Mrs. Proctor with witchcraft in attempt to get her out of the picture, John forces Mary Warren to confess Abigail’s lies.

PROCTOR. …you will tell the court what you know

…

MARY WARREN. I cannot do it, I cannot!

PROCTOR. Make your peace with it! (76).

He is too cowardly to claim Abigail is lying for then she will expose their past affair, thus ruining his reputation in the town. However, he has no trouble terrorizing Mary Warren into exposing Abby, even at the risk that the girls will turn on her.

hypocrite“Hypocrite” Photo on Flickr / CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

PROCTOR: Because it speaks deceit and I am honest! But I’ll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never tear it free! (59).

John Proctor desperately wants to be a good person and tries to convince himself that he is good, despite his mistakes. However, he isn’t able to tear free from his mistakes because the only person that focuses on it is himself. He is scared the town will find out about his affair because it will ruin his honest reputation. At the same time, the fact that the town doesn’t know is what makes Proctor torture himself with the idea that he is a hypocrite who puts on the facade that he is honest, when in reality, he withholds the truth due to his fears.

Paranoia

In Gilead, the people are in constant fear that they are being watched in case that what they have done is not orthodox. The government makes handmaids travel in pairs so they are able to monitor each other in case one of them goes against the rules. Offred thinks of her new handmaid partner as a goody-two shoes who truly believes in the Republic’s ideals.

I think of her as a woman for whom every act is done for show, is acting rather than a real act. She does such things to look good, I think…But that is what I must look like to her, as well. (31).

They must both follow the strict rules expected of them if they wish to survive in Gilead, but Offred complains that her partner is too virtuous, when she herself has also only ever followed the rules and said what was expected of her because she is scared to be punished for anything otherwise.

via GIPHY

Citations:

  • Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play In Four Acts. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. Print.
  • Atwood, Margaret Eleanor. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York : Anchor Books, 1998, c1986. Print.