Act Three of The Crucible

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller many of the characters are given some of the worst traits that humans can have. In The Crucible, human nature like the envy of Abigail, the greed of Putnam, and selfishness of the girls are displayed by the actions of the characters and the events of the story.

One of the bad aspects of human nature that can be found in the personalities of the characters in The Crucible is envy. Envy is displayed mostly in the story by Abigail Williams. Abigail is a teenage girl that had an affair with a married farmer named John Proctor (Miller 110). Eventually John's wife, Elizabeth, found out about their relationship and fired Abigail from her job as a servant in the Proctor household (Miller 110). Abigail resents Elizabeth because she was fired (Miller 23). Abigail also believes that John is in love with her (Miller 24). This causes Abigail to begin to envy Elizabeth because she is John Proctor's wife and Abigail is not. This envy that Abigail feels begins to grow and gets out of control. Abigail begins to believe that if she gets rid of Elizabeth, that she and John can finally be together (Miller 110). It is due to envy that Abigail claims that Elizabeth is a witch that has been practicing dark magic (Miller 73). Abigail acting on her envy results in the wrong attempted persecution of Elizabeth.

Not only is envy one of the aspects of human nature shown in The Crucible, but also greed. Greed is shown by the townspeople that try to take advantage of the chaos of the Salem witch trials. One case of this is the Putnam family. They endorse the witch trials because they can declare the people who have land that they want witches (Miller 96). In the time period, when someone is hanged for witchcraft, they forfeit all of their land (Miller 96). This means that the land of the accused will go back on the market and can be purchased (Miller 96). Putnam declared his neighbor a witch in hopes that he would hang, and Putnam would be able to acquire his land (Miller 96). Putnam is driven by the greed for more farmable land, and this drive causes the suspicion of an innocent person.

Selfishness, in addition to envy and greed, is another part of human nature that is portrayed by the events in The Crucible. Many characters in the book are selfish, and can be seen lying to save themselves and persecuting others. An example of this in the story is when the group of girls claim that they were dancing in the woods naked was because they had been bewitched, when in reality they had been doing it for sport and rebellion (Miller 42). To avoid being punished for dancing, they blame their servant at first, but eventually they get caught up in the chaos and begin to declare people witches for sport or revenge (Miller 44-48). This plunges the whole town of Salem into witch hunt that imprisons many and even results in hangings (Miller 48). I think that this is the epitome of selfishness. To escape punishment they put the blame on others, and this leads to persecution and tarnished reputations for the people they declared witches.

In conclusion, The Crucible by Arthur Miller depicts many of the bad sides of human nature. Among these traits are envy, greed, and selfishness, which are represented by the different characters and events within the story.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal 6

It is very wrong to use someone else as a scapegoat, and I feel that what goes around comes around. There are always repercussions for putting the blame on another. It is unfair to blame something on somebody that did nothing wrong, and it is a sign of weak moral character. It creates problems though when people start to disbelieve the claims that you made about somebody else. This makes people angry because they have been mislead and lied to. This anger could lead to a torch and pitch fork situation for someone who blames other people. No one wants to be fooled and you would lose all of your credibility, and the population would try to ostracize and exile you. The person you blamed also may try to get revenge against you for blaming them for something. It will probably turn out worse the bigger amount of blame you put on them. If I were somebody's scapegoat I would try to get revenge. No one will tolerate being blamed for something they did not do, and this gives the person drive for revenge. They will most likely try to get back at you no matter what. It may turn out that what they do to you is even worse than the punishment you would have to begin with. So, I think that it is best to just deal with your punishment the first time around and not blame anyone else. Blaming others does not help you when you do something wrong. It simply draws the situation out, and things tend to get worse with time. Once you lie once it is easier to keep lying instead of telling the truth. This eventually will lead up to a web of lies. If you mess up once and it is found out that you lied, all of the other lies are revealed and everyone else will not be happy with you. This makes the situation ten times worse than it was from the start. It also makes you seem not trustworthy and provokes the wrath of however you blamed for your actions.

Reflection Blog: Act Two of The Crucible

While reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, I noticed all the different personalities of all of the characters in the story. Two of the characters that have distinct characteristics are Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. While these characters are radically different they both nearly match a role of the True Colors assessment. By knowing their characteristics and True Colors, I am able to get a better understanding of Abigail and Elizabeth's personality and what their future actions may be.

In The Crucible, Abigail Williams would be green by the True Colors test. People who are green by the True Colors test are usually intelligent and think by logic and not emotion. They also tend to be leaders and are driven. This drive can make people who fall in the green category tend to not really care about the feelings of other people. I was able to determine that Abigail was green by her actions in the story. From the very beginning of the story, I was able to see Abigail's cold cunning as she started a witch hunt in her town of Salem, Massachusetts (Miller 48). She was able to cover up her odd behavior that would have gotten her in trouble with the church by saying that the servant Tituba bewitched her and her friends (Miller 44). While this is a cruel move, it is also undeniably a smart one by Abigail because she got off the hook and now has an incredible amount of power over everyone in Salem. She has become the leader of a witch hunt and can declare almost anyone a witch without barely any proof at all (Miller 48). This is the leadership role that comes to people who have a green personality naturally. Abigail also has a disregard for the feelings and welfare of others as well. In The Crucible, Abigail wants John Proctor and believes to love him (Miller 24). There however is one obstacle in her path to get to John and that is his wife Elizabeth Proctor. So, to get rid of Elizabeth, Abigail declares her to be a witch and plants a needle in her own stomach (Miller 74-75). She does this because at the same time she has her friend give Elizabeth a voodoo doll with a needle in it that the judges find in the Proctor Household (Miller 74). This is supposed to give evidence that Elizabeth is indeed a witch, and she is taken away to be tried at the end of Act Two (Miller 78). Abigail does not care at all that Elizabeth could hang from the false accusations she has made, and only cares for want she wants. Since I know that Abigail is green, I suspect that through the rest of the story Abigail will relentlessly try to get rid of Elizabeth and take her place as John's wife.

Elizabeth Proctor is on the opposite side of the personality spectrum from Abigail. Elizabeth is blue on the True Colors test. Blue means someone that is passionate and kind. Blue can also mean that someone that does not like confrontation and is forgiving. I think that Elizabeth embodies all of these things in the story. Even though Elizabeth seems to be a little weary of her husband John from his past relationship with Abigail, she seems to have forgiven him for what he did (Miller 55). She is not harsh with him and even seeks his approval him when she does stuff like make dinner (Miller 50). It is clear that she is still unhappy about John's affair with Abigail, but she is not confrontational about it. It can be seen that she does not like confrontation when the men form the court come to take her away and try her for witchcraft (Miller 72). John does not want her to go, but Elizabeth steps forward to go with them (Miller 77). This is because she knows only more trouble will be caused for them if John tries to fight off the men (Miller 77). Elizabeth is kind and selfless even as she is taken away, worrying not for herself but for her children and how she does not want them to fret about her (Miller 78). I think this personality may get Elizabeth in trouble later in the story. She is so kind and may risk herself to save John or someone else from persecution, by giving up her own life.

In conclusion, the personalities and True Colors of Abigail and Elizabeth gave me a deep insight into why the characters do what they do. It also gave me some basis to predict what they may do later in the story.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal #5

I think that the punishments discussed in the video we watched are appropriate twenty-first century punishments for unruly children. Yet, I think that not all of the punishments will really work effectively. I think it would also be easy for the child to find a way to work around the punishment, and then they would not really learn their lesson at all. For example, the expert in the video suggested having the children give the parent the password to their Facebook account, or briefly changing the password so the child may not log onto the social network. I think that this is a good idea in theory, but may not actually work. The child for example may refuse to give up their password to Facebook or other social media sites. The parent then would not be able to effectively use Facebook as a punishment since they could not access the account. Also, the child may give over their password to the parent, but then can just start a whole new Facebook account that is a secret from the parent. I think the most effective way to punish a child by taking away Facebook is to just take away their computer and smartphone privileges. The child will learn that using the computer is a luxury not a right. Maybe taking away computer will even make the child go and play outside or something more active. If they have homework that requires research I would stay by my stance on not using the computer. I would send the kids to the library and research the old fashioned way. Many parents might worry about their kids not having their phones, which often have Internet as well. The parents could take away the smartphone and buy a cheap phone to put their kid's sim cards in. This would allow the parent to still reach the child, but the kid could only really call on the phone and not have all of the fancy options of today's smart phones.

Reflection Blog: Act One of the Crucible

The first act of The Crucible by Arthur Miller gives the reader an insight into his version of the Puritans. From The Crucible the reader can see the qualities of the Puritans and the breakdown of their beliefs.

From reading The Crucible, I could see many qualities of the Puritans. One of these qualities is the zealously with which they regard God. It seems that God is very important to the Puritans, and their whole life revolves around God. The importance of God to the Puritans can be seen through the many references of God in the dialogue between all of the characters. An example of this in the story is when Reverend Hale yells, "Glory to God! It is broken, they are free!" (Miller 48). In this line of dialogue Hale is praising God for Betty, Abigail, and Tituba's confession of being in league with the devil and then renouncing the Devil for God (Miller 48). I think this ironic that Reverend Hale is praising God for releasing the girls out of a fake cooperation with the Devil. It is clear that the girls were never involved with Satan or ill, but gets caught in the panic and wants to use their neighbors as scapegoats. They women also may be enjoying the attention they are getting from the spectacle. This can be seen at the end of act one when Betty, Abigail, and Tituba just began yelling out random names of women that are supposedly cooperating with the Devil (Miller 48). The irony is increased by the fact that this whole scenario was born out of religious zealous of the Puritans and their strong fear of the Devil and going to Hell.

While the Puritans in The Crucible all may share a common zealous of God, it is clear that not all of the Puritans agree with what is going on both at church and with the girls. One of these Puritans is a farmer named John Proctor. Proctor seems to be the voice of reason amid all of the panic and chaos over Betty's mysterious "illness". He can even be seen criticizing Parris often (Miller 28). One example of this is when Parris is talking about how he called the Reverend Hale to come out and look at Betty in hopes of finding out what is wrong with her (Miller 27). He questions Parris about whether he went through the appropriate channels like calling a meeting together before calling out Hale to come look for witches (Miller 27). Parris did not and Proctor seems to disapprove of this (Miller 28). After this the reader can also see John Proctor, publicly disagreeing with the way Parris does his sermons (Miller 29). Proctor says to Parris, "I have trouble enough without I come five mile 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 29). This shows that there is a split in the church, and that different Puritans may differ on how things should be done in the church. I also foresee something bad happening to Proctor because of his views about the sermons in a church that is notoriously intolerant.

In conclusion, The Crucible by Arthur Miller gives the reader insight into his version of the Puritans, including what they believed in and how some views between Puritans differed.

Bibliography: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal 4

A long trip that I have taken was when I went to Boston. This trip had a large impact on my life. I went to Boston when I was fourteen. To get to Boston my mother and I flew and this was my first flight that I had taken since I was very young, and made me realize how much I love flying in airplanes. When I got to Boston I stayed at a hotel that was right on the Atlantic. I had never before seen an ocean before, and I couldn't stop myself from admiring the strange beauty the chaotic turning of the gray waves created. My trip to Boston also gave me a chance to explore the all of the historic significance the city had to offer. I have always enjoyed studying history and it is my favorite subject. While in Boston, I was submerged in history and it was fascinating. It seemed to me that on almost every street in Boston had some significance. For example, I was able to see the warship the U.S.S. Constitution also nicknamed "Old Ironsides". I was also able to visit Paul Revere's home on the Freedom Trail, and see many important places like Boston Harbor where the Boston tea party took place. Besides history, Boston also had a large mix of different cultures in it that I found fascinating. In one part of the city was a "Little Italy" full of Italian restaurants that fulfilled promises of some of the world's best pizza. Boston also had a strong presence of Irish culture within the city as well due to all the people there that were descendants of Irish immigrants. Overall, I decided that I loved my trip to Boston and would jump at the chance to go back. I loved everything from the food, shopping, history, and the cold and rainy weather. This trip had such a huge impact on me because it made me discover how much I loved to travel and experience new things like different cultures. It also made me realize how important history is and it seemed to come alive in Boston.

History of Plymouth Plantation reflection blog

Through reading "History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford, I can see many qualities of traditional Puritan writing. Bradford's Puritan style of writing includes many references of God and simplistic writing.

"History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford seems to have a reference to God or other biblical things on almost every single page of the book. For example, one passage from the writing shows this when it says, " Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts, from time to time, in one sorte or other. Some times by bloody deaths or cruell torments; other whiles imprisonments, banishments, and other hard usages; as being loath his kingdom should goe downe, the trueth prevaile, and you churches of God reverte to their anciente puritie, and recover their primitive order, libertie, and bewtie." (Bradford 1). This passage essentially means that the Puritans think that Satan is always out to get those who believe in God (Bradford 1). The Puritan Bradford remains firm, however, in his belief that Satan may cause many awful things for those who follow God, but that the Church always fights and wins against what the devil throws at them (Bradford 1). From the passage, readers can understand how important God was for the Puritans. It is clear to me that they thought that if they believed in God and followed Him, that they would be protected by all of the bad things that Satan would do to them and they would win against Satan (Bradford 1). This may explain why the Puritans thought so much of God and were so devout in their faith that they incorporated Him into their writing.

Bradford's "History of Plymouth Plantation" not only shows Puritan qualities in writing by having many references to God and the Bible, but it also shows Puritan writing qualities by its simplistic nature. This simple writing style can be observed from the passage that says, "Experience haveing taught them many things, those prudent governours with sundrie of ye sagest members, begane to both deeply apprehend their present dangers, and wisely to forsee ye future, and thinke of timely remedy." (Bradford 22). From this passage, I can tell that Puritan writers had a simple style of writing that was very straightforward. At first glance the text seems elaborate to the modern reader because of the use of Old English. Once getting past the vernacular of the Puritans of early America, I can see how plain the writing really is. All this passage really only says that the leaders of the colony became smarter and saw what was the dangers to the colony (Bradford 22). Then the author goes on to say that the wise leaders of the colony began to think of ways to fix the problems (Bradford 22). This is so simple because many writers would not come right out and say all of this. Many other writers would use a actual problem that was dealt with and how it was solved. They would leave the reader to infer that the leaders were getting wiser about colony affairs the longer they lived there, but Puritan writers do not do this. They get straight to the point and do not use symbolism, or let the reader read between the lines. I think that the Puritan writing is so simple because the Puritans themselves were not into being extravagant or elaborate in case they accidentally upstaged God.

Bibliography: Bradford, William. Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." Boston: Published for the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856. Print.