Tag: English

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GCSE – The Crucible – Notes on the Assignment titles

The significance of the crucible title:

Define what a crucible is; how is it applicable to the events in Salem (tested and found either pure or wanting); why did Miller use the title – his own experiences; now discuss the characters who were tested and ‘found their goodness’ though they had to die for it they would not give in… and those who under testing gave in and either blamed others or confessed; still others took the opportunity to get even over small petty wrongs etc so those who died were ultimately the ones who found their purity, all those who survived even Elizabeth and Hale had not been strong enough to stand up to the hysteria and unfounded accusations.

John a hero?

Not at the start – why not? Abi and his relationship with Elizabeth, also his lack of regular attendance at church etc. his treatment of Mary Warren

Why did Miller relate most to Proctor? His own experiences. NB Miller changed the historical details quite significantly about this why? So why did Miller want Proctor to be this kind of man?

What factors changed Proctor’s mind and attitude? E’s accusation, his guilt, his horror at what Abi had unleashed and its potential. His disgust at the abuse of the church’s power. Could no longer stay silent – which is Miller’s central message about what can happen if we turn a blind eye.

How does he change? Admits his lechery; then calls the court and its officials and proceedings a charade; is amazed that Eliz chooses to lie for him realises she does love him; refuses to confess, then changes his mind – why? Then tears up confession – why?

Hero because?… sacrifice…

Characters who change or don’t.

Look at notes above for crucible appropriate title – discuss the reasons which came about for the changes, social factors, historical, cultural, religious, also discuss Miller’s own experiences and why he felt motivated to write the play. He wanted to explore the reasons why human history is littered with appalling incidents like these and why we let them happen. What is it about human nature that often wont stand up and be counted in objection to some form of abuse of power. (look at Guantanamo Bay in our era!!)

Who changes: John Proctor, Elizabeth P; Giles; all these for the better – Hale – for better and worse, not so arrogant or convinced of the infallibility of the trials or religious knowledge but a broken man for reasons of his guilt.

But not Rebecca, (the only totally pure soul the whole time), the Putnams, Abigail, Parris or the judges who despite perhaps inner misgivings daren’t let Proctor show the trials to be the travesty they are.

The play is a study in human motivation.

Read the above and crucible significant title notes; also refer to Miller’s own experiences and Senator McCarthy’s motives…

Discuss who has motives in the play: bring in the social, historical and cultural background.

Parris wants power and security; Putnam land and power; his wife wants revenge; Abi wants revenge and power over all those who have slighted her; Danforth and Hathorne want to retain their power; but also John Proctor is motivated by his love for Elizabeth, his guilt and finally his desire to do what is right. Elizabeth is motivated by her feelings of inadequacy and lack of worth but eventually by her need to show John that she does love him.

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GCSE – Poets – Compare the presentation of anti-social behaviour in Stealing and Hitcher

Both poems are written in the first person from the point of view of the characters who do these actions. We are presented with a chilling insight into the minds of two people who do terrible things and yet seem to think they are somehow justified.

So in the poem Hitcher Armitage presents the story of a man who has a job but ‘……………………………………………….’ and his boss threatens ‘………………………..‘ but his excuse is he’d been ‘…………………………………………………..’

Whereas in Stealing Duffy gives us the story of a younger person who is bored ‘…………………………………………………’ and quite lonely, who has to steal things to get attention: ‘……………………………………………………………’

Dragging himself reluctantly to work the first character ironically hitches a lift himself to where he’d left his car. Later he picks up a hitchhiker and discovers they were ‘…………………………………………………………… ‘. It is the driver’s jealousy of his passenger who was ‘…………………………………… …………………………………….’ living a life free of responsibilities which sends him over the edge and causes him to ‘………………………………………………………… ……………………………….’

Similarly the character in Stealing wants to spoil it for people who have what they haven’t got and not because they want the items ‘……………………………………………………………………………….’ But just to upset ‘……………………………………..…………………………………………………………………..’

While the driver in Hitcher didn’t go out intending to do violence, the character in Stealing does it ‘……………..’ and ‘…………………’

What makes the poems really similar though is the lack of emotion felt by either of the characters. At no time do they seem to regret their actions, in fact in Hitcher the driver seems almost to brag about it ‘………………………………………..’ and the speed of the poem picks up in the third stanza as there is very little punctuation which makes it seem as if the man telling the story is excited. Even the thief in Stealing describes their actions with no remorse, describing their ‘………………’ at ‘……………………………………………………………………………………….…..’ in a cold and callous way.

In fact Duffy’s presentation of the actions of her character in five regular stanzas contains a stark contrast with the rigid convention that stealing is wrong with the meticulously detailed listing of the characters act of theft of the snowman ‘…………………………………………………………………………….’

In both poems we, the reader, are left to judge. In Hitcher we are left appalled at the irony of the actions of someone towards a complete stranger doing something they themselves had done earlier in the day and gotten away with: ‘…………………………………………………….’ While in Stealing we become involved at the end when we are told ‘……………………………………..…………………………………………….‘

Interestingly neither character asks for sympathy nor even for understanding and we can only feel chilled at the thief who has ‘…………………………………………………………………………..’

Put these quotations in the spaces:

‘Again’

‘Again’

‘tired, under the weather’

‘I’m a mucky ghost, leave a mess, maybe pinch a camera’

‘mostly I’m so bored I could eat myself.’

‘following the sun from west to east’

‘I started with the head… his torso weighed a ton… hugged to my chest.’

‘the same age give or take a week’

‘one time, I stole a guitar.. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once’

‘didn’t even swerve’

‘a slice of ice within [their] own brain.’

‘you’re fired’

‘thrill’

‘Sometimes I steal things I don’t need’

‘I thumbed a lift’

‘you don’t understand a word I’m saying do you?’

‘one more sick note, mister’

Knowing the children would cry in the morning’

‘let him have it; first with the head then six times with the krooklok’