A severe test or trial 10/22/10

   There are several definitions for the word Crucible. One of the definitions is a container made of a substance that can resist great heat for melting, fusing or calcining ores,metals, etc. Another definition is the hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace, where the molten metal collects. The final definition is a severe searching, test or trail. I think that when Arthur Miller chose the name for the play he meant it to refer to the third meaning. The book was mostly based on several court trials that the community had to go through. These trials were not minor or insignificant. In the contrary they signified a lot. That is because those trials defined  many peoples future; their life or their death. That is why the title fits in perfectly with the story. The trials were just as the tittle definition describes them; severe.
   It is hard to think if I have ever been in a crucible. But when I look back at it my adolescent years are basically based of  many crucibles. It sounds weird, but it is true. During my teenage years is when I find my self identity. That is way more complicated than it sounds. The person that I am becoming depends on the situations and the experiences that I have been through. Those experiences are sometimes crucibles because I am in a search to become who I want to be. For example, I find out who my true friends are through what they do to me or how they treat me. I find out what I am good at by challenges that are put in front of me. I find out what I like to do depending on my success at it or the satisfaction I get when I do certain things. I find who I am every second of my life, with ever decision that I make. That might sound like it is not a severe trial, but its is. The decisions I make now are going to affect my whole future.
 This also reminds me of a book I read called To Kill a Mocking Bird. This African American man was accused of forcing a white female to have sex with him. The reality of it was that the woman herself wanted to have this sexual encounter. At the end this black men went through severe trails to determine if he was guilty or not. This book was based on a real life story. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1621355/to_kill_a_mocking_bird_atticus_and.html?cat=17

Giles Corey 10/20/10

" Great Stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay. They say he give them two words."More weight," he says. And died" (Miller,59)

       Elizabeth was explaining to Proctor the way that Giles Corey died. He did not want want to confess guilty of witch craft because he knew that he was innocent. To get him to confess the court started to pile great stones on top of his chest until he answered the court's questions. Giles was so brave and true to himself that he decided to die as an innocent man. I think that Corey was driven to this decision because he did not believe in any of the stupidity going on Salem. I also think that he did that because his wife Martha was also killed for not confessing to be a witch. I think that maybe Corey wanted to be true to his wife and to his wife and not lie about who he really was. If his wife was already gone, Corey probably did not want to go to jail and then back home to an empty house. Corey's decision was totally different than John Proctor's decision. Proctor decided that he would confess to doing the devil's work. Proctor is also a brave man, that decision did not change anything. The only reason he chose to confess was because he has kids and his wife had a baby on his way. His kids and wife are the reason why he took such a hard decision. This part of the play actually happened in real life. It is really upsetting to think that this would actually happen to an innocent man. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BCOR.HTM
This link tells a little bit more about the story Of Giles Corey.
       I have to think very hard to see if I would die for any convictions like Giles Corey did. I have never been put in to a situation, where my believes and my actions have been put to the test. The more I try to think about it the more that I contradict myself. I guess it all depends in the situation that I am stuck in. I can't truly say what if, because it has not happened. For now my believes tell me that life is more beautiful than death.

Poetic Devices 10/19/10

   Arthur Miller did such a very good job to convey the overwhelming emotion of the meeting between Elizabeth and Proctor in Act IV. There were various feelings of emotions portrayed in this one scene. There is the emotion of resentment, forgiveness, love, care, passion, sadness acceptance, and despair all at the same time. So how was Miller capable of taking all these emotions and assembling them? He used Poetic devices(.http://poetrycool.tripod.com/devices.htm this a link that defines each poetic device.)One of the main devices that Miller used was Imagery. This type of device is composed of words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses. This is shown when Elizabeth is explaining to John how it is that Giles Corey died. She tells John that great stones were laid upon is chest. That connects to our senses because we can assume that stones are heavy and that our chest has ribs, which could start breaking with pressure. That is not a very pleasant image to think about, but it lets us see the pain that Giles must have gone through. This is important because it shows John the consequences to whether he chooses to confess or not. Arthur Miller shows a strong message in this section. What he showed is that no matter what happens, there are always going to be emotions and feelings involved. John and Elizabeth were going through a lot, but they were still able to show how they felt for each other. We are humans and having feelings is what makes us exactly that. Nobody can be emotionless because that would make them a rock; lifeless.This section in the book started to remind me of myself.
     There are some poetic devices that I found in the book that will further show some images or themes in the play. For example in the play Proctor tells Hale "I like it not that Mister Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it." The part where Proctor says that he sees no light of God in that man, meaning Parris. That is a poetic device because it uses the term light of God. this shows that the theme is that many men back then used God as an excuse for everything they did, even if it was the worst thing that they have done. Another poetic device I found is "Believe me, sir, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning. Let you rest upon the justice of the court; the court will send her home, I know it…" This poetic devices says that if rebecca Nurse is accused then the whole world should mine as well be accused because Rebecca nurse was one of the nicest women in Salem. Another poetic device found in this quote is that Hale says that the whole green world will be burning. We know that the whole world is not green, only some parts are. But he gives the reader an image of the world and lets us imagine the green part of the world burning. Of course he doesn't mean it literally. It is a metaphor that is trying to explain that Salem and the courts are going insane for accusing Rebecca Nurse of witch craft.
    I am being overwhelmed with emotions as of right now. School has taken up a lot of my time, and that has added a lot of stress in me. The stress then turns in to anger. I am also very happy because my mother is expecting a baby. That of course makes me very excited for my family. We are all so eager to meet the baby. I am so anxious also because of the HSPAS and the SAT's. So that makes me feel afraid, I don't know if I will do fine or not and the rest of my future basically depends on these two tests. There are many other things out there that add a variety of emotions to me. It is very hard to deal with them so I can only imagine how hard it is for an author to try to smash up all the emotions into one act.

10/14/10 The character that I mostly identify myself with is.....

"My husband is a goodly man, sir." (Miller, 50)

Elizabeth said this to Danforth when she was asked why she had kicked Abigail out of her household. It was expected that she would tell the truth and say that Proctor cheated on her, but that was not the case. Instead Elizabeth tried to protect her husband by denying the truth. In reality what she really did was put Proctor in more trouble than before. I identify myself with Elizabeth because she tried to save her loved one. I know I would try to do the same thing if I was ever put in a situation like that with my mother, father, or any of my loved ones. I know it is bad to lie, but I wouldn't want to endanger the people I care about specially if I think I can save them. That is exactly what Elizabeth did, and even though what she did was wrong and it could cause more harm then good. I understand why she took the action that she did.I do wish that she had said the truth though. This would have probably changed the book and had taken it to a totally different outcome. This showed me that sometimes telling the truth is better.

"What work you do! It's strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!" (Miller, 30)

This quote was said by John Proctor to Mary Warren, because she was part of the court that decided if people should be hanged or not. John Proctor is one of the people that doesn't believe in witch craft. This makes him different that a lot of people in the play. Mostly everyone believes that the witches are real and they actually believe that hanging people for this crime is the way to resolve the problem. John Proctor does not want to have any part of it. He thinks its absurb and he doesnt agree with the decisions. That is why I believe that Miller identifies himself with proctor. Miller is the author of this book, so he knows what happens is not real and that people from back then were mistaken. Miller must feel John Proctors frustration, when he sees that his wife is being hanged for no real reason. Miller probably relates to John also because he knows about him through historical records. That is what they both have in common, they both know the truth but they can't do anything anything to change people's minds or history.
 Arthur Miller did not write this book for no reason. He actually had a lot in his mind while he started to write this play. During his interviews he explained the reason why he wrote the book. http://bostonreview.net/BR14.1/miller.html
That showed that authors do not write for no reason. They write out of inspiration. Arthur definitely shows what inspired him to write the book and the theme is clear to me. I believe that he wanted to show that history repeats itself. Things like The Crucible happen now, when there are people that are unfairly accused of a crime.

10/7/2010 The Good Have Nothing to Fear

    Danforth is the main judge of the court in Salem. He and many others are in charge of deciding if there are any witches in the village, and if any one is accused then they are put in trial. That might seem like a regular court that is fair and square, but in reality the courting system back then was ridiculous. If anyone was accused they are automatically considered a witch. If they confess to being a witch, they will have time in prison, but if they don't confess then they will be hanged.
    Danforth  tells many that they have nothing to fear if they are good people, but this have been shown otherwise through my understanding. Most, if not all the people that have been accused, have declared and manifested that they are not witches. Even if they deny withcraft they are never believed. Sometimes even the people present in the court pretense that they are being attacked by spirits. What really contradicts to what Danforth said is the ones accused plead innocent. "I am innocent to a witch, I know not what a witch is" (Miller,39) Martha Corey says this to Hathorne when she is being asked to testify. It doesn't matter that she denied it, she is guilty to everyone's believes in court.

   This reminds me when I was in class in eight grade and a girl lost her phone. I didn't have it and everyone else claimed not to have it, but since she said she lost during class, we were forced to stay in that class until she found it. It did not matter that I didnt steal the phone, I was part of the class so I was a suspect. This also reminds me of the one time when my mother thought I took her money. I told her it wasnt me, but she didnt care! In her mind, I took it so I had to be the thief. At the end of it she found the money in her other purse but I was grounded and yellled at, and basically punished for doing something I didn't do. It was really hurtful, but I was glad my mom finally learned the truth.
   This also reminds me of a case in the 1920's, where two mean were accused of murder and robbery. There names were Sacco and Vanzetti. Back in the 1920's there was a lot of prejudice against other cultures. These two mean happened to be Italian anarchists, so they were viewed as the guilty ones. They denied having taken any part of the murder but they were still sentenced, because of who they were. This is an Article that goes into more depth about it: http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/sacvan.html

  This shows us that history does repeat itself. It happened in Salem, then it happened in the 1920's and now it is happening again. It happens with racism and nativism. People make judgement about others because of their race and culture. But if you think about it, most of this prejudice acts are done because people are just trying to find someone to blame for the country's problems.