Proctor reluctantly Essay

This powerful line comes in act 4 when Proctor reluctantly confesses to seeing the devil. He is now passionate about making sure his name doesn’t get put up on the church door. This is the line that starts the incredible build up of emotion and frustration leading to the dramatic climax of the play. Saying it ‘with a cry of his whole soul’ shows how much his name means to him. There isn’t a more emotional way he could say it than with his whole soul. John Proctor would rather give up his life than his name. The exclamation mark at the end and the word ‘cry’ shows he should shout the words with a lot of emotion and passion. I can imagine the actor looking very angry and yelling the line with his arms spread and his fists clenched in rage at the prospect of losing his dignity and reputation. I think when he says the line the other charactors will be silenced and be shocked by his flood of emotion. This abrupt line would surprise the audience and it might make them sympathize with Proctor. In Act 2 John is asked by Hale to repeat the Ten Commandments and remembers all but thou shalt not commit adultery and has to be reminded of it by Elizabeth. It is ironic that Proctor forgets this sin because of the affair he had with Abigail. Adultery was seen as a terrible sin in the Puritan society and adultery was taken very seriously. From Elizabeth’s perspective this would make her feel uncomfortable as she is wounded by her husband’s affair: ‘Proctor (as though a secret arrow had pained his heart): Aye. ‘ The description Miller uses to show how Proctor should say the line is very dramatic and the simplicity of just using the word ‘Aye’ will also have dramatic impact. I can imagine the actor almost whispering the word, dropping his head in shame and with a crack in his voice. This might have the effect of generating sympathy from the audience for both Elizabeth and John. It also adds to the build up of tension creating an expectant atmosphere. Arthur Miller is very good at making the audience feel very involved. One of the ways he does this is by using a technique called dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when there is contradiction between what a character thinks and what the audience knows to be true. For example in Act 3 Proctor confesses to the court that he had an affair with Abigail. He tells them that Elizabeth knew about the affair and this is why his wife put Abigail out of the house. Danforth sends for Elizabeth and orders that no one is to speak to her and Proctor to turn his back. She is asked about the affair. Not knowing that Procter has confessed and trying to protect Proctor, she lies and denies all knowledge of the affair between John and Abigail. She realizes too late that she should have told the truth and she is led away. During this most tense scene the audience would feel very frustrated with Elizabeth and be willing her to tell the truth. The audience would feel sorry for Elizabeth as she lied to protect Proctor even though it was about his affair, which deeply hurt Elizabeth. At this point in the play I felt desperate for Elizabeth to tell the truth. Arthur Miller uses very powerful stage directions in The Crucible. He uses them for several reasons. One of the reasons is to describe a movement or action of a character. He directs this line at Mary Warren. His wife has just been arrested on suspicion of witchcraft after a poppet is found in her house, which Mary made. This movement prepares us for the dialogue, which is to follow: ‘Proctor (moving menacingly towards her): You will tell the court how that poppet came here and who stuck the needle in. ‘ This shows the mood that Proctor is in. Proctor is furious at Mary and wants to scare her into telling the court. The movement would draw everyone’s attention towards the actor. I think the word ‘menacingly’ would mean that the actor would walk purposely with an edge of threat towards the girl. He would tower over Mary ready for the dialogue. By this point the audience would be anticipating though his actions what would be going to happen next. In Act 4 Proctor is losing control and is confused about his decision of confessing to seeing the devil: ‘(He moves as an animal, and a fury is riding in him, a tantalized search)’. This stage direction would enable the actor to behave in a dramatic, inhuman manner. I can imagine the actor pacing and his eyes searching for answers. It would give the actor the opportunity to take centre stage and exploit this important twist of the play. This would add dramatic tension and a feeling of anticipation of what Proctor was going to do next. I think the actor would pace up and down the stage quickly with his body quite tensed up. I think Arthur Miller was successful in creating tension in The Crucible. He does this through a variety of methods. Firstly his use of dark, forbidding sets. This gives the idea of tension before the scenes have even begun and the characters have started speaking. His use of dramatic dialogue and stage directions build up the tension and help the actors relate to the character and perform the play with more emotion towards the characters. Through dramatic irony he involves the audience and manages to maintain their interest throughout the play. Miller portrays the characters in an intense way. The relationships between them are very close, with the stifling intimacy of their lives adding to the slow build up of hysteria in the play. I found the most dramatic moment in the play was when Proctor confessed to his affair. Elizabeth was then asked if she knew about the affair but she denied all knowledge of this. This was a particularly tense moment because anxiety and frustration was high; the characters along with the audience wanted her to tell the truth, fearing the consequences of a lie. This had the affect of making me feel nervous that something could go wrong and also involved because I knew about Proctor’s confession. I felt that Abigail’s character was especially strong and influential in the play. She was the root of all the troubles. I felt pity for Elizabeth because of Abigail; her affair with Proctor and her accusations about Elizabeth’s involvement in witchcraft destroyed her life. Miller has the ability to pull the audience into the lives of the characters by his use of dramatic devices and theatrical techniques, which maintain interest and participation throughout the play. Miller made me feel nervous and frustrated in The Crucible. He made me feel sympathy, fear and anxiety towards the characters. For example I felt great empathy for Elizabeth Proctor as her husband betrayed her and then she was accused of being a witch. Miller uses the other characters to portray Elizabeth as a cold person but through our knowledge of her as the play progresses we become emotionally involved with her and come to realize what a strong courageous woman she is. With Elizabeth, as with many other characters, Miller allows us to make up our own minds about their honesty and strength as we are drawn into the characters lives and we begin understand the double standards and different tensions that are operating throughout The Crucible.