The Crucible Elizabeth Essay Example For Students

The Crucible Elizabeth Essay The definition of judgement according to Encarta Encyclopedia, is the formation of an opinion. It is a simple definition, clear and direct. Although, there is more to the word judgement than meets the eye. What about the last word in the definition? What is an opinion? An opinion is described as a belief or conclusion that is held without any substantial proof. That word might not seem to have too much significance at this very moment, but it did back in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch scare. Making a judgement on somebody may seem harmless, but it can be very destructive. The citizens of Salem made judgements on their neighbors, forming opinions that they might be witches. Those solitary judgements led to many peoples deaths, and guess what. Their judgements of witchcraft were wrong. Arthur Miller gives people some insight into the Salem witch trials in his play, The Crucible, which shows how peoples poor judgement led to hysteria and tragedy in the community of Salem. It also shows how the people changed because of this witch scare that ran furiously through the town. We will write a custom essay on The Crucible Elizabeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Elizabeth Proctor is one of these people, who undergoes a major change because of the events that occurred in Salem. In the beginning, she forms an unfair opinion of her husband, John. She finds it very hard to forgive him for certain actions. At the very end she ultimately has a change of heart, realizing the potential destruction and harm of her judgments. She realizes that she is not the one to be faultfinding of John and says she will not judge him regardless of what he does or decides to do. Now that is all well and good, but she didnt just all of a sudden change her mind on the issue. She didnt just all at once receive some divine wisdom that she was wrong. There are many factors that changed her mind and that led to her new perception of judgement. Explaining this switch of mind frame that Elizabeth underwent needs some description of what actually happened to make her judge John the way she did in the first place. Everything began when a girl named Abigail was working for the Proctors in their home. Elizabeth at sometime found out that John had sexual relations with Abigail, so she took the situation into her own hands and fired Abigail. From that point on, Elizabeth was a bit wary of Johns words, wondering and questioning in her mind whether they were true or not. She found it hard to forgive him for his actions. Meanwhile, while John and Elizabeth were having problems in their home, outside in the town people were being accused of witchcraft right and left. The main accuser was Abigail. Her and her friends had actually been some of the first accused of witchcraft because they were seen dancing naked in the woods, an unheard of act in their Puritan society. So to get themselves out of a potential death sentence, they started accusing innocent people. They did it with such resolution that many of the people believed them and came to fear some of the accused. Now Abigail didnt tell anyone that everything they were saying was untrue. She only told John Proctor. Another very interesting bit of information in this conversation was not well taken by Abigail, either. John said that he would never again even think about going back to Abigail. That comment spurred on a very evil plot by Abigail to completely remove Elizabeth from the picture so she could have John to herself. .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .postImageUrl , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:hover , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:visited , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:active { border:0!important; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:active , .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304 .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u83c9f38cf85b38edf098fa99823a4304:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Devils Carousel EssayAbigail is a conniving and evil girl, whose main concern is her own well being. She felt that if she could get rid of Elizabeth then John would be hers. So she accused Elizabeth of being a witch, knowing that Elizabeth would be hanged if convicted. She already had much of the community convinced her stories were sincere, so she knew this little lie would not be any less believable than the other ones she had already told. Of course, Elizabeth was not exactly delighted about being falsely accused. Her life was on the line because people believed the words of Abigail. The town was judging her, and she did not like it at all, but she had not yet realized that she was had actually been doing the same thing to her husband. John initially did not want to get involved in the witch trials, but he needed to defend his wife. He knew Abigail was lying and he went to the trial to try and prove that to the judges. Now, he knew the only way he could really save Elizabeth was by confessing that he had a romance with Abigail, and that Elizabeth had fired her because of it. Confessing, he knew would ruin his reputation, but he didnt care about himself as much as saving his wife. Although both were accused of witchcraft anyway, by the end of that trial Elizabeth had realized that she had been judging John wrongly all this time, for he was an honest man. All this time she hadnt given him credit for his integrity, didnt really believe he had much. Yet, her life was almost saved because of it. Later the judges came, saying that if anyone admitted to practicing witchcraft, he would not be hanged. Elizabeth had held her ground, and did not say anything to them. The judges knew she would not budge with her feelings, but they sent her to John to see if she could convince him to confess so that his life might be spared. John asked Elizabeth whether he should admit to witchery to save his life even though it was a lie. Elizabeth just said that no matter what he decided, she would not judge him anymore. She knew that she should not have judged him to begin with. She realized at the end of the trial that John was much more than she gave him credit for, much more than what she saw through her obstinate and partial eyes. He had given up the respect of every one of the citizens of Salem to try and save her, even with the thoughts of the distrust and resentment she had showed towards him. Her actions were punishment without a cause, and she knew it. Elizabeth was wrong in her judgement of him, and it hurt not only John, but also both of them. Her actions were punishment without a cause, is a phrase that parallels on the whole witch scare and trials that took place. Elizabeth probably felt that what she did to John was very similar to what the people were doing to her. They were putting her on trial for something they thought might be true about her. The narrow-minded citizens of Salem were judging her wrongly of witchcraft, and because of it she would probably be killed. The witch trials may have been on a bit larger intensity scale than her and John, but the concept was the same. No matter what it is, judgement especially without proof is terribly sinister and can have adverse effects on everyone involved. Once Elizabeth saw the similarities of herself and her neighbors, who were forming such outrageous opinions of her with absolutely no justification, she realized she had to change. .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .postImageUrl , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:hover , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:visited , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:active { border:0!important; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:active , .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41 .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u7fc7a5908a53dd996979eeecf6437d41:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: "Romeo and Juliet" was, and still is the most famous tragedy of all time EssaySo, she refused to judge him for whatever decision he made. Knowing finally that she should not be the one to intervene with his decision by thinking a certain way about him or telling him what to do, she said simply, He is good now. God forbid I take it from him! She realized at last that one part of his character might have been a bit flawed, but she should not have used that as the base of her opinion for the rest of his character. She realized that God is the only one that sees all, and that she was a fool if she tried to play His role for Him.

The theme of betrayal Essays

The theme of betrayal Essays The theme of betrayal Paper The theme of betrayal Paper These two poems are written about very different subjects but they both explore the theme of betrayal. In the first poem ‘Havisham’, the poet Carol Anne Duffy uses Mrs. Havisham, a fictional character from the well know novel ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens, as her extended metaphor for betrayal. In the second poem ‘Kid’ by Simon Armitage, the poet presents the theme of betrayal from a slightly different perspective using ‘Batman and Robin’ as his literary conceit. Both Havisham and Kid feature literary conceits through which the poets convey the characters thoughts to the reader. In Havisham, Duffy uses her chosen metaphor as the title. This makes the theme of betrayal known to the reader from the very start of the poem. Duffy asexualises the main character in the title through the absence of the pronoun â€Å"Mrs†. This puts extra emphasis on Mrs. Havisham’s metaphoric significance. In kid, Armitage uses the extended metaphor (Batman and Robin) to sarcastically influence the speakers’ role reversal of his childhood relationship with his stepfather who left him and his mother, to be in a relationship with another woman. Both poems use strong plosives in the opening line of the poem. Havisham starts off with the phrase â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard†. The repetition of the letter ‘b’ gives the poem an immediate aggressive tone and evokes anger. This phrase is also an oxymoron; the poet is expressing the characters unhealthy state of mind through the polarisation of feeling. This is a result of these two feeling, love and hate, are irreconcilable, and yet both experienced by the speaker to their extremes. Simon Armitage in kid also employs plosives to emphasise the anger and violence expressed throughout the poem examples include, â€Å"Batman, big shot† and â€Å"punching the palm of your hand†. Therefore, both poems use plosives in order to gain the same effect, emphasis on aggression and anger. Clothing is another common device used by both poets to express the characters state of mind. In Havisham the speaker seems to use clothing to convey a deeper meaning to the reader. â€Å"Loves hate behind a white veil† This oxymoron presents two overwhelming contradictory emotion. This shows that although the speaker is angry there is also a more sophisticated side to her. However in kid, the description of clothing is far less sophisticated; â€Å"now I’ve doffed that off-the-shoulder / Sherwood-forest-green and scarlet number for a pair of jeans and crew-neck jumper† . The speaker in kid evaluates his adulthood through his clothing, which shows that he does not operate well in society. The clothes that belong to childhood is the â€Å"Sherwood-forest-green and scarlet number† and the â€Å"pair of jeans and crew neck jumper† belong to adulthood. The speaker shows immaturity by describing his adulthood in terms of external virtues. This would seem fairly mundane in contrast to Havisham, which refers to clothing as part of an intelligent literary device, which subsequently has an effect on the reader. Enjambment is used in both poems, with each poet using this technique to create different effects on the reader. In Havisham, Duffy uses enjambment to build up dramatic tension in the poem. The enjambment used in Havisham goes against normal structure in poetry; â€Å"who did this / to me? †, the effect that is created by the thoughts of the speaker running over from one line to the other, emphasises the great anger felt by the speaker at this point. This use of enjambment is doubly useful, in this case as the overall effect of the enjambed lines is that the idea takes the form of a rant. Armitage creates a mood of aggression in Kid, partly caused by the structure of the poem. Kid is presented in four long periodic sentences with multiple sub-clauses, enjambed over nearly every line. One of the many examples can be seen on line one over to line two were the speaker says â€Å"when you gave the order / to grow up†. The emjabments used in kid also add to the menacing tirade in the poem. In Havisham the structure of the poem resembles that of natural speech. This results in the poem being more naturalistic. At the end of the poem Duffy uses the breakdown in rhythm, â€Å"b-b-b-breaks† to emphasise the speaker’s emotions. By adding in this caesura Duffy shows the disintegration of language, which connotes the breakdown of mind and the unstable mental state of the speaker as a result of the betrayal. Similarly in Kid, Simon Armitage also uses caesura’s to emphasise some key words and themes within the poem, â€Å"I’m taller, harder, stronger, older†. As well as adding greater emphasis to the words, the use of commas between each word breaks up the rhythm of the poem and similarly to Havisham makes the poem exceed the boundaries of normal poetry. This causes the poems to take on the form of a rant. Language devices are used in both poems to enhance the build up of tension. In Havisham, Duffy uses alliteration to build up tension and as stated above, show the unhealthy state of mind of the speaker. The example of this is â€Å"b-b-b-breaks†, this shows the feelings of the speaker mounting up inside her, and she has difficulty getting them out. Her hesitancy in this case could also allude to the speaker’s shamefulness of herself and the state she is in. Duffy also uses sibilance to enhance this effect, â€Å"Spinster, I stink†, this also could allude to the same effect as previously in which the speaker is ashamed of herself. The term spinster refers to unmarried women of marriageable age, and unlike bachelor has negative connotations. This use of sibilance crates a very real effect to the poem the reader can hear, see and smell Havisham in their mind. The assonance found in the second stanza, â€Å"cawing Nooooo at the wall†, implies that Havisham has been re-living in her mind the past events in her life, something that is often not psychologically healthy. The significant literal device found in Kid is the use of repetitive assonance which in this case is all the lines ending in ‘r’: â€Å"order wander yonder rather corner †. These assonances conjures up an ‘index finger pointing belligerently at the interlocutor’. The resulting effect is that of mounting anger and violence in the speaker. In conclusion Duffy lends pathos and a tragic dimension to her character. In order to have a tragic dimension in a character, the character needs to have experienced some sort of tragic event. For Havisham this was the betrayal which causes her to be totally self-aware. As a result this event will manifest itself in to the character of the speaker. This will cause the reader to sympathise with the speaker. In Kid, Armitage presents a character who seeks to measure himself favourably at someone else’s expense. This makes it much harder for the reader to sympathize with the speaker in Kid than in Havisham. As a result of this I feel that the speaker in Havisham is far more captivating than the one in Kid. This is mainly due to the effect the tragic event of betrayal suffered by the reader, has affected her behaviour. This in conjunction with the various stylistic and linguistic features in the poem make Havisham a more powerful and effective poem.