Thursday, December 3, 2009

Crucible Tres

1) "Is it the Devil's fault that a man cannot say you good morning without you clap him for defamation?" (Miller 31).

John Proctor sees through the veil of the townspeoples' insanity. Possibly, this innate rationality is from living so far from town. He points out a flaw of the society and openly critiques it. What I liked about this quote was the blunt manner in which Proctor said it. When Giles was saying that the town has been drawn apart recently, he says it because of dark, unnatural forces pulling them apart. Then Proctor comes back with an awesome comeback. Basically, he asks, "Is it the Devil's fault we accuse each other of witchcraft at every turn?" It is a really good insight on his part. He is one of the villaers, but he sees that everyone is accusing people of witchcraft left and right. He does not acknowledge whether there is or is not yet, only that people are jumping at each other's throats to cry witch.

2) "We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her" (38).

Enter Reverend Hale. The way he was described at first made it seem like he had never been called in like this before. This brings up the question of what exact experience he has in dealing with witches and the Devil like this. What does he know beyond books? Hale definitely sounds, at least, like everything he is doing is simply spitting out facts. He also seems very egotistical, since he is the only "professional" in the room. He lets this fact get to his head, and he always acts like the big shot. Something about the way he acts, though, makes it seem like he is full of it. There is one good aspect to his character, however, that is shown in this quote. This is his signature quote from the entire play, and it is evident as to why. He, like the rest of town, believes fervently in witches and the supernatural. The one difference between himself and the others, however, is that he is willing to say it is false. Other villagers, even if proven that someone was not a witch or was not touched by the devil(not that they would go to great lengths to prove it anyhow), would still go to their grave saying someone is a witch or someone is being witched. Hale, on the other hand, is willing to find proof and recognize it.

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