Tituba and two elderly women Essay Example for Free

Tituba and two elderly women Essay However nobody can be held totally responsible, if the people had not believed Abigail and been so nai ve to think that witchcraft was present in the village none of it would have happened. The heroes of the story are all those that stuck to their principles and died for their cause. Corey would not condemn his friend as the others had done and stuck to his principles throughout the play. Rebecca Nurse who will not lie to save herself and Proctor who fights against the charges and does what is morally right in the end. Hale tried to be a hero as he tried to save the lives of the condemned but it was too late for him, the damage had been done. The village rapidly becomes split in two, those who are for the court and those against it. For the court are: Parris, Abigail, Danforth, Hathorne, Mary Warren, Putnam and Goody Putnam, all having very different reasons for being on that side, they are also supported by the majority of the. Against the court are: Elizabeth, Proctor, Giles Corey, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Francis Nurse. Hale is for the court proceedings at the beginning of the story then changes to against during the court scene in Act Three. These are quotes that support the court: Mrs Putnam: You think it is Gods work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I shall bury all but one? There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fire within fires! Putnam: She cannot bear to hear the Lords name, Mr Hale; thats a sure sign of witchcraft afloat. This woman must be hanged! She must be taken and hanged! Mary: I must tell you sir, I will be gone every day now. I am amazed that you not see what weighty work we do. You must see it sir, its Gods work we do. So Ill be gone every day for some time. Im I am an official of the court, they say. I am bound by law, I cannot tell it. Cheever: I am a clerk of the court now, yknow. Hathorne: Arrest him Excellency! This is contempt, sir, contempt. Danforth: This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it? But you must understand, sir, a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road in between. Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these weeps for corruption! Parris: Hes come to overthrow this court, Your Honour! These are quotes against the court: Rebecca: I think Ill go then. I am too old for this. Francis: Reverend Hale! Can you not speak to the Deputy Governor? Im sure he mistakes these people. We have proof of it, sir. They are all deceiving you. Proctor: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clear as Gods fingers? Ill tell you whats walking Salem vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law. I will fall like an ocean on that court! Hale after he sides with the court: I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court! Throughout the play Miller is trying to convey certain messages which he felt were important. Although this was written fifty years ago, many are relevant today. One message is Power corrupts the power that Abigail held over not only the girls but also the community helped her to corrupt their minds and beliefs. Without this corrupting power the situation would not have gone to court and innocent people would not have died. Corporal and capital punishment are wrong. Throughout the play each character that was for the court was not for it for the right reasons. Parris was for the court to gain revenge on Proctor and to retain his position in the community, Abigail to take the blame off herself and to eradicate Elizabeth from the love triangle, Putnam to gain land and Mrs Putnam as she cannot seem to grasp the fact that she cannot have children, Hathorne and Danforth as they are enforcing the law and Mary Warren as she is taken in by Abigail. None of the accusations are based on true facts, as a result of these lies innocent people were hanged. If we read the Echoes down the Corridor it states that Twenty years after the last execution, the government awarded compensation to the victims still living and to the families of the dead. Basically the government admits that the hangings were wrong, but no money will bring back the people who were lost, capital punishment cannot bring back the dead if they are found to be innocent later. Echoes down the corridor gives the reader an insight into what happened after the hangings and the effect on the community, Parris was voted from office and left Salem, Abigail turns into a prostitute, Elizabeth married again and farms belonging to victims were left to ruin. The things mentioned are true and are not fictional it shows that Abigail, after her scheming lying ended up in the lowest, demeaning job. Greed is a powerful motivator. The Putnams throughout the play are fuelled by their greed for more land. Their motivation for encouraging the trials, along with the death of their seven babies was greed for land. They do not care who they hurt and consequently, in effect murder, so long as they get what they want. Consider the consequences of your words/actions. Throughout the story people did not think what the possible consequences could be of crying witchcraft. If Abigail had stopped to think that there was a possibility that Proctor would have been hanged, she would not have done what she did. Proctor did not think when he slept with Abigail that Elizabeth would find out and that it would cause friction in their relationship. If Mrs Putnam had accepted the fact that she cannot bear children, she would not have accused anyone, then lives would not have been lost. If Hale had realised right from the beginning that witchcraft was not present in Salem, that the accusations would lead to innocent people being hanged and listened to his conscience, then he may not have been so hungry for statements. Evil as well as good is endemic in society. Both evil and good people can be found in society. Characters such as Abigail, Putnam and Parris were evil in the story and good characters were Proctor, Elizabeth, Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse. However if there were no evil people in society and in the play we would not know what good was. I think this is an excellent play. I like the way it is based on a true story as it makes it more interesting to read and watch. I think that Miller is a very clever playwright using interesting plots, characters and language to add interest to the play. The messages it conveys were not only relevant then but also now, there is evidence supporting many of his messages today. I think the way Miller leaves it up to you to decide about the characters personalities and their actions is part of what makes the play please everyone, everybody can take something away from the play. My particular favourite quote is said by Elizabeth in Act Two I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. To me it means that the only person who can judge you is yourself, nobody else can, as long as you are happy with whom you are. The tension and drama of the play, particularly between John and Elizabeth and during the court scene makes an excellent play. There is great contrast between certain moments for example Act One ends with frantic cries from the girls then Act Two begins with tension and silence between Elizabeth and John. Throughout the story you constantly ask yourself, will John stick to his principles and become a martyr or will he back down and live? Will people continue to believe Abigail? These elements of the play makes you want to read on and find out. The love element throughout the story makes it interesting and we can empathise with the characters, the plot is not unbelievable. The ending has a twist to it, we begin to believe that Proctor will sign the confession then he tears it up, the ending satisfies everybody, Proctor is forgiven and dies a hero. We know Abigail is a villain, but we cannot help but feel some sympathy for her, she watched her own parents killed, she is an orphan living in a community in which she feels suffocated and her heart has been torn apart. When we first began to read the play I did not understand it because there are so many characters and I did not understand the background to the play or generally what was happening. The language was difficult to understand and I did not understand where the play was leading. When we watched a video of the play I began to understand it and was disappointed when we finished reading the play as I had just begun to enjoy it. When I watched the video I learnt who all the characters were, what their positions were in the village and what was happening. I found it easier to understand and I felt that the costumes and the houses made me feel more like I was there. I thought the video was close to the script in the book and was a good representation of the play in film form. I think that if I read this play again I would really understand it and appreciate it even more. 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