In , the Miller Center launched its first oral history project with members of the Jimmy Carter administration A historian looks at Jimmy Carter Julian E. Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, discusses his book on Jimmy Carter Title: A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller | Analysis Example essay. Last modified: 14th Dec Introduction: A View from the Bridge is a play set in Brooklyn in the s and was written by Arthur Miller. He wrote this play based on different aspects in his life as he lived in Oct 30, · The play deals with themes of reality and illusion as a family struggles to define their dreams. It is one of Arthur Miller's most famous plays and brought him international acclaim. In , Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this controversial play
The Crucible - Wikipedia
The Crucible is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during — Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyismwhen the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists. The play was first performed at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway on January 22, arthur miller essays,starring E. MarshallBeatrice Straight and Madeleine Sherwood.
Miller felt that this production was too stylized and cold and the reviews for it were largely hostile although The New York Times noted "a powerful play [in a] driving performance". The opening narration explains the context of Salem and the Puritan colonists of Massachusettswhich the narrator depicts as an isolated theocratic society in constant conflict with Native Americans.
The narrator speculates that the lack of civil liberties, isolation from civilization, and lack of stability in the colony caused latent internal tensions which would contribute to the events depicted in the play. The remainder arthur miller essays Act One is set in the attic of local preacher Reverend Samuel Parris. His ten-year-old daughter, Betty Parrislies motionless. The previous evening, Reverend Parris discovered Betty, some other girls, arthur miller essays, and his Barbadian slavearthur miller essays, Titubaarthur miller essays, dancing naked in the forest and engaged in some sort of pagan ritual.
The village is rife with rumors of witchcraft and a crowd gathers outside Rev. Parris' house. Parris becomes concerned that the event will cause him to be removed from his position as the town's preacher.
He questions the girls' apparent ringleader, his niece Abigail Williamswhom Parris has arthur miller essays forced to adopt after her parents were brutally killed in King Philip's War. Abigail arthur miller essays they were engaged in witchcraft, claiming that they had been dancing.
Afterwards, the wealthy and influential Thomas Putnam and his wife, Ann arrive. At the Putnams' arthur miller essays, Parris reluctantly reveals that he has invited Reverend John Halean expert in witchcraft and demonology, to investigate and leaves to address the crowd, arthur miller essays.
The other girls involved in the incident join Abigail and a briefly roused Betty, who attempts to jump out of the window. Abigail coerces and threatens the others to "stick to their story" of merely dancing in the woods. The other girls are frightened of the truth being revealed in actuality, they tried to conjure a curse against Elizabeth Proctor and being labelled witches, so they arthur miller essays along with Abigail. Betty then faints back into unconsciousness.
John Proctora local farmer and husband of Elizabeth, enters. He sends the other girls out including Mary Warrenhis family's maid and confronts Abigail, who tells him that she and the girls were not performing witchcraft.
It is revealed that Abigail once worked as a servant for the Proctors, and that she and John had an affair, for which she was fired. Abigail still harbors feelings for John and believes they are reciprocated, but John denies this.
Abigail angrily mocks John for denying his true feelings for her. As they argue, a psalm is sung in the room downstairs. Betty bolts upright and begins screaming. Parris runs back into the bedroom and various villagers arrive: Thomas and his wife, Ann, respected local woman Rebecca Nurseand the Putnam's neighbor, arthur miller essays, farmer Giles Corey.
The villagers, who had not heard the argument, assume that the singing of the psalm by the villagers in a room below had caused Betty's screaming. Tensions between them soon emerge, arthur miller essays. Putnam is a bereaved parent seven times over; she blames witchcraft for her losses and Betty's ailment. Rebecca is rational and suggests a doctor be called instead. Putnam and Corey have been feuding over land ownership.
Parris is unhappy with his salary and living conditions as minister, and accuses Proctor of heading a conspiracy to oust him from the church.
Abigail, standing quietly in a corner, witnesses all of this. Reverend Hale arrives and begins his investigation.
Before leaving, Giles fatefully remarks that he has noticed his wife reading unknown books and asks Hale to look into it. Hale questions Rev. Arthur miller essays, Abigail and Tituba closely over the girls' activities in the woods. As the facts emerge, Abigail claims Tituba forced her to drink blood. Tituba counters that Abigail begged her to conjure a deadly curse.
Parris threatens to whip Tituba to death if she does not confess to witchcraft. Tituba breaks down and arthur miller essays claims that the Devil is bewitching her and others in town.
With prompting from Hale and Putnam, Tituba accuses Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good of witchcraft. Putnam identifies Osborne as her former midwife and asserts that she must have killed her children. Abigail decides to play along with Tituba in order to prevent others from discovering her affair with Proctor, whose wife she had tried to curse out of jealousy.
She leaps up, begins contorting wildly, and names Osborne and Good, as well as Bridget Bishop as having been "dancing with the devil". Betty suddenly rises and begins mimicking Abigail's movements and words, and accuses George Jacobs. As the curtain closes, the three continue with their accusations as Hale orders the arrest of the named people and sends for judges to try them.
In a second narration, the narrator compares the Colony to post-World War II societypresenting Puritan fundamentalism as being similar to cultural norms in both the United States and the Soviet Union.
Additionally, arthur miller essays, fears of Satanism taking place after incidents in Europe and the colonies are compared to fears of Communism following its implementation in Eastern Europe and China during the Cold War. Again, narration not present in all versions. John and Elizabeth are incredulous that nearly forty people have been arrested for witchcraft based on the pronouncements of Abigail and the other girls.
John knows their apparent possession and accusations of witchcraft are untrue, as Abigail told him as much when they were alone together in the first act, but is unsure of how to confess without revealing the affair. Elizabeth is disconcerted to learn her husband was alone with Abigail. She believes John still lusts after Abigail and tells him that as long as he does, he will never redeem himself. Mary Warren enters and gives Elizabeth a ' poppet ' doll-like puppet that she made in court that day while sitting as a witness.
Mary tells that thirty-nine have been arrested so far accused as witches, and they might be hanged, arthur miller essays. Mary also tells that Goody Osburn will be hanged, arthur miller essays, but Sarah Good's life is safe because she confessed she made a compact with Lucifer Satan to torment Christians.
Angered that Mary is neglecting her duties, John threatens to beat her. Mary retorts that she is now an official in the court, she must have to go there on daily basis and she saved Elizabeth's life that day, as Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft and was to be arrested until Mary spoke in her defense. Mary refuses to identify Elizabeth's accuser, but Elizabeth surmises accurately that it must have been Abigail. She implores John to go to court and tell the judges that Abigail and the rest of the girls are pretending.
John is reluctant, fearing that doing so will require him to publicly reveal his past adultery. Reverend Hale arrives, stating that he is interviewing all the people named in the proceedings, including Elizabeth. He mentions that Rebecca Nurse was also named, but admits that he doubts her a witch due to her extreme piousness, though he emphasizes that anything is possible.
Hale is skeptical about the Proctors' devotion arthur miller essays Christianity, noting that they do not attend church regularly and that one of their three sons has not yet been baptized ; John replies that this is because he has no respect for Parris. Challenged to recite the Ten Commandmentsarthur miller essays, John fatefully forgets "thou shalt not commit adultery". When Hale questions her, Elizabeth is angered that he arthur miller essays not question Abigail first.
Unsure of how to proceed, Hale prepares to take his leave. At Elizabeth's urging, John tells Hale he knows that the girl's afflictions are fake. When Hale responds that many of the accused have confessed, John points out that they were bound to be hanged if they did not; Hale reluctantly acknowledges this point.
Suddenly, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse enter the house and inform John and Hale that both of their wives have been arrested on charges of witchcraft; Martha Corey for reading suspicious books and Rebecca Nurse on charges of sacrificing children. A posse led by clerk Ezekiel Cheever and town marshal George Herrick arrive soon afterwards and present a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest, much to Hale's surprise.
Cheever picks up the poppet on Elizabeth's table and finds a needle inside. He informs John that Abigail had a pain-induced fit earlier that evening and a needle was found stuck into her stomach; Abigail claimed that Elizabeth stabbed her with the needle through witchcraft, using a poppet as a conduit.
John brings Mary into the room to tell the truth; Mary asserts that she made the doll arthur miller essays stuck the needle into it, and that Abigail saw her do so.
Cheever is unconvinced and prepares to arrest Arthur miller essays. John becomes greatly angered, tearing the arrest warrant to shreds and threatening Herrick and Cheever with a musket until Elizabeth calms him down and surrenders herself.
He calls Hale a arthur miller essays and asks him why the accusers' every utterance goes unchallenged. Hale is conflicted, but suggests that perhaps this misfortune has befallen Salem because of a great, secret crime that must be brought to light. Taking this to heart, John orders Mary to go to court with arthur miller essays and expose the other girls' lies, and she protests vehemently. Aware of John's affair, she warns him that Abigail is willing to expose it if necessary.
John is shocked but determines the truth must prevail, whatever the personal cost. The third act takes place thirty-seven days later in the General Court of Salem, during the trial of Martha Corey. Francis and Giles desperately interrupt the proceedings, demanding to be heard.
The court is recessed and the men thrown out of the main room, arthur miller essays, reconvening in an adjacent room. John Proctor arrives with Mary Warren and they inform Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne about the girls' lies. Danforth then informs an unaware John that Elizabeth is pregnant, and promises to spare her from execution until the child is born, hoping to persuade John to withdraw his case. John refuses to back down and submits a deposition signed by ninety-one locals attesting to the good character of Elizabeth, arthur miller essays, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey.
Herrick also attests arthur miller essays John's truthfulness as well. The deposition is dismissed by Parris and Hathorne as illegal.
Hale criticizes the decision and demands to know why the accused are forbidden to defend themselves. Danforth replies that given the "invisible nature" of witchcraft, the word of the accused and their advocates cannot be trusted. He then orders that all ninety-one persons named in the deposition be arrested for questioning.
Giles Corey submits his own arthur miller essays, accusing Thomas Putnam of forcing his daughter to accuse George Jacobs in order to buy up his land as convicted witches have to forfeit all of their property. When asked to reveal the source of his information, Giles refuses, fearing that he or she will also be arrested.
Why Arthur Miller Wrote \
, time: 3:59Jimmy Carter | Miller Center
May 05, · Death of a Salesman Summary. D eath of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller about a failing salesman named Willy Loman.. Willy Get free homework help on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: play summary, summary and analysis, quotes, essays, and character analysis courtesy of CliffsNotes. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman follows the story of Willy Loman, an aging and mediocre salesman who once cheated on his wife and lives in denial of the affair. Wife Linda and son Happy are drawn into this cycle of denial In , the Miller Center launched its first oral history project with members of the Jimmy Carter administration A historian looks at Jimmy Carter Julian E. Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, discusses his book on Jimmy Carter
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