Luke

Topic 1: STAGE DIRECTIONS


 * The Crucible: Topic 1**


 * Well, in act 1, I used stage directions and tone to build-up to the sense of mass hysteria that occurs in the play, so I used the stage directions to help embody that. Reverend Samuel Parris has just discovered a group of girls, dancing in the woods, surrounding what looked like a pot with something in it. It looks like they were practicing witchcraft, the work of the devil. Worse, his own niece, Abigail Williams, and his own daughter, Betty Parris, were among the dancers. This could mean a load of trouble, particularly if it gets out. In the play, it was believed paragons of good were incorruptible and selfless. Well, I decided to have Parris concerned about his career in act 1 and throughout the play, to show that even paragons of good are subject to their own selfish desires. The stage directions indicate this, as Parris is more concerned about his career and what his enemies might make of the events than the welfare of his own daughter. The news soon gets out, and the stage directions were aim to underlay a sort of tension building up in the characters, to end in mass hysteria when the girls who had been dancing and performing witchcraft in the woods begin to cover their tracks by saying people already joined with the devil, forced them to follow Satan and become witches. Seeing as the tension was already there through the stage directions and the tone they implied, it resulted in a fight-to-survive scenario, which is basically accuse others of being witches or warlocks to save themselves. The belief the devil was rampant in Salem was the main belief I wanted to get across with the stage directions and their tone. This belief instill the mass hysteria that claimed the characters in the play.**

I think that some more direct reference to specific quotations here would support your points a little more.

Topic 2: CATALYSTS

** Catalyst in //the Crucible// ** ** Luke Dolan 12o ** She names another character, Elizabeth Procter, as having practiced witchcraft. She does this out of revenge, for **** Elizabeth **** is blackening her name in the village by calling her a prostitute. Abigail had previously, supposedly, had an affair with Elizabeth’s husband, John Procter. She is the catalyst that sets off the main events of the book and play, the main force behind the events, while at the same time; she is not affected by them at all. **
 * In the Crucible, the story revolves around how mass hysteria can drive civilized action and debate out the window in a society or community. **
 * In the Crucible, the story is set in the times of the witch-hunt in the 17th century, or the 1600s, in **** Salem ****, **** Oregon **** . Panic and distrust is rampant among the community, no one is safe, and people are being arresting and dying by hanging or at the stake. If there is even slight talk of witchcraft in someone, that person is arrested. It was a time of Fear, and no one knew what on earth would happen next. There was an incredible high amount of hysteria in the community. **
 * The definition of hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of fear, often characterized by irrationality. **
 * But how does mass hysteria rid a community of its common sense? **
 * Well, there are little things called catalysts. **
 * The proper definition of a catalyst is something which causes activity between two or more persons without itself being affected. **
 * This is a perfect description of one character in the play. That character is a certain 17 year old girl by the name of Abigail Williams.
 * So, it is Abigail Williams who is the main catalyst behind the mass hysteria that sweeps the community, and is the main one at fault for it. **

Hi Luke, you spend a little too much time on the defiition of catalyst and the historical contaxt whereas I think you need to focus immediately on your thesis regarding who is the catalyst and why. Remember to add some depth to your ideas by adding quotations and specific reference to the play. Bring all your ideas together into one clear paragraph.


 * Topic 3: Direction:

The Crucible: Topic 3

The extract I chose was pages 9 through to the beginning of page 12 in the play. The dialogue is between Reverend Samuel Parris and Abigail Williams. It is filled with tension, as this is Parris trying to get to the bottom of what had happened the previous night, and this is Abigail trying to avoid revealing the truth to him. I would direct this part of the play to convey that underlying sense of tension, and through that, hysteria, by Abigail focusing more on avoiding Parris’s questions. Parris, I think, should be directed to be more suspicious and angry than he already is. At that point, he seems concerned, more for his ministry than for the welfare of his only daughter. This should be directed to be stronger in the movie. It adds to his character. It also would add to the tension, as he would have been more suspicious as well. That is the prime reason as to why it should be more annunciated. Abigail should be more evasive and afraid, in her tone if not in words, and should be directed to be more quivery and tense. She should get more frustrated with her uncle, as she knows Parris doesn’t believe her, and more forceful with her version of the events. She should be desperate to cover her tracks, so that should show through in the directions. She should be more than «an edge of resentment» when Parris asks if her name is entirely white in the village. And so, that, is how that part should be directed to be carried out.**

Topic 4: Adaptation:


 * Film Adaptation

I thought the film version was an excellent adaptation of the book. The screenplay and setting were excellently done. In particular, the characters were very, very, well done. One character really stuck out to me while watching the movie. That character was Abigail Williams. In the book, Abigail is described as «a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling.» It is my opinion that the directors of the movie managed to capture that description well. They did that through many factors. The first of which is physical appearance. One way this had to come through was through the actress. The directors of the film did not disappoint, in any way. Winona Ryder, the actress who played Abigail Williams, is a very attractive and beautiful woman. That was one aspect of the character covered. Her acting is also very good. She managed to capture the «endless capacity for dissembling» quite well. She acts the hysteria throughout the play. Quite literally. In the scenes where she is in front of Danforth and is pretending Mary Warren is witching her and the other girls, she acts it so well, I was mesmerized. She was perfect for Abigail. So, through this important character, I feel as though the film adaptation was a very good representation of the book. Possibly better, in my opinion. Though there may have been a few added actions, such as kissing John Procter when he was leaving Parris’s house in their scene alone together, I think that added onto the effect of the scene.**

Luke, you make some decent points here and you show good knowledge of the play. It is clear that you are following the lessons and the ideas which are presented.

However, your writing and the quality of your work here does not reflect the quality of your ideas in class.You have to try to improve the sophistication and the quality of your writing through writing clear and well thought out topic sentences at the start of each paragraph. Stay a little closer to the text with more direct referencing.

Finally you are missing a paragraph and this has affected your overall grade here. Remember, you were given until an extra few days to complete this.

__Knowledge and Understanding - 3__ __Appreciation of Literary Features - 3__ __Interpretations of the Text - 3__

Topic 5: Article

could not work my way around the site.