How Does Arthur Miller Build Tension in Acts 1 and 2 and Up to the Entrance of George on Page 138?

give the name of the witness. In the play, Parris is keen to keep his

cold front to John when he attempts to kiss her, we can see that she

Also he writes that the man is surrounded by the darkness of the theater, consumed by it, and with the white light ahead and on stage he is alone, and lonely in the darkness, playing the game. These are all references to how invisible and alone the man is.

Budick, E. Miller. "History and Other Spectres in Arthur Miller's The Crucible." Drama Criticism, edited by Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 31, Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420082421/LitRC?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=LitRC&xid=8788187c. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018. Originally published in Modern Drama, vol. 28, no. 4, Dec. 1985, pp.

Even though Miller makes assumptions in his writing, he does keep the reader’s attention with a face-paced tone and long sentences with similes. For example, when Miller says “The notion that the principal, or only, purpose of going to college is to win a ticket of admission to the great upper middle

2. Explain Miller’s use of comic relief at the beginning of this act. How is this scene ambiguous?

Miller writes the story in a very unique way. He gives his readers a chance to explore the words written on his pages, with the hope that the reader is able to draw their own conclusions from his work. His unparalleled approach to the essay forces the reader to use critical thinking in order to make since of the essay. Miller’s feelings about reading, writing and the

In the opening of the play how does Miller seek to create an atmosphere of hysteria and tension? Do you find the opening effective?

Miller is able to portray the madness of Salem in a variety of ways, throughout the whole of the play however the ending of each act allows the audience to fully feel the hysteria. By incorporating changes of key themes and ideas as well as using links throughout the text and a variety of dramatic techniques towards the end of each act, Miller is able to leave the audience with a sense of this madness. The ways in which he reflects the madness change from scene to scene however each technique is just as important as others.

Prior to this act the girls have named the witches and have accused innocent people, for example “I saw Goody Hawkins with the devil...” This scene ends with everybody screaming and being hysterical and as soon as act two starts, there is silence. This shows a powerful use of contrast between the acts through the stage directions. This also affects the audience because as the curtain is falling they are left at the edge of their seats and as soon as it drops they are left hanging as they want to know what has happened to the girls. Arthur Miller uses this device

Events in history, along with those today, have shaped the way people live and act within a community. Authors often relate past events to their work to help the audience make connections to better understand what they are reading. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller relates back to the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Miller does this in order to make the readers obtain a better knowledge of the events that shaped our country’s history. While teaching a lesson, literature can also provide a connection to a reader’s life. People can often easily make connections to the lyrics of a song, which makes them feel like the is about their life or choices. Some events and characters in The Crucible have the ability to relate to modern day musical selections in order to convey the entire meaning of the play.

In the story the miller’s actions in the story are greatly influenced

The acts develop gradually even in presenting these clashes and tensions. Wood argues that in the first act the tension is an inner one that can be touched on the psychological level and it can also be felt in the incomplete sentences. Gradually the second act comes with more conflicts that some clear accusations began to take place. The last act carried the confrontation moment which led to a sudden end. While the audience was prepared for a more logical ending for Keller that he would be imprisoned, “a shot is heard in the house” (III. 80). And this was considered the ending curtain (Wood, Introduction xx-xxi).

This section creates tension by involving physical and violent actions towards the two characters and involving the theme of masculinity. The mocking made by Eddie ‘Don’t pity me, come on. Throw it, I’ll show you how to block it’ shows how Eddie feels about Rodolpho as a less manly person. This involve the theme of masculinity as fighting is considered masculine and the refusal made by Rodolpho to Eddie concerning fighting ‘I don’t want to hit you Eddie’ shows the differences of masculinity between the two characters creating tension between them. The reader might feel empathy towards Rodolpho as he is being forced to fight even though he refuses and the different perspectives of masculinity compared at the time set in the play compared to nowadays can cause the reader to notice better the contrast between these two very different characters and how Eddie refuses to accept Rodolpho for what he is as if it was set in the modern-day people would be more open minded to the theme of

According to Harold Bloom, Arthur Miller’s play there is a theme of an individual struggling to fit in a society. Such need is often exhibited by way of guilt of the characters, a sense of responsibility or lack of a sense of responsibility (Bloom 131).