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Post by Mr. Thomas on Sept 23, 2013 12:06:53 GMT -5
Post responses here
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Post by emmanuelluna on Sept 23, 2013 16:06:06 GMT -5
Emmanuel Luna
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/23/13
A. I believe that The Crucible was written more about the McCarthy speech rather than the Salem Witch Trials primarily because of the time period that the play was written in. This play was written during the time of the McCarthy speeches when mass hysteria was consuming the country over fear of whether or not there were communist spies in the country. I feel that this play was based on his speeches largely because in a way McCarthy started everyone on their own witch-hunt to find out who was a communist and who was not.
B. The Overture of the play also helps us see what the witch-hunt was about and at its core I saw that it was mostly used as a means to “justly” accuse one’s enemies or to get revenge on someone who did wrong to you. Sometimes it could even be used to accuse those you were envious of so that they could be imprisoned or killed for having something you wanted. A quote that illustrates this example is, “one could cry witch against one’s neighbor and feel perfectly justified in the bargain” (1218). This example reiterates what I had already mentioned about the true purpose of a witch-hunt, which is to benefit from the hysteria of the town’s people in order to get what you wanted all along.
E. In general, the whole idea of a witch-hunt and accusing someone as being a witch to justify some sort of hatred or envy towards that person is just crazy. I personally would be horrified to live during such a time period, but I don’t find it completely unreasonable to accuse someone of being a witch to get what you want. Humans are naturally envious of those who have more than they do and would sometimes do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t enjoy life more than them. That is why the reading really conflicted with me because people took advantage of the hysteria to get their way.
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Post by matthewko on Sept 23, 2013 18:20:50 GMT -5
Matthew Ko
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
D. I enjoyed when Miller states, “the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies” (Page 1218). This pretty much sums up his whole point on how Salem got its name for being so suspicious. People were afraid of becoming a place of lies and abnormal people. If someone was not the same as another person, that person could be mistaken as a witch and be persecuted for the sake of it.
F. I came to a good understanding of the relationship people had with those who were sought to be witches. Miller writes, “Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest” (Parris page 1219). Parris who finds out that Abigail has been dancing in the forest immediately rejects her spirit from being in his household. People were truly frightened by knowing so to be witches, especially because they could be convicted themselves. Now I can infer that Salem was a town where everyone was skeptical about everything and everyone.
E. When Mrs. Putnam describes Ann, “but her eyes open and she walks, and hears naught , and cannot eat” (Page 1221), I came to understand that if anyone were sick, they would be falsely accused of practicing witchcraft. Something similar to the flu and having an upset stomach can make you vulnerable to the assumption of something like witchcraft, especially when you can’t speak for yourself.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Sept 23, 2013 18:33:50 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
A. I think this play was written about the McCarty speech because it was made during the same time frame. This play was created during the time when most Americans feared a communist surprise attack. I think this play is connected to the McCarthy because everyone is going crazy to find someone who could exist, but does not.
B. The play suggests that during this time frame it was perfectly acceptable to falsely convict someone if you lied about that person enough times. Anyone could be accused; your enemy, someone you don’t like, someone who bumped you in the street, or their brother. This quote really depicts this idea, “One could cry witch against one’s neighbor and feel perfectly justified in the bargain” (1218). This quote shows how anyone could be labeled a witch and no one would acknowledge reasoning. They would all just come to a consensus and agree that this person was a
E. This is a description of Ann, “but her eyes open and she walks, and hears naught, and cannot eat” (Page 1221), Ann sounds like a regular sick person, but during this time she was labeled a witch. A simple common cold has her labeled a woman who works and worships the devil. Even though someone who works for the devil would have perfect health, they label her a witch because she gets sick like anyone else. This shows the lack of reason the civilians used to accuse these women of being witches.
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Post by matthewchan on Sept 23, 2013 19:11:31 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
A. This first part of a story can relate to many people who have loved ones or knows someone who is going through difficult times such as being sick or dying. When everyone comes in to see Betty, it reminds me when my grandfather was in the hospital during his last few days. People were coming often to see my grandfather and pay their respects to him. It was difficult but happy to see so many people paying their respects to my grandpa. I don’t know if Betty is dying or how serious her sickness is, but these few pages can remind many people if a loved one was dying.
C. Why is Parris afraid of his enemies and who are his enemies? Parris warns Abigail that he has enemies who will use this situation against him. What did Parris do in the past that put him in this situation? Parris shouldn’t be sneaky about things because he is a reverend. He should be caring and trying to fix this problem instead of making the problem worse by telling others to be secretive. He shouldn’t have told Abigail in the first place about his problems. Now, Abigail is involved and has brought herself into her uncle’s mess.
E. I think this story is interesting and I really want to continue reading. I think the beginning so far is a little confusing because there are so many things going on during the same time. I got a little confused with a few things but after reading it slower and again, I understood it better. I wonder if Tituba really knows how to speak to the dead. Is Mrs. Putnam just saying random things or is she telling the truth?
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Post by danokeefe15 on Sept 23, 2013 19:42:22 GMT -5
Danny O’Keefe
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/23/13
C. One question that came to mind when reading this story was why the villagers of Salem accused other villagers of being witches just to get back at them. The Salem Witch Trials wasn’t about witchcraft and sins but more of intense cases of revenge. Doing what these people did went against all that they believed in. These Puritans that are supposed to follow every rule and teaching of the bible decided to disobey some of the most important things in their faith. What also confused me was how well these accusations of other people being witches worked out. Judging from the fact that almost everyone in the village tried to do the same thing, you’d think that people would have caught on allot quicker.
B. The intro to the story and who the characters were helped me understand the dialogue part of the story more easily. I understood what was going on right away and knew everyone’s place in the story. It set the scene let me know where I was picking up from. It also helped me understand how important and interesting this time period was to some people including myself, and let people like myself gain better understanding of the Salem witch trials.
E. A particular part that I liked about the story was when the Putnam’s came into the room to talk to Parris and Mrs. Putman told him about Ruth and other so called “witches” to scare Parris and to have him go downstairs and talk to the people. Before this whole conversation started the book told us that the Putnam’s were known for accusing many people of being witches so that they could get what they wanted, and by telling Parris this they put fear inside him and he potentially listened to what they said to him. This also reminded me of what we had talked about in class, how people used fear to get what they wanted.
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Post by eointunney on Sept 23, 2013 20:20:14 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
D. I enjoyed the line on page 1216, which states, “ To the European world the whole province was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who, nevertheless, were shipping out products of slowly increasing quantity and value.” This quote relates to how I thought about the Puritans because it shows that even people back in that time thought that these people in the New England area were crazy. Another line which indicates that the Puritans are a little crazy is on page 1219 when Parris says, “Aye, a dress. And I thought I saw- someone naked running through the trees!”
E. One thing I found very interesting within this part of the story was that the villagers of Salem used the witch trials to take revenge on their neighbors. If they didn’t like their neighbor, they would accuse them of being a witch. Once they were accused of being a witch, their lives were pretty much over. Everyone frowned down upon these accused people and some of them were even killed. For the rest of their lives they were treated terribly all because someone wanted revenge.
I. After reading through some of my classmate’s comments, I thought that Emmanuel Luna and Matthew Segarra’s thoughts on part A really related to what I was thinking. Since this story was written in the early 50’s I felt it was more related to McCarthy’s communism speech. This story may have been better if it was written around the actual time period of the Salem Witch Trials. McCarthy’s speech definitely has great influence over this story.
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Post by johnmarano on Sept 23, 2013 20:36:41 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
A. This story can in fact relate to a personal experience of mine. “Betty. Child. Dear child. Will you wake, will you open your eyes!” (Miller, 1219) This quote really brought back memories of when my little cousin Frankie was suffering, nearly facing death. I could hear the desperate cries from my family members and their devastation. I remember the yelling and fear that was in the voices of my family. I felt like a part of me was missing, just like Parris feels. This quote brought back vivid events that occurred during the time of Frankie being in the hospital.
D. I really enjoyed the Crucible so far, I really like the conversations between characters, however; I found a certain quote that really grabbed my attention. I liked when Mr. Arthur Miller says, “when one rises above the individual villainy displayed, one can pity them all, just as shall be pitied one day” (Miller, 1218). This quote is really intriguing to me because it is explaining that a man who rises above criminal acts of life will feel and receive pity.
I. After scrolling down the feed and studying the responses from my friends, I would like to point out what Matthew Chan had questioned. I was a little confused in some parts about Parris warning Abigail that he has enemies who will use this situation against him. I really like how Matthew questioned Parris’ past, which could foreshadow the rest of the play.
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Post by poulong15 on Sept 23, 2013 20:41:38 GMT -5
Gregory Poulon
Mr. Thomas
English-11
23 September 2013
The Crucible
Through out the whole play the whole play I really enjoyed how the author really used descriptive language to engage his readers into the story. The way the author caught my attention was by describing scenes in so much detail that it made you feel like you were there. The author also has many lines that are very significant in the play and mark an important role in the play. The author describes the play in the Overture were he gives the background of the story. He says “ Long held hatreds of neighbors can no be openly expressed, and vengeance taken, despite the bibles charitable injunctions.” This line is a lead up to were there author gets into detail and portrays the rest of his story.
I really liked how my fellow pier Emmanuel Luna compared this play to Senators McCarthy’s speech. I found this very interesting because it really was on both parts up surd. Both “pieces of literature” was basically nonsense and really had no reason why they were written. The degree of non-factual statements in both of the pieces really stood out even though I thought the playwright of the story was really fantastic.
The on question that I have for the playwright is what kind of knowledge did he have for the social classes and social structure during that time period. It is very confusing that he does not completely specify or does not even really mention whom the poor, middle, upper and etc. Classes are. Other then this minor confusion I really liked the way the story was written, and expressed in the playwrights own words.
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Post by 1adams12 on Sept 23, 2013 21:06:38 GMT -5
Michael Adams
Mr. Thomas
9/23/13
A. This narrative story has been tied to me in a way, but not exactly as this story tells us. This story says that people were accused about being witches. I know for a fact that I have not accused people about being that, but I have accused people of being liars. That is not fair for both the people who are not witches and the people who I accuse because the fact is, you don't know if you are not them. Both of them might have a bad reputation for being a liar or a witch, but they might not actually be on. Also, the fact is that people judge by the cover and by what they believe, instead of trusting someone and proving for a fact that you may be wrong. The thing is that you can never judge a book by its cover, and I strongly believe that is what is happening in the Crucible.
B. What I liked about the whole play was the fact that it gave us the time period, and it also gave us the idea of where the first scene is taking place. I also liked the fact that Arthur Miller is giving us a little summary of what is happening before the curtain is rising. In a lot of plays, I don’t think that the authors give you the little summary of what is happening before the curtain rises.
E. One of the lines that I enjoyed was “They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world” (1217). I personally find this funny is that they can be really funny people because of what they believe in. They believed in the candle and lighting the whole world, and that is funny because God’s light is the candle that would light the world. The other line that I liked was “we have inherited this belief, and it has helped us and hurt us” (1217). This line is quite funny because of the fact that the truth is what they believe can help them by not knowing the truth, but it can also hurt them, because it can be used against them. The way that it could be used against them is that they not entirely sure what they should believe and because of this, other faiths can influence them badly.
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Post by Sgarlato on Sept 23, 2013 21:22:30 GMT -5
Stephen Sgarlato
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/24/13
E. I would like to comment basically on the whole thing. My reaction to this story was crazy. I didn't understand why there was so much hostility and stress. People weren't sure if anybody else where communistic spies or
witches. Like, everyone needs to calm down there is too much going on at the time. I feel as if it as just a bad time for everything and that communism and so called magic was new to people and they got scared.
I. To answer Danny O’Keefe’s question about why everyone in the town just accused everybody else to get back at them. I think it’s just spite. I think people were getting so hostile that they just started accusing people of things that they didn’t even know what they were accusing of. When somebody would accuse someone, the other person would get even more scared and nervous that they would just accuse that person so it wouldn't look so bad on
themselves.
C. A question of my own was what brought about this hostile time of accusation. People where accusing people left and right; and they weren't holding anything back. People where going to jail for no reason and things just got too
out of hand and this was something that I couldn't get passed. I can see how people would get nervous being that they didn't have the technology to figure out what was which.
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Post by fotia15 on Sept 23, 2013 21:51:56 GMT -5
Anthony foti
d. “ The parochial snobbery of these people was partly responsible for their failure to convert the Indians.” This quote made me laugh out loud to the point was I almost cried because they were obviously such ignorant people. They can not even hoax the Indians to join them with guns. The end up killing people because they think there witches, like let be real people no one has the power of the devil.
a. “They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world.” I thought it was interesting how they thought just because they were persecuted back in England that they held the ability to take another’s life. One would think that since they had a rough past they would not fall under the same cruelty because they know the pain and suffering behind it.
E. I admire Paris’s ignorance to the fact they he believed that it was some kind of magic and he still thought the doctor could cure it with medicine. “ he bid me come and tell you, reverend sir, that he cannont discover no medicine for it in his books”. Then they think the reverend could help pull a dark spell off of a young girl. So low class priest could have some kind of power to pull this strange demand out of her. It just make me want to give him a hug and teach him how to spell words like cow and dog.
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Post by etiennem15 on Sept 23, 2013 21:56:23 GMT -5
Marvin Etienne
Mr. Thomas
English 11
24 September 2013
The Crucible
E. I found it interesting how the villagers would blame people that they did not like as being a witch in order to discredit their name. I myself would not enjoy being accused of being a witch and ultimately be violated and or killed. It is shown that this action is acceptable to other members of the villages, as no one would ask for any evidence proving that anyone was a witch. I can see why many decided to take advantage of people they did not like.
A. I can relate to this story in a way. Not by calling someone a witch because I don't like them, but with installing fear in a person for ones own gain. This is shown in the text when Mrs. Putnam scares Parris by telling about witches. Like we talked about in class, this is similar to Obama trying to justify his attacks in Syria by putting fear in the American people. He tells us that if he does not attack Syria, then there is a possibility that they will attack us.
C. While reading this play, a couple questions came to my mind. I wondered why people were thrown in jail and, in some instances, killed all because of accusations, and no one did any sufficient investigation. Everything was based off of assumptions and people allowed this to happen to their loved ones. Some of the accusers did not even have a case against the suspected "witches."
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djmat
New Member
Posts: 39 
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Post by djmat on Sept 23, 2013 22:24:39 GMT -5
Dj Mat
Mr. Thomas
English 11
23 September 2013
D. The line "No one can really know what their lives were like. they had no novelists- and would not have permitted anyone to read a novel if one were handy. Their creed forbade anything resembling theater or 'vain enjoyment'." interesting because it showed that the puritans were not really understood. The narrator then goes on to say that even on holidays from work they would concentrate even more upon prayer. This shows me that the puritans were not only devout but extremely strict with their religion. One could say that the puritans were outcasts especially if they were not understood by anyone.
I.To answer Danny's question the Salem witch trial was a "paradox" as said in the story. It did not exactly seem possible but it did happen. One of the lines explains that it was used "for good purposes, even high purposes, the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together." So yes it seemed kind of hypocritical for them to not follow what they preached but they did it for what they believed was right for their colony. The Trials were also and "opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins under the cover of accusations against the victims."
C. What strikes me in the play was how Parris had so little faith in Abigail. He does not really believe what Abigail is telling him about her and Betty dancing in the forest. I was wondering why this might be? Is it because she is a female and would he believe the story if it were a male?
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Post by georgebaroudos on Sept 23, 2013 22:40:54 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
21 September 2013
A – I feel as if whenever there was no cure a person would be bled. The first thing I thought of was the practice of bleeding when they said they did not have a cure. Although this method cured nothing, I feel as if it were a last result. It is in fact mysterious what caused this sickness so I thought they would bleed her. What the family is facing is unfair, but we continuously fall back on the subject that life is unfair. There family on a whole level is singled out and it is unfair. I look forward to what the rest of the story has in store.
D – “ It is impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions” (1218) is a strong quote, which is true. In order to have a true social life, things will be given up. It may be tangible or intangible goods but they will be made up. It is difficult not to, a social life requires time and effort in my opinion. Something will be subdued in the mix of it. It is also hard to balance a social life but it is important to maintain one. It is very difficult but it will better us in the long run.
E – Parris is singled out greatly. In a time of stress and misfortune people have the audacity to confront him with these suspicions. They do not have the decency to wait until Betty gets better or dies. People have been rude since communication has been possible. The invasion of privacy goes back even further. Life has never been fair and to be bombarded in such a matter is a sign of disrespect not only to Parris but also to Betty. I feel bad for Parris because he is put in such a difficult position. We can only hope for the best.
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