The death penalty Essay Example for Free

The death penalty Essay During act1 the play starts were a group of people in Salem go dancing in the woods with a slave woman called Tituba, Reverrand Parris sees this but is spotted doing so, the girls run away.  The next day reverrand Parris is beside Betty who is ill, the doctor suspects the girl has been taken over by supernatural forces. Parris questions Abigail, who was with her, he asks her about witchcraft and Tituba, he then sends for reverrand Hale, an authority on witchcraft. Mr Mrs Putnam see how Betty is and says that she sent her daughter Ruth to raise spirits of her dead babies to see who murdered them so that is another reason for the happenings in the woods that night. Later the girls who were dancing in the woods joined Betty beside her bedside, theyre all woried that they may be tried for witchraft. Abigail has them on their own, she slaps Betty to try to sustain her, she also worns the other girls not to breath a word of when she drank blood in the woods, she uses scare tactics. Abigail and Proctor starts talking about their affair and their affections for each other, while Betty is next to them in bed hearing every word they say, Betty then screams to stop them. Parris, Rebbecca, and Giles come to see whats happened with Betty, Rebbecca manages to restrain her. Parris wants to have a witch hunt, but proctor doesnt believe in witches, they start to argue. The Putnams continue to disagree with the rest of the towns people of Salem about land rights, which creates a lot of tension.  Reverrand Hale tries to wake Betty but doesnt succeed, he then turns to Abigail questions her about the witchery, in hesitation shes quick to accuse Tituba. She accuses two others, realises Titubas escape by naming others, she chants the names of the other girls in the villiage that she believes has seen the devil, Hale is pleased shes confessed and tells her to continue talking. Crucible: A melting pot where basic elements are mixed together to give an explosive force.  This is the title of the play, I think this title is very fitting with the contents of the play, it seems to be like when the characters (basic elements) are put together, they produce arguments, action, tension, fear(explosive force).  Arthur Millers background He was born in New York, 17th October 1915, he was brought up in the brooklyn area. His father owned a clothing factor which collapsed, following this lead Arthur Miller to produce the play Death of a salesman and A view from a bridge set in Brooklyn. During his college years he managed to write plays although he had college and other jobs at the same time.  His first success was All my sons which was about a father forced to realise dangerous moral comprimises changing the American dream of wealth. His biggest hit was Death of a salesman in 1949 which won the Pulitzer Prize. The crucible won an award in 1953, but wasnt an immediate commercial success, this was the time of Mc Carthyism. Mc Carthyism is an issue in which to consider in the play, with Salem being a very theocratic society. In the arrly 1950s Joseph McCarthy, a senator, managed to create a national campaign against communists, ex-communists and anyone who assoiated with them. He made many unfounded statements about the numbers of secret communists in important positions, as chairman of a senate commitee he interrogated many witnesses and tried to make them inform on friends and colleagues. As the anti-communist hysteria increased many people were hounded from their jobs or were prevented from working. McCarthys unproven accusations and aggresive interrogations gradually brought him into disrepute. Witchcraft is an important scene in which act 1 is dramatic, witchcraft was a serious matter in those days, and even more in a religious community. Witchery led to deaths, fall outs, false accusations, murders, tortures, exectutions, being burnt etc which if used in the play, which it was, it can be used to build extreme dramatic situations which can have a powerful effect on the audience. Witches were thaught to be in league with the devil, who was their master, the devil/satan is believed to roam the world for human souls to tempt into hell. He is a supreme enemy of everything thats good and holy. The Christian churches persued and persicuted supposed witches. A common test for a person accused for being a witch was pricking with a needle. All witches were supposed to have somewhere on their bodies, a mark made by the devil himself which was insensitive to pain. Any who were found guilty suffered the death penalty. Whichcraft trials in Salem were common, I think Arthur Miller used it in his play to worry the audience into thinking death was appartant and inevitable, when witchery was present. Whenever death is present in a play, the dramatic tension is bound to rise because death is a most serious matter to anyone. If ever witchery or satanic happenings occured in Salem, it would most probably be taken to court until someone was proven guilty and hanged, maybe Arthur Miller knew this and thaught that the audience would know it too? therefore rising the dramatic tension in the play.