The Crucible

In Literature Class this week we read through the Crucible. In case you aren't familiar with it, The Cruible was a play written in 1952 by Arthur Miller about the Salem Witch trials. I was completely unfamiliar with the book, and thus it caught me off guard in two ways. First, the style. I haven't read much in the way of plays as literature, except for a little bit of Hamlet (and let me assure you, that was scarring). At first I was weirded out with how different plays are to conventional literature. I wasn't given much of opportunity to get into the characters head, or to get a description of the surrounding area and the circumstances. Not to mention I had always subconsciously thought of repeated dialogue like that similar to a lot of bad writing out there made by little children, you know, the type of writing where there seems to only be uninteresting dialogue and the words "said", "told", "asked", and "answered". But the more I read, the more I realized how powerful a tool it was. Some of the scenes, though they only used the talking between characters, were quite frankly intense. More so than a lot of other books I have read with vivid descriptions of epic battles and that sort of thing. Also, because of the style it was perfectly suited for reading out loud as a group. We started doing this last week, and I had the role of Mrs. Putnam. Although it was quite alright, though slightly awkward to do the voice of a girl when it was just the the Literature group, it got really awkward when the guy who was doing a series about Homeschoolers for Iowa Public Radio came in. And of course he wanted to keep on going for awhile, which was really, really weird on my part.

The second way that the book caught me off guard so to speak was with the ending. By the way, if you haven't read the book, I would suggest that you go ahead and do so. Anyway, the ending. As I was reading through quite fast, it almost passed right over my head. Suddenly there was this affair thing with Abigail and the wife didn't know to tell the court the truth regarding it, and the next thing I know OH MY ANVIL PROCTOR IS ABOUT TO BE HANGED. Oh wait, he is going to confess that he was a witch, which of course means that he'll be free to go (colonial laws are weird). But for some reason he doesn't want it be hung on the door. Wait, what is the difference? Now he's dead. End of book. So after just reading through that section I was kind of understandably confused. But after watching that part of the movie, it all got a lot clearer. Proctor was willing to give up his pride for his life. He was willing to lie for his life. He was willing to give in to this ridiculous system just so that he could live. Under the circumstances, this seemed perfectly normal. But then there is this section, possibly the most powerful few sentences in the whole book

Proctor: Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; Leave me my name!

Even just reading the words you can feel how desperate Proctor is. But in the movie? Oh my goodness gracious. I can still hear his words ringing in my words. The words of a man who could not sacrifice one thing: his name. The name he had spent a lifetime building a reputation for. The name that his unborn child would one day be proud to own. But this was more than just pride, though not everyone present realized that.

Danforth: Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these weeps for corruption.

Hale: Go to him, Goody Proctor! There is yet time! Woman, plead with him! Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper! What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!

Elizabeth: He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!

Wow. Just wow.