The Crucible Character Analysis Essay
Directions:
For your summative essay on The Crucible, you will focus on Reverend Parris
Reverend Parris
Your essay will answer the following questions:
What is the source of Reverend Parris’s power?
How does Arthur Miller build up or break down that power throughout the play?
In what way is Miller’s treatment of that kind of power a critique of society?
Your thesis statement will look something like this:
In the play The Crucible, the source of Rebecca Nurse’s power is honesty. By portraying Rebecca Nurse as a character who is killed because she does not compromise on honesty, Arthur Miller demonstrates that society is generally more interested in control than truth.
The three body paragraphs would discuss three parts of the play where Rebecca’s sense of honesty and truth come into conflict with society, and how at each point society is more interested in power and control than truth and understanding.
Here is an example of a PIE Paragraph Outline: (This outline would later be smoothed into a wonderful paragraph with well-integrated quotes and lovely transitions).
Point 1: Rebecca is honest about the ways and wiles of children.
Illustration 1: (Rebecca’s description of the girls’ behavior in Act. Goody Putnam leaps to the shame and sadness of the deaths of her previous children as a way to dismiss Rebecca’s knowledge and as a way to defend her own daughter’s behavior.)
Explanation 1: The fact that Rebecca must leave the scene without anyone believing her because everyone is still fixated on the girls’ behavior shows the society to be more interested in the spectacle of witchcraft than in the truth of children behaving badly. Their interest tends this way because to admit the truth – that the children were lying – would lay some responsibility on the childrens’ parents to correct that poor behavior. Instead, it is easier for people to blame the nebulous power of a demon whose powers are unknowable and all encompassing than it is to face the truth that people sometimes lie without the devil’s help.
The Step-By-Step
Complete your reading of the play.
Choose a character on which you’ll focus.
Create a working thesis statement based on what you remember from the whole play.
Go back through the play itself to find evidence that supports your thesis.
It’s okay if your thesis changes somewhat based on the evidence. (Maybe at first I thought it was Rebecca’s honesty that was her source of power, but as I go back through the text, I decide instead that Arthur Miller focuses more on motherhood as a source of power for Rebecca. If that’s where all the evidence is, then that’s what I’m going to write about. It’s okay to change your mind based on the evidence!!
Write out the smooth, lovely paragraphs with well-integrated quotes and meaningful transitions.
Create an introduction paragraph that hooks your reader with 2-3 sentences about the big idea (in the example above, that big idea would be honesty), followed by 2 sentences that discuss the importance of honesty in Arthur Miller’s play generally, and finally the thesis statement of 1-2 sentences (5-7 sentences).
Create a conclusion that DOES NOT simply repeat what you have written in the previous three paragraphs (how boring is THAT?). Instead, address the “So What?” question. What does Miller’s play teach us about the tension between truth and power, honesty and control, that is still useful to us today?
Your essay should be 800-1000 words in length.
Your essay should be in MLA format (if you don’t remember basic MLA format, go here).
Your body paragraphs should be ready for peer review on April 8 (A Day Cycle)
Thesis that you can use or you can create your own.
In The Crucible, the source of Reverend Parris’s power is attained by his position as Reverend and by working under Danforth. Contrary to other main characters in Salem, Reverend Parris has innate power due to his position as Reverend, and although he is one of the most powerful people in Salem, Parris still feels persecuted due to his unpopularity in Salem. This leads to Parris working under Judge Danforth in asspirations to gain the town’s respect and power. Consequently, Parris’ fate turns as he finds himself losing everything forcing him to change his opinion on the Trials but for the wrong reasons. By displaying Reverend Parris as a magnate who is willing to risk everything for power and reputation, then showing him losing everything while still being hungry for control, Arthur Miller depicts the quote “Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power”
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