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Grace Johnson
Ms. Pelotte
American Literature
March 1, 2013
Prompt: What two moments of the play did you find especially powerful? Support your response
with details from the text.
The Power of Irony
There are two moments in the Crucible by Arthur Miller that really stand out as powerful.
The first is when Elizabeth announces that Abigail should be torn out of the world and Cheever
sees that as a sign of witchcraft. The second moment is when Danforth asks John Proctor if his
confession is a lie and Proctor rips it up. Miller makes these moments powerful with word
choice, irony, and the weight they carry in the plot of the play.
One of the most powerful moments in the play is at the end of the second act when
Elizabeth states that Abigail must be “ripped out of the world” (pg. 72) and Cheever gets up in
arms about it. One of the ways that Miller makes this moment so powerful is by making it a
turning point in the play. Up until now, only outcasts have been accused of being witches, but
Elizabeth is a reputable person. However, even she can no longer be trusted after a natural slip of
the tongue. Until she says that Abigail should be ripped out of the world, Cheever isn’t entirely
convinced that she is a witch because he “ineptly reach[es] toward Elizabeth” (pg. 70) and even
Herrick is “somewhat shamefaced at the moment.” (pg. 68) After she says this, however, he
becomes angry. This is a fast development because the Proctors are the characters that the reader
tends to sympathise towards and it is at this point in the play when their lives begin to come apart
at the seams.
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Another way that Miller makes this moment so powerful is by showing the contrast in
attitudes between two people who were friends and even allies before this moment. Earlier, John
tells Elizabeth to “fear nothing. I’ll find Ezekiel Cheever. I’ll tell him she said it were all sport.”
(pg. 58) John believes him to be a friend who will help him but when Cheever comes into the
Proctor’s home to arrest Elizabeth, he has become an enemy. Elizabeth has had her “breath
knocked out” while Cheever is “pointing at Elizabeth.” (pg. 72) The reader feels sorry for
Elizabeth because she is innocent and Cheever is an intruder. This moment makes the reader
realize how hysteria has snowballed something as benign as a little girl falling ill into something
much more threatening and menacing, creating a powerful scene in the play.
Another powerful moment in the play is when Danforth asks if Proctor’s confession is a
lie. One of the elements that makes this moment so powerful is the sense of irony. Danforth asks
Proctor if the confession is a lie and says that he “cannot keep [him] from the rope” if it is. Yet if
the confession is a lie, Proctor is not a witch and should not be hanged. The irrationality of
Danforth’s statement adds a sense of desperation because Proctor should not have to make a
choice between life and death since the confession is indeed a lie. Danforth is forcing Proctor to
break a commandment in order to be a part of their society which is supposed to be ruled by
commandments.
Another way that Miller makes this moment so powerful is by making the reader feel
empathy for Proctor by using emotionally charged words. Proctor, “weeping in fury,” with
“breast heaving,” “kisses [Elizabeth] now with great passion.” This gives the reader a more vivid
picture of what is happening and the emotions that the characters are feeling. The reader also
empathizes with Proctor because of the pressure that he is experiencing from both sides. Hale
and Parris want to say the confession is true, while Elizabeth and Rebecca want him to admit that
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it is a lie. Peer pressure is something that the reader can relate to because most people have
experienced it. The final way that Miller makes the reader feel empathy is by giving Proctor such
a weighty decision between life and death, preserving his reputation, or destroying it. To Proctor
this decision is really about what is more important: his life or his name.
The final thing that makes this moment so powerful is the motif of Proctor ripping
papers. Proctor tore the warrant that Cheever brought for Elizabeth and he also “tears the paper”
(pg. 133) that is his confession. This motif represents the theme of individuality because by
ripping the papers, Proctor is demonstrating his disdain for the Puritans’ ideology and showing
them that he will not conform to their unrealistic expectations.
Read by themselves, these moments in The Crucible by Arthur Miller may seem ordinary
or even boring. Yet when read in the context of the whole play, they are especially powerful
because of their meaning in the whole plot of the play. These moments are powerful because
they demonstrate the main themes of the play.