English 10H – The Crucible: Final Essay
Select one of the following topics and write a formal essay of approximately 2-3 pages in
length. Your essay must clearly develop your chosen topic with direct evidence from the
text, and must meet the guidelines for formal writing. Upload your final draft to
turnitin.com
Due dates:
Prewriting due: in class on Monday, November 9
Outline/Thesis due: Thursday, November 12
First Draft due: Monday, November 16
Final Draft due: Thursday, November 19
1. Who is the real hero of the play? Consider three characters who may be viewed as
heroes and discuss each in terms of his/her heroic qualities. Each body paragraph
must clearly examine one character, citing direct evidence from the play for this
character’s heroic qualities. Explain why one of these characters exceeds the others
and is the true hero of the play.
2. Several characters develop and change dramatically throughout the play. Select one
such character and trace how s/he develops throughout the play, citing direct
evidence to illustrate and explain these changes. Give reasons and interpretations for
this character’s eventual outcome.
3. Consider Abigail’s character as the villain of the play. How does she have such power
over others? Develop three aspects of her character or situations that demonstrate
her strength, and illustrate these aspects with direct evidence from the text. Explain
how she was able to control the entire witchcraft proceedings so easily in the play.
4. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a criticism of the McCarthy Era. Discuss the
issues of the McCarthy Era, and then show how The Crucible reflects these troubled
times in three distinct ways. Provide direct evidence from the play as well as outside
research to illustrate these comparisons. You must include at least three direct
quotations from the play in your essay.
5. While Miller wrote this play to criticize the McCarthy Era, there are numerous other
examples of ways that people have been persecuted in a similar fashion. Select one
such example of a time where people have been persecuted for their beliefs,
nationality, appearance, sexual orientation, political affiliations, or anything else that
has caused others to judge or mistreat them. Then write a paper in which you
compare this situation to those presented by Arthur Miller in The Crucible. Refer to
direct excerpts from the play as well as facts from the real world to illuminate your
comparisons.
6. If you have another idea for a topic, please see me for approval.