THE CRUCIBLE AP ESSAY Assignment and Topics The following prompts are taken directly from previous AP exams. Choose one of the prompts below. Write an essay responding to the prompt using The Crucible by Arthur Miller as the work you examine. Be sure you understand the question before writing. Avoid mere plot summary. Rather, focus on answering the question clearly and succinctly. Organize your essay effectively and support your ideas with specific references to the work. Follow the StEvE method. Do not consult any secondary sources. 1. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character (not necessarily the protagonist) plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. 2. The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time." From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in an essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict within one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. 3. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.” In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character (not necessarily the protagonist) who conforms outwardly while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Submission Guidelines You essay should be approximately 750 words. Please consult the course outline for general assignment submission guidelines and follow them closely. On the due date, please staple everything together in the following order: Good copy Rough copy Outline Brainstorm Time Line Essay assignment given Essay brainstorm due Essay outline due Essay rough draft due Essay due Monday, October 6 Tuesday, October 7 Tuesday, October 7 Wednesday, October 8 or Friday, October 10 Tuesday, October 14 at the beginning of class at the beginning of class at the beginning of class at the beginning of class Evaluation Completion and effort marks will be given at every step of the writing process. This means your brainstorm, outline, and rough draft will be collected and marked. Please see the attached rubric for how the final essay will be evaluated. This assignment is worth approximately 15% of your term grade.