Dialectical Journal for The Crucible (READ THE STUFF BELOW, PLEASE!!!)
I am well aware that most students choose to wait until they are finished with the play before beginning this task. I highly recommend that you
break with that trend and fill this out AS you read the play, not after you have read it. This play is made up of 4 acts; you must submit a total of
4 entries that span the entire play (1 quote from each Act). Please read the instructions below before you begin. The questions below are
guidelines to help put in in the right frame of mind. You need not address all of these issues in each quote. I am looking for concise, wellconstructed analysis. DO NOT phrase your analysis with phrases like “this quote shows,” or “in this quote.”---In fact, do not use the word
“quote” at all, and do not replace “quote” with “here we see.” Use plot detail to help frame your analysis. If a person is screaming in the quote,
begin by saying, “Joe Schmoe’s screams highlight…” instead of saying “this quote shows.” Do not use first person.
SIGNIFICANT QUOTES or paraphrases followed
by citation (when citing plays with no scene #s, cite by
using the Act #, a period, and then the page #/#s)
Ex: “blah, blah, blah…” (1. 5-6).
Ex: “blah, blah, blah” (1.5-6).
Ex: “blah, blah, blah?” (1.5-6).
Ex: “blah, blah, blah?” (1.5-6).
ANALYSIS: Move beyond plot to reflect about Miller’s use of
rhetoric to further his agenda. What is Miller saying here? How do
the characters’ words and actions help further Miller’s agenda? How
does Miller frame history? How does Miller vilify his villains; how
does he present his heroes? How does conflict propel the story
forward? What tools does Miller use to appeal to your ethos,
pathos, or logos, or to establish the ethos, pathos, or logos of his
characters?