The crucible - oral assignment Essay Example for Free

The crucible oral assignment Essay 1. There are many strengths and weaknesses of both these people. The way they act to other people and their reaction in certain situations both give you information about what has happened in the past, but also adds drama to the play. Elizabeth Proctor has loyalty to people she loves, you can see her love for John when she says oh! I forgot! I will tomorrow. She said this after John asked her about putting some flowers in the house to brighten it up. This shows that she wants to please him, because she believes that it is slightly her fault for what John did with Abigail. This loyalty could be seen as strength and a weakness, its a strength to their relationship because John Proctor will always know he has somebody to help him and believe in him. It could also be a weakness because if she believes in him too much, and he does start to have feelings for Abigail again. Then she would never trust in him again and feel ignorant for believing in John in the first place. If she stands by John for too long and he starts to fall under the pressure she will go down with him and be seen as outcasts from Salem. Some of her other strengths are that she is very honest, and even though she is portrayed as a cold woman, she has strong feelings for John and her children. When she says things like I mean to please you, John, you can tell that she is really a tender loving person, but their marriage has been facing a few problems over the years. One of her weaknesses is that she tries to take charge of some of the situations which is good, but when it is involving her husband and her trials then she can begin to become more forceful. This side of her is shown when she says and what of tomorrow? She will cry me out until they take me! John on the other hand has different strengths because his character is very strong and forceful in some ways but in other ways he becomes very weak. These are normally to do with his affair with Abigail; he still loves her although he does not want to love her. This relationship between John Proctor and Abigail causes Proctor many times in the play to hesitate taking action in clearing the good names of the many townspeople that Abigail has accused as being linked with the Devil . These weaknesses will show when he is trying to get Elizabeth out of prison and must admit to the court about his secret relationship with Abigail, this in itself will make him an outcast and would signal his downfall as well as Elizabeths. He has many strengths though because of he is the only person in the play who can see that the girls are just making this up. He can tell that what the people are saying is for their personal satisfaction, such as the Putnams with their children being supposedly killed. Even though he is the only character that acts this way he doesnt testify until the end of the play because he does not want to disgrace his name. These are the main strengths and weaknesses of the two characters. 2. The relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor is very distant; this is mainly because of the affair with Abigail and John Proctors lechery. In there relationship you have a distinct feeling that they are both trying to praise each other and give all they can to the other one. Elizabeth Proctor is a very honest woman and stays by John even in the midst of his adulterous affair. Although Elizabeth is portrayed as cold and aloof at times, she is a dedicated and devoted wife and mother. The fact that she loves her husband becomes obvious when she is brought into the court to verify John Proctors affair with Abigail. She wants to protect him from being punished for adultery and for that reason lies. You can also see this loving relationship in John when he tells Elizabeth I mean to please you Elizabeth, and she replies I know it John. This shows that they really do love each other, but because of the affair Elizabeth feels as if she cannot trust John yet. This is why they do not share their love physically but more verbally in the play. There is love between the two and even after all that has happened they still live with each other, although you have to question whether John is doing this so no to lose his reputation in the village which he cares so deeply about. Also the laws about marriage and divorce in Salem, Massachusetts were very strict and if these two wanted to separate they would have to explain why because the puritans believed that marriage was binding and should last as long as they lived. Their marriage is real although they are going through some rough times and a separation would have seemed easier to deal with. These two people have stayed together to help each other but they are also helping their own image in the town by keeping this quiet. Although it doesnt stay this way throughout the play and near the end when the secret comes out they stand by each other and try to help each other as much as they can. 3. In Act two there are many parts were you feel sympathetic for both John and Elizabeth Proctor. This is because you learn more about their past and find out what has happened in their lives. This is a technique that Arthur Miller uses a lot in the play to describe the characters and to give the reader or actor more information about the person in general. Elizabeth is normally given more sympathy because she is the victim in her husbands affair. John is seen as a hero and given admiration but this is only because he is trying to save his husband and wants the rest of the people to be released. Some would sympathise for him because of the way he has to risk his reputation in saving all these people. Even though it is his fault for getting into the situation in the first place by having the affair, but if the affair was never found out then the consequences would be very different. Miller has tried to make people sympathise for John more by changing Johns age from 60 to 30 and Abigails age from 11 to 17 as to not make people think he is somewhat a paedophile. There is some admiration for Elizabeth as well because she takes control of the scene and stands up to John about Abigail and how she has been talked about in the court. John loses some of his control and his is not really sympathised because he could stop all these people going to prison and being hung. He is somewhat cowardice and vain because he only cares about his reputation if the town finds out what happened between him and Abigail. I think that the reader would be more sympathetic towards Elizabeth because she is being targeted by Abigail and even though she has support from John he is not going to tarnish his name by telling the people of Salem about his actions with Abigail. This is mainly why I think Elizabeth is sympathised more.