2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political oe social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explazin how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores the impact that fear and irrationality can have on a society. The literal witch hunt that occurs inspires lying, hysteria, fear, and distrust within the puritan community. This can be viewed as an allegory for the climate of mass hysteria and exploitation that Arthur Miller wrote in, during the McCarthy era. Arthur shows how when frightened and lied to, society can be bent to the will of the wicked, and the dangers that creates.
John Proctor, the protagonist, is shown to be a hardworking, honest, flawed, but ultimately good hearted man. He also happens to be freethinking and iconoclastic, which becomes his downfall. When the society around him becomes hostile to anyone unique, or dissenting with the majority, he is labeled for persecution. Miller uses this setting to parallel the world that he himself lived in, during the McCarthy era. This too was a time when panic and fear were exploited by individuals for their own benefit. Free thinkers, critics of the government, and the unique were persecuted to advance selfish goals. Miller uses this parallel to create empathy in the reader, and enhance the realism of his story.
Even though John Proctor is clearly a good man, he is still subject to the public’s hysteria. Even when the public knows that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, and it would be easy for him to escape the noose, he still dies. When life is turned into a simple battle of ideals and beliefs, no one ends up the winner. “Cleave no faith when faith brings blood” is Miller commenting on the ideological war between Communists and America, and how it ultimately means nothing and causes harm.
Miller compares his current political cliamate to a witch hunt by creating a parallel world, a strong moral compass in John Proctor, and metaphor.
I would recommend beginning your introduction paragraph with a sentence that relates to your thesis and novel of choice by alluding to it rather than directly referencing it. Your thesis is well-structured. Throughout your essay, I am unable to understand the purpose of comparing "The Crucible" to the McCarthy Trials. Your scholarly analysis is successful in explaining the interpreted meaning of the work but your essay seems to contain only a few pieces of solid evidence to further your argument. To fulfill the requirements of the prompt, you may want to refer to literary devices, such as the imagery of the public death of John Proctor, or the diction utilized by Arthur Miller. Overall, you started off your essay in a nice fashion, but you could have polished by eliminating the stated blemishes.
ReplyDeleteI think this essay is very effective! Your thesis is well organized, concise, and comprehensive. Your body paragraphs do a great job of proving your point and providing specific evidence about The Crucible. While I have not read this play, you do a good job of summarizing what it's about without having an overwhelming amount of plot summary. I would add topic sentences! (I always give this suggestion for your writing, I know). They would give your essay a complete, holistic feeling that would serve as a good structure for all of your good points and arguments.
ReplyDeleteYour thesis is good, but remember to address all the parts of the prompt. How foes the author use literary elements to explore the issue you bring up? Also, Your open sentance could be a bit more general, backround information, then introduce the work/ topic you are focusing on. You do a good job of using some summary, but not too much, and adding your own commentary. You could add more specific example of literary device to use as topic sentances, making transitions between your body paragraphs, but you did alright overall.
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