The Crucible - How are the aduience prepared for the rest of the play from act 1 - page 5
Keywords: How are the aduience prepared for the rest of the play from act 1
By ollyccfc on 17/11/2008
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 5 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
act 1. Without John Proctor, the second half of the play would be non-existent. The girls would have tired of accusing witches and the plot would have died quickly. Abigail wouldn’t have had the dedication and passion in seeing Elizabeth accused. The trials would have never become as intense and concrete.
John Hale plays an important part of the crucible because when he arrives mid way through act 1 the talk of witchcraft has only just started. He is known to be an expert on witchcraft and has been bought in by Parris to confirm there isn’t any sign of it. However the village take this the wrong way thinking that because Hale has been called in, there must be witchcraft. When Hale arrives he is carrying heavy books. This implies to the audience that he isn’t very experienced and is a novice. He also starts his work by examining Betty in a room full of people. The audience could perceive him as being foolish by doing this as he can’t concentrate properly and has many people shouting at him. Immediately the audience do not have a good perception of him. Tituba is the first to be accused of witchcraft but people try and make say other people names, people who are more important in the village. As act 1 draws to a close, Tituba says the names of Goody Good and Goody Osburn. This causes a frenzy of shouting and as the curtain closes, all the girls are wildly shouting the names of various different people. Hales arrival caused more harm than good. He freshened the idea of witchcraft in the village and changed the way people acted. Old grudges resurfaced as people accused their old enemies of witchcraft. Before he arrived no one had actually been accused but as soon as he appeared, many accusations were suddenly made. Although the audience realise that his intentions were good, Hales arrival severely increased the hysteria within the village. Ultimately his appearance in Act 1 was what led to the witch trials being held.
Reputation and ones name is a major theme in the crucible. We learn how important it is when Parris is talking to Abigail in Act 1. Parris says “just when some good respect is rising for me in the parish.” This tells the audience how Parris is obsessed with his reputation and what other people think of him.
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