Nick Carraway details life in West Egg. He is revealed to not be Jay Gatsby as I initially expected, but his next door neighbor. Gatsby isn’t introduced formally until Chapter 3, when Carraway doesn’t recognize him initially.  Fitzgerald is especially detailed in his description of Gatsby. The way he describes his smile stood out to me with the way I was able to understand exactly what he meant and how Gatsby truly is such a complex character. Fitzgerald uses the characters in The Great Gatsby to encourage the reader to question their own character and view. The final sentence of Chapter 3 is Carraway’s question of how others perceive him and how everyone wishes to have one of the virtuous traits in themselves, his own being his immense honesty. 

   Fitzgerald’s skill as an author stood out to me and I felt that I truly understood the characters and their depth, instead of just knowing their physical descriptions and the thoughts of the narrator. 

      I especially liked Fitzgerald’s style to tell the story from an outsiders point of view, instead of Gatsby or Daisy, and I think it helps to develop the readers view. Carraway’s disclaimer that while in his telling of the events, the parties and social interactions described seem to be the only happenings in his life, but he says he actually had a lot going on and he didn’t really pay that much attention to it at the time. 

The Crucible - Act IV

Act IV begins in jail with Herrick, Sarah Good, and Tituba. Tituba seems to mock her fate, talking about going back to Barbados with the Devil. Sarah Good joins in yelling that they want the Devil to take them home. Then, the judges enter to discuss Reverend Hale's return and the disorder caused by the locked-up farmers. Parris comes to reveal that Abigail and Mercy Lewis have run away with all his money. Hale argues for the innocent of the convicted. Danforth continues to refuse and declares that he will "hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statues" (120). Elizabeth and Proctor get to see each other one on one. Giles Corey is reported dead. He was pressed with stones for refusing to admit to being a wizard. Elizabeth then blames herself for what has happened to Proctor and what will happen to him. Proctor then admits to seeing the devil but refuses to name others.

Proctor stands strong for so long - refusing to give into the insanity. Unfortunately, however, he signs. He signs the document. He signs the devil's book. Proctor decided to confess but was reluctant to sign because he didn’t want his children to see it. He signed away his soul but not his name. His name was his last possession.

Guilt washes over Salem. Parris has a sense of guilt - he wants the chaos to end. The town realized that it is fake – they begin to riot. The girls run away from their guilt – Abigail and Mercy Lewis literally run away from Salem.

Danforth might also have a sense of guilt. He said that he cannot postpone Proctor’s hanging because so many others have died. He said, “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now” (119).

The Crucible Act 2

Act II takes place entirely at Proctor’s house, and it begins eight days after the events in Act I.  While the act begins with only Proctor and Elizabeth at the house, their servant Mary Warren eventually comes home from the court where she has been all day. The three of them discuss the accusations, with Mary telling them that Elizabeth’s name has been mentioned in court, until Hale walks in. Hale begins to question Proctor’s religious habits until Giles Corey and Francis Nurse appear at the house, informing the Proctors that both of their wives have been taken away. Finally, Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick come to the house with a warrant for Elizabeth. They find a poppet with a needle in it, and because Abigail got stabbed with a needle that same night, they take Elizabeth away even though the poppet actually belongs to Mary.

From the beginning to the end of Act II, it is clear how much the entire situation from Act I has escalated. Originally, Proctor thought only fourteen people had been accused; however, Mary informs them that there have actually been 39. And, later in the act, Cheever mentions that he has sixteen warrants the night Elizabeth gets taken away, showing how much the situation has grown.

The theme of revenge comes up a lot during this act, especially when Elizabeth is being accused of witchcraft. While the people in the town are caught up in all of the accusations, Proctor sees right through it, yelling, “I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law” (Miller 73). It is interesting how the whole town seems to be swept up in the accusations; however, Proctor seems to be the only one to point out that the entire situation is driven solely by revenge. It will be interesting to see how all of the accusations and the theme of revenge continue to play out throughout the rest of the play.

-Braden

The Crucible Act One

Act one starts with a description of the town of Salem. The town is ruled by religion and its people follow a strict creed. When the play opens Reverend Parris is praying over his daughter, Betty Parris, who lies unmoving and ill on her bed. Rumors are circulating around town of witchcraft, so Parris sends for Reverend John Hale to see if his daughter is possessed. Parris questions his niece, Abigail, about the night before when he caught her, Betty, Tituba, and some other girls dancing in the forest. Abigail denies that they were doing any witchcraft. This is when the theme of truth v lies is introduced.

We meet Mr. and Mrs. Putnam whose daughter, Ruth, has also fallen ill. We learn that there is tension between Mr. Putnam and Parris. Mrs. Putnam has had many miscarriages and believes it is due to witchcraft. The idea of witches is spreading to everyone making them more susceptible to believe the girls were visited by the Devil. We also meet John Proctor, the main character. It is revealed that Proctor and Abigail have a romantic history. Abigail is still in love with Proctor, but he does not want to risk losing his wife and kids.

John Hale pushes Abigail to confess to what happened in the forest and she blames it all in Tituba. Tituba, wanting to save her life starts to name names of other people she allegedly saw with the Devil. Abigail and Betty also start to name names and the mass hysteria begins.

The themes of jealousy and betrayal become very apparent in this act. I understand why so many people choose to turn in names instead of telling the truth. I will be interested to learn more about the character of John Proctor.

-Camryn Lesh

The Crucible Introduction

The introduction of The Crucible reminded me about my United States history lessons last year. Much like we did in class, Christopher Bigsby notes the parallels between the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism. He also claims that the two events share similarities with Nazi Germany. Miller notes that in all the cases, "It was 'the maturation of hysteria at the time which pulled the trigger'" (x). I believe this captures the pattern and repetition of history in all cases perfectly. Due to a person's fear of the "other" and their ability to spread their message, a mass hysteria formed. Like Faulkner noted, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." 

I also found Starkey's point about how understanding the individual was necessary to understand the entirety of the historical event interesting. I look forward to seeing how The Crucible personalizes the Salem witch trials and expands on the classroom learning we already have.

When Bigsby mentioned the social contract, I was excited to see how he would connect it to the witch trials and other events that followed. I never realized how weak the social contract really is and how quickly it can crumble. I also viewed the social contract in the political and legal sense of the word, whereas Bisby defines it as depending on when “love and respect bind individuals” (xv).

I cannot wait follow the Salem witch trials in a more personal way and in a new perspective through The Crucible.

By: Ilanit