The Crucible Essay Plan

A typical Higher English text. Arthur Miller's classic allegory for the McCarthy era features two memorable characters in Abigail and John Proctor. An essay will often focus on their relationship. Although Proctor is the moral centre of the play, Abigail's ruthless ambition makes her as much an anti-hero as a victim.

This plan gives you a topic sentence with a technique for the start of each paragraph.

Question -

Choose an exciting scene from a play you have studied. Describe the events leading up to this scene and what makes this scene important to the play as a whole.

Introduction: The scene where Proctor has his dramatic confrontation with Abigail in the courtroom is vital to Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible.’ In this essay I will discuss the place of this scene in the plot and why I find it the most exciting in the play.

The character of John Proctor: Proctor’s fiery temperament is established early on in the play.
- the affair with Abigail
- Quote: ‘I have a sense for heat and you are no wintry man’
- Proctor represents the truth within the play
- He is an outsider – he built the church so he has respect within the community but he breaks the rules by having an affair with Abigail; and it is Abigail who he must face in court.

The theme of hypocrisy: The courtroom scene is where the theme of hypocrisy becomes most apparent to the audience.
- ‘The Crucible’ title – as if the people of the town are trapped and under pressure
- The ‘heat’ under the crucible is the repressed energy of girls like Abigail
- Heat imagery is used throughout the play – Proctor’s passion and the threat of ‘hell fire’
- The metaphor for the McCarthy era in America

The turning point: The tension is heightened before the courtroom scene with the arrest of Elizabeth. Proctor admonishes her accusers and shows himself to be an honourable man. He speaks the truth plainly while the other villagers lie out of self-interest:

I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem – vengeance is walking Salem … common vengeance writes the law

- He stands in contrast to the other characters and convinces Mary to testify.
- Yet in the courtroom scene, the townsfolk are manipulated by Abigail.

The key scene: The courtroom scene is the most exciting in the play because of the drama between Abigail and Proctor. He is finally wiling to admit the affair and reveal himself as a hypocrite, yet this does not save him. Abigail’s reaction to the accusation is clever:

If I must answer that I will leave and I will not come back again.

The town people are reluctant to lose their show trial. Abigail realises that she can continue with the deception. In this way, she is part of the town’s values. The audience feels a sense of injustice at the hypocrisy on display.

The climax: At the end of the play, Proctor is executed along with the others but he refuses to confess. His name is more important than his life. This left me with a feeling of optimism despite the tragic conclusion. It showed that the truth can survive even when people die.

Conclusion: Although Proctor is a hypocrite at the start of the play, he shows himself to be a force of truth; firstly by his eloquent defence of Elizabeth, then by refusing to compromise at the end.