Puritan society Essay

So far the audience is aware that Hale can be a pragmatic character because it is clear that he does not believe some of the accusations can be true, which is why he is on his rounds. The puritan theology that he relies on has brought him to be a stern character, believing that ‘theology†¦ is a fortress,’ that the audiences have to decide is congenial or disagreeable.  The arrival of Cheever causes a mass silence in the room. This is done to give the audience a chance to put events into perspective and allows the tension floating tirelessly around in the room to build up. Cheever approaches the household with bad news. The audience must be feeling sorry for him, as the men seem to be friends. Giles says to Cheever, † it’s a pity†¦ that such an honest tailor might have gone to Heaven must burn in Hell.† Cheever is sympathetic but he says that he is doing what he is told. This shows differences between some of Giles friends. Proctor is willing to ‘darken’ his name in order to revert the charges to Giles’s wife but Cheever is two faced, willing to throw away his friendship with Giles for money that he earns on his rounds. The suspense is built up even more as the audience is now eager to know what Cheever is doing in the house and what business of the court he is addressing. The audience is then stunned on the note that Cheever’s arrival is because he holds the warrant for the arrest of Elizabeth. Proctor, whom has had an overt hate for Hale since his entry, is enraged as he said that Elizabeth was not charged just, ‘somewhat mentioned.’ Hale, however, is just as shocked and proceeds by asking, â€Å"when were she charged.† The audience is really interested by this point; Miller has timed and written this section linking almost everything to a previous scene. We learn from Cheever that sixteen people had been charged that evening and all to be arrested. Cheever then begins to look around the room for any ‘poppets’. Miller has timed this to perfection as the audience is queued to remember the one that Mary Warren had given Elizabeth earlier that evening. Of course Elizabeth will not remember this after all the commotion. The audience are shown this when Elizabeth claims she ‘has kept poppets’ since she was a girl. Cheever persists in his search, as her word is not reliable in court. Cheever finds the one that Mary gave to Elizabeth earlier and refuses to believe that it is Mary’s. This adds to the tension and also is a ploy for an even more terrible consequence. Elizabeth then goes to get Mary Warren in an attempt to prove her innocence, whilst she is away a most unimaginable discovery is made. There is a needle stuck in the belly of the poppet. Miller makes Proctor struggle to find out the significance of the needle. Whereas the audience is well aware of the significance that the needle has as this will be misinterpreted for a link to Abigail Williams being stabbed and are eager as to what Proctor will say or do. Proctor claims that ‘she done it herself.’ But Cheever does not believe this statement because Abigail had accused Elizabeth’s ‘familiar spirit’ of doing the deed. In such a puritan, god-fearing biblically run society accusing somebody’s familiar spirit will mean they are telling the truth and the accused was a witch. The audience does not know this it what it means but they are able to catch on. At this point tension is at a titillating peak and the plot is steady. Hale is struck by the proof and is incapable of believing Proctor’s suggestion. Mary is brought down and is questioned consecutively. Her bewildered attitude as well as disagreeing opposition questioning her allows the questioners to manipulate her words and stutters to their own liking. After gathering the basic outline in all the conflicting opinions she clearly says, â€Å"†¦ I made it.†Ã‚  Her admittance to the ownership and the placing of the needle in the poppet but this does not dissuade Cheever. He is convinced †Tis hard proof!’ Miller has an excellent perception of the thoughts and moments that the audience are not anticipating, his pauses and hesitation in Mary’s dialogue give the audience an idea of how she is feeling and why she is stuttering so much. When Elizabeth finds out that Abigail is the one who has accused her, she loses her temper and says something that guaranteed her a one way ticket to jail. â€Å"She must be ripped out of the world.† Elizabeth, by saying this, has virtually condemned herself, and the chances of her leaving innocent get slimmer. Proctor then gets a chance to protect his wife; this appeals to the audience, as they know he is sincere and trying to forget Abigail. Proctor in a fit of rage tears Cheever’s warrant and attempts to get rid of the uninvited company. Miller has opted for Hale to stay quiet throughout this confrontation to show his cowardly characteristics to the audience, as he has not said anything that he had said to the Proctors to Cheever. Proctor also knows this and his hate for Hale is again shown when he himself calls him a ‘coward.’ This also shows how everyone who is a sceptic of the goings on in Salem does not want to publicise their queries in case the girls, for being too close to the truth, accuse them. Proctor keeps backing up his wife, whom knows there is no point because she will have to go whatever he does. Elizabeth is scared and the audience has now adopted a serious hate for Hale whose words are ineffective and does nothing to stop Giles, Francis’s and Proctor’s three wives from being arrested, he is frowned upon by everyone as a fake. Before she leaves Elizabeth tells Proctor to continue as normal. The audience may be sympathetic towards Hale because they know his religious status restricts his opinion. There are a few main points when hale enters that form the rest of the play; when Proctor claims that the goings on in Salem had naught to do with witchcraft and the arrest of Mrs. Proctor. This scene is flooded with instruments that create drama, suspense and emotion provoking feeling. The character description is appropriate and lets the audience differentiate good from evil. Miller employs splendid literary skills that keep the tempo and tension levels at unbearable highs. The language is elementary and a lot of it is biblically surrounded reflecting the puritan society. His repressed feelings about the freedom of thought and speech in 1956 are all expressed without regret in the story and gives the Crucible a tailor made, captivating essence for the reader and audience.