“My fictional view of the (McCarthy) period, my sense of its unreality had been, like any impotence (powerlessness) a psychologically painful experience. A similar paralysis descended on Salem. In both places, to keep social unity intact, the authority of leaders had to be hardened and words of skepticism toward them constricted. A new cautionary diction, an uncustomary prudence inflected our way of talking to one another. Words had gotten fearsome.”

“The Crucible straddles two different worlds to make them one, but it is not history in the usual sense of the word, but a moral, political, and psychological construct (something built by the mind) that floats on the fluid emotions of both eras.”(Miller, “Are you now or have you ever been?)

Directions: After reading The Crucible it is clear that Miller’s purpose was more than the entertainment of the audience. Construct an essay that examines the strategies that Miller uses and the purpose of each. Also, analyze the impact for these strategies given the audience of the 50’s for whom the play was written.

Use the SPE (strategy, purpose, effect) method for the thesis; underline your thesis.

  • Think about the characterization of Parris, Proctor, Abigail, etc.
  • Think about the poetic devices (simile, metaphor, personification, etc)
  • Think about the literary techniques (irony, foreshadowing)
  • Think about the use of the allegory (extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative)

Purpose: Given what you have read about Miller what could be his specific purpose for using a strategy?

Effect: What effect does the use of the strategy have on the audience (50’s McCarthy era audience)?

CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Introduction / The introduction is inviting, states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper. / The introduction clearly states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper, but is not particularly inviting to the reader. / The introduction states the main topic, but does not adequately preview the structure of the paper nor is it particularly inviting to the reader. / There is no clear introduction of the main topic or structure of the paper.
Support for Topic / Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable. / Supporting details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the analysis is unsupported. / Supporting details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of the analysis are unsupported. / Supporting details and information are typically unclear or not related to the topic.
Focus / Piece addresses strategy, purpose and effect effectively. Each strategy is clearly identified; each purpose clearly indicated ;effect logically follows. / Writing addresses two of the three: strategy purpose, effect only; Somewhat effective in analysis / Writing addresses two of the three: strategy, purpose, and effect, but does not effectively analyze the piece as a whole / The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
supporting details from text / Seamlessly weaves support into analysis of the piece. Reference to text is explicit and accurate. Examples of strategy correctly identified / Analysis is woven obviously into the piece. Examples used are somewhat relative; may be either implicit or explicit. / Some effort to use details from text for analysis but is not logical.
Few examples used / Details are merely mentioned or non existent. Analysis and details used are unclear and inaccurate. No specific details used to develop thesis.
Organization / The pacing is well-controlled. The writer knows when to slow down and elaborate, and when to pick up the pace and move on.
Details are placed in a logical order and the way they are presented effectively keeps the interest of the reader. / The pacing is generally well-controlled but the writer occasionally does not elaborate enough.
Details placed in a logical order, but the way in which they are presented/introduced sometimes makes the writing less interesting. / The pacing is generally well-controlled but the writer sometimes repeats the same point over and over, or spends too much time on details that don't matter.
Some details are not in a logical or expected order, and this distracts the reader. / The pacing often feels awkward to the reader. The writer elaborates when there is little need, or leaves out necessary supporting information. Many details are not in a logical or expected order. There is little sense that the writing is organized.
Grammar & Spelling Convention / Writer makes 2 or fewer errors in grammar, misplaced or dangling participials, incorrect punctuation, errors in parallelism or overuse of passive voice or spelling that distract reader from content. / Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar, misplaced or dangling participials, incorrect punctuation, errors in parallelism or overuse of passive voice or spelling that distract reader from content / Writer makes 5-6 errors in grammar, misplaced or dangling participials, incorrect punctuation, errors in parallelism or overuse of passive voice or spelling that distract reader from content / Writer makes more than 6 in grammar, misplaced or dangling participials, incorrect punctuation, errors in parallelism or overuse of passive voice or spelling that distract reader from content
Voice/style / The writer speaks directly to the reader in a way that is individual, compelling and engaging. Writer is aware and respectful of the audience and the purpose for writing. Writer uses variety of sentence structures and varies sentence beginnings; word choice is original; linking verbs used sparingly / The writer seems sincere, but not fully engaged or involved. The result is pleasant or even personable, but not compelling.some variety in syntax and shows some variety in sentence beginnings; word choice interesting; linking verb used somewhat / The writer seems indifferent, uninvolved, or distanced from the topic and/or audience.
Little variety in sentence structure; no clauses or complex sentences included. Sentence beginnings rely on transition only.
Trite, uninteresting word choice; overuse of linking verbs / There is no voice, the writer merely catalogues the details without any attempt to unify the details to achieve the purpose.Only simple and compound sentence structure used. No variety in sentence beginnings evident. Word choice is elementary; uses mainly linking verbs