Prompt for Eleventh Grade Literary Response—Essay 1

Introduction and Background:

Arthur Miller’s satirical allegory, The Crucible, sought to arouse the American audience of the 1950s to the offenses of the Joseph McCarthy era “witch hunts” by creating dramatic characters who would command the sympathies of the theater-goers of the time.

Audiences react after each act, finding themselves sympathetic to different characters in the play as the drama unfolds. Sympathies for characters in Act 1 often do not match those felt after the audience has viewed Act 2, Act 3 or Act 4.

By the cleverly designed triggers which lead to the sympathetic responses of the audience, Miller is able to capture the attention of those who watch, and to guide the viewers through the drama to the conclusions he hoped would foster an end to the obsession with the Red Scare that McCarthy and others had inflicted upon the public.

The Writing Task:

In a four paragraph essay, provide a typed, well-written and MLA formatted literary response that identifies the character (or characters) for which the audience feels the most sympathy at the end of Act 1 of The Crucible, and the character (or characters) that is (are) most sympathetic after Act 2.

Explain why (or why not) the audience’s sympathies change from one character to another after each act.

The essay should include an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement, two body paragraphs that provide evidence to support the writer’s choices and views, and a concise concluding paragraph that looks beyond the scope of the essay toward the rest of the play.

Note: The first paragraph should introduce the essay, give some background of the setting and purpose, and give a brief thesis. You should then prove the thesis with two well-written body paragraphs, and then close with a statement that gives the essay a finished feeling, without just repeating the thesis. Do not struggle trying to make the sentences fit a formula, but do provide concrete details from the text to support your analytical statements.

Focus:

·  Which character evokes the most sympathy after Act 1? After Act 2?

·  Why does each character awaken sympathy in the audience at the end of Act 1? After Act 2?

·  Are the choices different for each act, and, if so, why?

Format:

·  Short introductory paragraph with Thesis

·  2 Body Paragraphs

·  Concluding paragraph of a sentence or two

·  Typed MLA format

·  Follows the conventions of grammar, sentence construction and spelling