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The Crucible Film Analysis

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The artistic choices made in the production of cinema have a great impact on the way the audience will perceive certain aspects of the performance. One director may choose to highlight a certain scene, while another director may push it aside as trivial. A majority of the symbolism behind theatre lends itself to open interpretation, but some underlying messages have a widely accepted truth. In Nicholas Hytner’s 1996 interpretation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, lighting and camera angles help accentuate the importance of particular moments throughout the film. I chose to analyze the courthouse scene in which Deputy Danforth asks Elizabeth whether or not John Proctor committed the crime of adultery. Within this scene, many changes in lighting …show more content…

The utilization of sudden zooms and points of view add another dimension of truth to the story. One of the first camera techniques uses a dutch tilt. The dutch tilt adds to the discomforting tension in the room, causing the audience to be unsettled. The tilt also makes John Proctor appear even more taller than he already is. The staggering height difference between John and Abigail demonstrates the superiority John possesses in morality, age, and sensibility. The height difference may also represent the fact that the audience views John as the protagonist, therefore above Abigail. Because Abigail is lower, the dutch tilt displays that the scales are tipping in Abigail’s favor for the entire duration of the trial. The second camera technique discerned in this scene involves what the camera focuses on during the confession. When Elizabeth enters the courthouse, the camera shows the backs of John and Abigail, symbolizing how this decision lies out of their hands. There are many close-ups of Danforth when he is questioning Mrs. Proctor. These close-ups represent how Danforth’s verdict will affect the lives of the accused and the accusers. The camera also zooms in on Elizabeth many times. Elizabeth’s close-ups add suspense to the scene due to their emphasis on the importance of her words. The basis of the whole trial up to this point depends on whether or not Elizabeth admits to her

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In the play along with the movie The Crucible, John Proctor and Abigail Williams have interesting relationship bound by adultery and lies. Abigail becomes obsessed with John and will do anything to be with him. John quickly shuts down her fantasy ideas and tells her that what happened between them was a one-time thing that will never take place again and a mistake on his part. With this knowledge, she soon spends all her time plotting to get John all to herself and to make him fall in love with her, even if that means taking out John’s wife, Elizabeth. We see many examples of this forbidden relationship through their secret encounters and arguments in both examples of the story, still, there were more scenes of John and Abby alone in the movie than in the play.

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The scene is needed to confirm that Abigail’s actions are motivated by her love for John Proctor. When John Proctor comes over to see what is wrong with Betty in Act One, Abigail believes that John has come to see her. She informs him that she knows that he truly lovers her. Proctor denies her ludicrous statement, but she doesn’t believe him claiming, “You love me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” (Miller 22).

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Proctor is now confessing, “his shame great” of when he committed adultery with Abigail (Miller 110). Although Proctor is incriminating himself, he is trying to reveal Abigail’s true character and motives to Danforth. Finally, pathos is effective at convincing Danforth Abigail’s accusations are lies because Proctor’s emotions are raw and unadulterated, so much that “Danforth seems unsteady” (Miller 111). Danforth believed Abigail was a redeemed sinner being used by God to indicate those still in the dark, but now Proctor has shed all propriety and revealed the true Abigail. Pathos is so effective here because it is what Abigail used to convince the court.

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The way someone sees another may reflect upon themself more than anything; showing the hidden through judgements of peers. One’s own dilemmas within their lives can be shadowed by misguided hatred for others, thus creating unwanted problems for all parties involved. This can be seen in real life as well as in novels, but specifically between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. In the play titled “The Crucible,” Abigail and Elizabeth illustrate that contrasting personalities can reveal who a person truly is; essentially removing the mask of perception.

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Secondly, Judge Danforth’s irrationality and ignorance brings about poor decisions on his part. One of the instances where Danforth reveals his following attitude is when he denies to even look at a deposition presented by John Proctor as described by his words “ No, no, I accept no depositions” (Miller 88). John Proctor hands him a deposition signed by Mary warren, stating that the accusations made by Abigail and the girls are false. In this regard Judge Danforth replies to John Proctor by repetitively says “No” thereby emphasizing his adamant view on this subject.

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Within The Crucible, many characters discuss public matters in private spaces and private matters in public ones. These occurrences demonstrate society’s natural tendency to exploit the less relevant, private affairs of citizens in order to influence public opinion and remove blame from oneself. Before the play itself begins, Miller emphasizes the common act of “express[ing] publicly ... guilt and sins under the cover of accusation” (7). Whether the guilt is deserved or not, discussing private matters in the form of public knowledge allows one to place the burden of one’s on actions on others around them. Reverend Parris first utilizes this form of accusation as he states that he “discovered” many girls “dancing in the forest” at night (38), using his sight of them as evidence of hooliganry.

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The Witch Hunt Leading a life of regret is a challenging existence for any man for guilt weighs heavily on the soul. John Proctor, the protagonist in Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is burdened by an immoral act, a torrid affair, which has cost him his name and integrity. Forgiveness comes at a great price, one that he must come to terms with. John Proctor undergoes a transformation from a man battling internal strife to a man who rediscovers his personal integrity.

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We never touched, Abby” (Miller Act 1). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an incredibly complex play depicting the fictional events of the Salem Witch Trials. If one is to begin to dissect the contents of said play, you must look at it from a psychological point of view. Particularly, a view of Freudian psychology might provide insight as to why some characters made certain decisions and carried out the actions they did. Using a Freudian psychological lens to examine The Crucible, readers can take a closer look at the actions of John Proctor and Abigail Williams and form hypotheses as to their deeper motives.

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Guilt is emotional torture that transforms one's psychological operation. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, before the Salem witch trials emerge, John Proctor cheats on his wife Elizabeth Proctor, with young Abigail. Causing him to live with an eternal shame that generates dispute. Proctor’s endeavour is to elude from his wrongdoing, but he cannot because of the disgrace he feels himself to be when around Elizabeth. Miller shows that John Proctor's emotional and behavioral conflict rises from his guilt.

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The speaker John Proctor, in the playwright The Crucible by Arthur Miller, is portrayed as a noble, and well respected Puritan man. However, it is later revealed that he had an affair with Abigail Williams, as she turns the whole town to chaos to be with him. When Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft by Abigail, Proctor uses logos to convince the court especially Danforth, that his wife is innocent and the girls were lying about their accusations. Yet, the mass hysteria has engulfed the court, making any use of logic useless. So, he uses pathos to appeal the court, tarnishing his name.

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