The Crucible Act 4 - Reflection Blog

Its kind of weird actually because we are talking about the exact same thing in AP history as we are in this class. It has helped me a lot though because we have talked about the Salem witch trials in history as well as in The Crucible. The Crucible reflects the exact same tone as the passage of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Basically, what the passage is saying is that confessing to your sins will save you, and that you should always confess otherwise there would be consequences such as hanging. The church back then really did intimidate people. The church in a way kind of ruled people by fear. All the people ever heard is that they were being " held over the pit of Hell by God and could be dropped at any moment" (Edwards 98) . That is exactly what was going on in The Crucible. Towards the end of the book, everyone tells John Proctor that he must confess to partaking in witchcraft. If he did not confess, the consequences were high. John had the decision to either be hanged, or confess. John decides at the end that he will not confess to a sin that he did not commit. John was hung for nothing. So there are many similarities between the passage and The Crucible, and obviously, you did not always get a fair trial. John Proctor was innocent and did not once partake in witchcraft, but because rumors and stories spread quickly, John was accused anyway. I never understood how people could just accuse someone of doing something without any logical backup. It is very strange to think that these kind of things were very common and happened just about every day back in this time. Even though I still do not understand how people thought back then entirely, I guess I can try and imagine how situations like these happened. The communities were a lot different then they are today. Most of them were religiously based and often religion was really the only thing that they were taught about basically on a daily basis. Another thing is that unlike us today, they did not have the technology or just the knowledge in general that we have today. For example, they had absolutely no idea how to explain what happened to Betty in the beginning of the story (Miller 5). Therefore, they decided that Betty had had to be calling upon the devil. So, in their defense, they had no other explanation to turn to. The tone that exists in both The Crucible and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is very cold and harsh. Both of them are basically saying that if you sin, you must take the consequences even if they seem unfair. The problem with this is that innocent people were often times accused of something that they really did not do, resulting in their death. This is what happened to John Proctor and both passages or stories portray this same tone.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. "From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Journal #7 - Bullying

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. I never really understood why bullying occurs so much and is such a problem, but it always has been. I always feel really bad for the victim especially at first just because it always seems to be the nice kids that get bullied (that's not always true though). Also I hate bullying so much because you never know how something can really affect a person. For example, if I got pushed into a locker or was called a bad name or something, I would like to think that even though it would hurt a little, I could bounce back pretty easy because I have good friends and family and know how to shake it off. So overall, it probably wouldn't bother me too much, but what if the victim could not just shake it off. What if the victim takes it very seriously and that affects he or she for the rest of his/her life? Knowing that the way you treat people, even just at school can change everything is hard to believe. That is why you have to watch the things you say and do and respect people for who they are. Also, bullying is not a win- win situation. Most of the time it is lose-lose. It is like this because nine times out of ten, the victim is hurt because of the bully, but the bully is probably not to happy either. Honestly, bullying is really one big vicious cycle. Most of the time, the reason that a bully is bullying is because he/she either feels insecure, angry, emotional. I do think that our school does a good job with bullying for the most part. I feel bad though for all of those kids who have to go to a school where they do not feel safe or secure. I think that it is very important for schools to make sure that everyone feels safe.

The Crucible Act 3 - Reflection Blog

Throughout the book The Crucible, it is very obvious that the author knows some things about human nature. The author reveals these things through the characters that are involved in the story. One of the things that I think the author understands most of all is the way humans defend themselves. For example, there are many times in the book, well really throughout the whole book, that the characters defend themselves by lying or even by betraying the ones that they care about. An example from the story is when Abigail tells everyone that Elizabeth Procter kept poppets in her house. The truth is that Elizabeth only had one poppet and one poppet only and the only reason she had it in the first place was because Mary Warren made it for her and had given it to her earlier in the story. The only reason Abigail would have said this is so that she herself would not be blamed for being involved in witchcraft. Abigail was probably afraid that if she could not make someone else look suspicious, then she would look suspicious to everyone. I thought the author understood this very well because he understands the way people think. Even though I would like to think that I would be a good person and do the right thing, my first reaction would probably be to defend myself, and by defending yourself often you find someone else to blame it on. In a way, this book is kind of dark. I feel like this book is really about all of the bad things that humans do. I also think that one of the worst things we can do is betray our fellow man and that is what the characters in The Crucible do all of the time. They also lie a lot, which goes along with betrayal. Not only do the characters not stand up for each other, but they blatantly lie about each other as well, especially Abigail. I actually really like this book so far though because I feel like it is pretty realistic and it is very interesting to read. I think that Arthur Miller did a very good job writing this book.

Journal #6 - Blaming

Its hard not to blame others when something goes wrong. I know I am guilty of blaming others when something does not go my way. I really do need to work on that. Now, I have never done something like accusing someone of being a witch or anything like that, but I do blame people for my having a bad day and stuff like that. For example, there has been many times, when I have blamed things on my teachers actually. Let me just say first though that I think everyone does this. So, if I have a lot of homework one night and I get home, then eat a snack, then watch a little T.V, then start my homework lets say around seven, I end up realizing that I had way more than I thought and a lot of it is due the next day. So naturally, it obviously is not my fault that I have so much homework, it is in fact the teachers fault. It is the teachers fault because they never give us a break and always pile on work, not understanding that we have like six or so other classes that we receive homework in. This is exactly what plays in my head every time I procrastinate. In reality, I know that it really is not the teacher's fault. I just say things like that because I do not want to admit that I have bad work ethic and waited until the last minute, so I just decide to blame it on the teachers. This is sort of like what happens in the book The Crucible. Because no one actually wants to own up to anything or be blamed, they just decide to blame someone else. However, in the end it just makes things way worse.

The Crucible "True Colors" - Reflection Blog

My true colors were blue, coming in first, and gold, being runner up. Being blue supposedly means a couple of different things. First, blues tend to be peacemakers. They do not like to cause trouble or be in the middle of trouble. Blues also tend to be very kind and emotional. I'm not sure how accurate these tests are but that is what blue means in a nutshell. Gold, on the other hand, means that you are very organized and always have a plan. I think golds, to me, come off as being a little OCD. Then of course there are the rest of the colors. Oranges are pretty active and have trouble staying still, and greens tend to be less emotional and are more techy. So, briefly, those were all of the colors in the True Colors test. Sometimes, you are able to pick out someones characteristics and possibly even give them a general color. There are characters in the book The Crucible that I think would fall into some of these color categories. For example, I would have to say that I think Mary Warrens is a blue. I think this because throughout the two chapters that I have read, I notice that for the most part she is pretty quiet and to herself. However, there are also times when she speaks out in defense and things of that sort, but overall she is just trying to keep the peace. (Miller, 55) Like I said before, blues tend to be on the more quiet and emotional side, so I think that Mary Warren would fall into the blue category. Now, I cannot back up this theory as well, but I also think that Elizabeth would be either a gold or possibly even a green. I think this because I think she comes off as being kind of uptight and strict. Compared to some of the other characters, Elizabeth always seemed way less emotional to me for some reason. Greens are less emotional than other colors. Abigail however, to me is the more emotional one. The relationship between Abigail and John Procter may be part of the reason that she is extremely emotional. Abigail also seems very passionate and when she talks she talks with great emotion. For example, you can tell this because of the way she talks to Mr. Procter (Miller, 22) and the way she talks to everyone else. So, I would say that Abigail is a mix between an Orange and a Blue, maybe even a little bit of green thrown in there. Now, I'm not really sure what to make of John Procter yet. I think that he is a little temperamental and that he loves Elizabeth, but on the other hand, he has a soft spot for Abigail and does care about her a little bit I think. I would have to say he is a blue just because of how emotional he is the whole time when he is talking to Elizabeth. (Miller, 54) Also, because blues tend to have mood swings and I think that John Procter may have some as well.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Journal #5 - Modern Day Punishment

I think mainly the punishment really depends on the kid and also the parent, but this will just be in a general sense. I think that it is harder for parents these days to punishment their children then in previous years because of all of the technology. It used to be that back in the day, you would have to do more chores, or you could not go play with your friends or play outside. But now a days you do not have to be around your friends in order to talk to them. It is so easy to stay connected all of the time with things like facebook and cell phones. I believe that this makes things a little harder on parents when it comes to punishment. I know a lot of people these days are punishing their kids by taking away facebook and such, but this is tough because almost all phones have Internet on them as well. So if you say no facebook, it would almost have to be like saying no computer or phone. However, I believe that because kids use technology a whole bunch, I feel like taking away their phone or computer is an accurate punishment. I'm sure their are other possible punishments that would work as well, but the problem is, if they still have their phone or computer, then they will still be connected. By taking away a kids phone or computer, you are taking away their privilege to talk to friends and be in the loop on facebook. So, yes, I do believe that it would be appropriate as a punishment if a parent took away a kids phone or computer for awhile. I also think that it helps kids not rely on technology as much. Even though it is always good to know how to use technology, I think it is also important for kids to be able to do things without it as well. I think that taking away technology is a good modern day punishment.

The Crucible Act 1

So far, I think this book is really interesting. Sometimes I think it is a little confusing when you are reading it, but once you get into it, the book is actually pretty entertaining. So, the Puritans were part of a religious movement that took place in the 1600s and 1700s. Unlike Separatists, Puritans did not really want to leave the Church of England, but rather "purify" it. Puritans believed that too much power rested in the hands of ministers and priests, which were the highest officials in the church. In this book, you can definitely pick out certain qualities that represent the Puritan lifestyle. For one, the Puritans were all about religious community. (Miller, 28) Often, government and religion would overlap and things, at times, could get pretty intense. Also, because these settlements were not super big, everybody knew everybody, so if there was talk that you did something bad or were a sinner, then you would kinda be in trouble. Another, not so great things about the Puritans was that they had little toleration for other religions if any at all. The whole reason they left England in the first place, was so they could "purify" the church and practice whatever religion that they wanted to practice. However, they did not put up with other religions at all, so this is sorta ironic. Back to what I was saying earlier, about being a sinner, the Puritans were what you would call now a days crazy religious. They were taught to read their Bibles constantly, and pray even more. (Miller, 46) Even if you were not a sinner, they encouraged this big time, and if you were a sinner...well then you would've been reading all of the time. During the Salem witch trials, there was great suspicion throughout the village. Although, the Puritans were supposed to follow God's word, with all of the weird witch theories happening, the people started to question their neighbors and whether or not they were real followers of God. There was a lot of talk about the Devil and how it was somehow taking over their village. This, as you can guess, really made the Puritans uneasy since they have always been so strict and sure of their religion. (Miller, 30)For example, in the book Betty seems to be under some sort of weird spell or something. This automatically brings up the idea of witchcraft in Salem. So, Mr. Paris tells everyone that enters the room, to not let anyone know about what is happening with Betty. If talk did get around and people started to hear things, then they would probably, eventually came to the conclusion of Betty, or any of her friends and relations being a witch or being associated somehow with evil spirits. That is why things were kept very secret in Salem and also the reason why people started turning against their neighbors. An example of that from the book is when Abigail tells everyone that Tituba was the one speaking to the Devil. (Miller, 43) Now, maybe Tituba was, but in the book she denies it. This book represents Puritan qualities very well.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.