Discuss the role of John Proctor Essay Example for Free

Discuss the role of John Proctor Essay Discuss the role of John Proctor in The Crucible. Why does he choose to die at the end of the play? John Proctor is the protagonist of the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. This is because Miller uses Proctor as a character to help the audience understand the characters experience. He does this by either making sympathetic expressions or the actions that Proctor makes, whether they are violent or confusing. Miller makes us feel sympathetic for Proctor when Proctors wife, Elizabeth gets taken away to court for being accused of doing the devils work. Proctor knows she is innocent but nobody will believe him. In Act I, John Proctors role is to introduce himself and show his character: Be you deaf? I forbid you leave the house did I not? (Proctor, Act I) This comment suggests he likes to be powerful and in control, in this case, by being forceful. He feels strong about hypocricy, but is even-tempered. Miller tells us that in the presence of Proctor a fool felt his foolishness instantly. He also tells us that proctor is a sinner against his own vision of decent conduct, of which he is talking about the affair with Abigail Williams. This is dramatic irony as, only three characters (including Proctor) are aware of this. When we first meet Proctor he is with Abigail, Mary and Mercy Lewis. Abigails first words are: Gah, Id almost forgotten how strong you are John Proctor! (Abigail, Act I) John Proctor quickly realises what she is implying and replies: Whats this mischief then? (Proctor, Act I) This shows he doesnt want anything to happen between him and Abigail. No, no Abby. Thats done with. (Proctor, Act I) Later on he replies with this to Abigail, and this shows he is strong-willed, recognises what is happening and the mistake. However Abigail thinks that John is just playing around with her and speaks of how he clutched her back behind his house and sweated like a stallion. I may have looked up. (Proctor, Act I) This quotation suggests that Proctor is still interested and this brings across a message that people dont change, in this case Proctor a sinner, but then the strong, powerful part of his character comes across and he threatens to whip her, to which the stage directions say shaking her. This suggests he regrets the affair and wants no more to do with Abigail. As an affair is more likely to have happened in the 20th century, the audience sympathise with him as the play is set in the late 17th century, so Proctor is a man ahead of his time. When Proctor meets Hale, he wants him to make Salem more realistic. He shows his sensible character, but could also be seen that Proctor is trying to be in charge and think he knows too much: He dont believe in witches. (Giles, Act I) I never speak of witches one-way or the other. Will you come Giles? (Proctor, Act I) Ive heard you to be a sensible man Mr Hales. I hope youll leave some of it in Salem. (Proctor, Act I) Act II shows Proctors house, and Proctor is tense, which brings tension upon the audience. He carries a gun, which suggests insecurity among Salem, and himself. He places it leaning on the wall, which is an accessible point, again showing insecurity. It makes the audience feel inferior. AS Elizabeth walks down the stairs he goes to a basin washing his hands and face. This is symbolic as he is trying to forget the affair, because he feels so guilty. This builds more tension: What keeps you so late? Its almost dark. (Elizabeth, Act II) This comment of Elizabeths shows she is anxious and suspicious of his whereabouts. He replies that he was planting far out the forest edge. Then goes on to say: Pray now for a fair summer. (Proctor, Act II) He is trying to please his wife, still feeling guilt. He says with a grin: I mean to please you, Elizabeth. (Proctor, Act II) Elizabeth replies, although hard to say, which suggests denial or disbelief: I know it, John. (Elizabeth, Act II) Proctor and Elizabeth fear each other, and this illustrates the feature of the play-fear. Their short sentences and being silent suggests this, and also brings tension upon their marriage, and the audience. Act II is mostly to do with John Proctor, the visiting of Hale to which he is questioned about his religious efforts, his arguments with his wife, his suspicions of the witchcraft in Salem and Abigail, and the arrest of his wife. He grabs the search warrant off Cheever: Proctor, you dare not touch the warrant. (Cheever, Act II) Ripping the warrant. (Stage directions, Act II) This is Proctors angry side. He knows what Abigail is up to, yet no one will believe him. They go on what Abigail says. As he rips up the warrant, he puts a reputation to his name at the courts of the Witch trials. Act III shows Danforth, a deputy governor, talking to Proctor about witchcraft. He is questioning about the pretence that Mary Warren has confessed. He wants a second view from John Proctor: We burn a hot fire her; it melts down all concealment. (Danforth, Act III) This relates to the title of the play The Crucible. It is a metaphor of a crucible, which points out the message of the play. As a crucible is a container in which metals are heated to extract the pure elements. In the play, witches are to be purified and to come back to God. When Mary is in court, Proctor is determined to get the judges to see what is really happening. He goes into the courts and confesses his sin of adultery with Abigail to try and make the judges see how much of a whore she really is. He risks his well-preserved name to save his wife from being hanged. The judges have no proof: In her life, sir, she have never lied. (Proctor, Act III) Here he talks of Elizabeth, and he thinks she will tell the courts the truth of the affair, but instead she thinks the courts dont know. She worries that she is risking her husbands well-dignified name, and lies: Answer the question! Is your husband a lecher! (Danforth, Act III) No, sir. (Elizabeth, Act III) Proctor gets taken into jail for perverting the course of justice: Marshal! Take him and Corey with him to the jail! (Danforth, Act III) Hale realises what is happening and quits the courts. Act IV is tragic, bringing the death of the hero of the play. Danforth is doing almost anything he can to get a confession from Proctor. For example he gets Elizabeth, his wife that he tries so hard to please, to go and talk to him. They understand what Proctor meant by all the lies. Abigail ran off the Barbados. When Proctor sees Elizabeth again, it creates a tragic atmosphere. To them it seems almost unreal, like they didnt think they would see each other again. The short, quick sentences that they exchange give us a sense of tension: You are a marvel, Elizabeth. (Proctor, Act IV) You have been tortured? (Elizabeth, Act IV) As she asks Proctor this it proves that she wants to forgive him, and that she wants to love him again. He decides to confess about witchery, for Elizabeths sake. Once the confession has been written down he grabs it, saying: You have all witnessed it it is enough. (Proctor, Act IV) He refuses to sign his confession. He doesnt want to blacken his name anymore: God knows how black my sins are! It is enough! (Proctor, Act IV) If he doesnt give it back, or sign the confession, he will be hanged, he will be killed. Instead he rips it like, just like he did the warrant/ He decides to die. The atmosphere turns tragic and goes still. The audiences reaction is also tragic, but also understandable after all, that was the role of John Proctor. He chooses to die because he would blacken his name, and his childrens name Proctor. He realises he has ruined his reputation from the affair, and that the courts in Salem were finished. He couldnt lie anymore. He chose his own death rather than betrayal of his conscience. This shows us that he too has come through the fire to be purified, just like the pure elements extracted from the metals in a crucible.

Mobile Phones :: Technology, Marketing

Mobile phones are reaching whole around the world and will dramatically change to express the new lifestyle of people (Friedrich et al 2009; Xinze, 2008). Such technology has made more and more everybody be reachable (Marez et al. 2007). The mobile penetration and adoption are almost 100% in western countries and several Asian countries (Netsize, 2007; The Economist, 2005). This phenomenon is the ubiquitous revolutionary helped in the adoption and distribution of mobile commerce since it allows marketing activities tailored to actual customer needs and tastes (Barutà §u, 2007), and more precisely targeting customers by using face-to- marketing communications person compared with impersonal and mass media (Carter, 2009;. Shaw et al 2001). An incredible number of innovations introduced annually, and the rapid technological developments (Easingwood and Koustelos, 2000), is also changing the advertising philosophy (Barwise & Farley, 2005), leading businesses to accept mobile marketing s trategy as a way to their advertising messages broke through the clutters (Zhang and Mao, 2008). Once students complete mobile marketing provides marketers with a real chance to get a high response rate compared with traditional media (e.g. Wood and SONI, 1991). The justification for this is that people within the mobile telephone network marketing as customers, firms, advertising agencies, marketers and brands to interact with each other in the more creative and fashionable way unlike before (Hanley and Becker, 2009). Recent statistics show that mobile marketing budgets, specifically and more than 11 billion by 2011 mobile advertising rising from nearly 1 billion in 2007 (Leek and Christodoulides, 2009; O'Shea, 2007), since both expected to mobile subscribers will surpass 4 billion by 2011 (Higginbotham, 2009). Other research results show that about 22% of businesses using online advertising as a tool to promote the real efforts has to do mobile marketing (Ask, 2006). In the Middle East, especially in Jordan, there are four mobile service providers, and the number of subscribers more than 6 million, slightly more than the population numbers. In percentage terms, the mobile penetration in Jordan 101% compared to the population (The Times Jordan, 2009). In addition, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, the internet penetration in Jordan reached around 30% in 2009 and is expected to more than 50% by 2010 (The Times Jordan, 2009). However, although the market is rapidly maturing mobile in many Western European countries, the infant is still in many Asian countries and the Middle East. In addition, most of the previous studies examining marketing in mobile western context, and little attention are paid to the investigation of this strategy in the Arab world.

Effects of the Black Death Essay

Imagine one half of the world’s population by wiped out in a space of less than a ten years. You probably cannot imagine such an event occurring; it seems unreal. Yet, this very thing happened in the between the years 1347 and 1351 in Europe. This massive destruction of human life was known as the Black Death. This Black Death was an ecological disaster on a global scale. The effects of the plague on human and certain animal populations from East Asia to as far west as Greenland were catastrophic. All facets of society, from peasant to king were affected; no one was safe. All of society was affected; nothing would ever be the same. Thus, there were many economic, social, and political effects of the Black Death. Before one can understand the effects of the Black Death, one must understand precisely what is and what it did. The Black Death was the common name for what is now known today to be three different diseases. The first, and most common of these was Bubonic Plague. The Bubonic Plague lasts for approximately six days. The early symptoms include hemorrhaging and splotches on the skin. Later on, various neurological and psychological disorders can occur. Bubonic Plague is fatal fifty to sixty percent of the time. The other two forms of the Plague, Septicaemic and Pneumonic were both much more rare, but much deadly, killing ninety-five a hundred percent of the time. The Black Death did not originate in Europe, however. It originated in Central Asia, far away from Europe. So how did it get to Europe, and why during the Late Middle Ages? Before the time of the Late Middle Ages, infrastructure was vastly underdeveloped. Thus, diseases spread by humans could not possibly spread far, as most humans did not move too far from their homeland. By the time of the Late Middle Ages, trade and infrastructure had evolved into an advanced state. Trade routes connected all the main cities of Europe to the far away lands of Asia. Now, as the Black Death epidemic began in Asia, it began to slaughter and spread immediately. By the 1350s, two-thirds of China’s population lay dead, but this was just the beginning. The Black Death quickly spread across Central Asia, following the route of the Silk Road. Soon it reached the Middle East, where Italian merchants proceeded to spread it to Europe via their trading  ships. At the time the Black Death reached Europe, the population was in full swing. Population numbers, due to new agricultural methods and other means, were at all time highs. The Black Death would quickly change that. The Black Death, traveling quickly across trading routes covered Europe in the brief span between the years 1347 and 1351. Everywhere from Ireland to Scandinavia to Spain was hit. Once the Black Death hit a town only some were spared. Anywhere from twenty-five to seventy-five percent of a town’s population would perish. And once a town would begin to recover, the Black Death would strike again and again, relentlessly slaughtering thousands. For an event as destructive as the Black Death, the economic effects are vast. After the plague had swept through Europe and reduced the population by a third, a sudden surplus of all items and food drove prices down drastically. In reply to this people began to wildly overspend what was not worth that much. However, after the excess amount of food had been used up, the insufficiency of labor began to make an impact. Prices rapidly shot up, way beyond pre-plague rates. In addition, those laborers who remained soon were in high demand. They realized that their services were rare, and thus they could charge any rate they wanted. In response to this, governments created laws limiting wages. This in turn would later cause peasant revolts in the later 14th Century. However, Some places experienced economic prosperity as a long term consequence of the plague. In addition to the effects on wages, there were other economic effects as well. Towns in the Late Middle Ages were slowly becoming important centers of trade. Towns were the center of commerce, and places were markets were. The Black Death struck these very towns the hardest. Towns, being crowded and infested by rats, were more susceptible to the plague than rural areas. Thus, people abandoned many towns for the safety of the countryside. This heavily stunted trade, as now towns were abandoned, and there was no central location for people to meet and trade. Furthermore, there were many social effects as well. Middle Age culture  became a culture of death and decay. Life became cheap. The stench of death became unavoidable when entering towns and cities. Everywhere there were the dead and the dying. Bodies were literally piled up outside in wheelbarrows, waiting to be dumped. The dead were not treated with respect or dignity. Fear was so great of infection that bodies were simply piled up and dumped in mass graves. People, ignorant of what was causing this terrible catastrophe, blamed those on the margins of society. Others questioned the Church. Why would God inflict such suffering? The Church had no answers, so people began to question it more and more. Some took matters into their own hands. Groups of people, known as flagellants began to go through towns and cities, wiping themselves to appease God. They believed that if they caused enough pain to themselves, then perhaps God would ease their suffering. In addition, the new devaluing of life and questioning of the Church, the fabric that held society together society was ripped. The plague affected everyone from kings to peasants. Soldiers who once protected peasants were no longer there, and survivors were vulnerable to looters and highwaymen. Nobility who once guided society were now deceased, and people could no longer count on them to run manors and provide for general protection against enemies. Nobles could no longer rely on peasants, as they quickly became scarce. In short, the Black Death caused a violent upheaval on society as death became common, and nothing could be trusted. In addition to the many social and economic effects, there were also many political effects of the Black Plague. As stated before, the Black Plague affected virtually all facets of society, including the nobility. The nobility’s ability to effectively assert their power became extremely limited due to the rapid decline of feudalism that occurred due to the plague. The main source of the power of the nobility came from their feudal powers, and once these powers became limited, the ability of the nobles to effect political change also became limited. Before the Black Plague, kings had to take into account the nobles and their ideas. Following the Black Plague, nobles became helpless, unless they agreed to further the kings’ claims and demands. This in turn further centralized power, which was a trend of the 14th Century. The main political effect of the Black Death was  the further loss of power of the nobles in government. The Black Death was the terror of the Middle Ages. Serf and king alike feared it. And where the plague struck, nothing could be the same. Overpopulated towns suddenly became deserted. Flourishing commerce suddenly became dead and empty. Whereas the dead were once respected and taken care of, now they were devalued and thrown in piles. The kings continued to gain in power, due to the weakening of the feudal system. In retrospect, the Black Death was, perhaps, one of the most transforming events in human history. The economy, society, and politics of the time were transformed forever.

Aristophanes on Homosexual and Heterosexual Soul Mates

The Greek comedy writer Aristophanes (ca 448-385 BCE), wrote more than 40 plays, many of them comedies which are bawdy and over-the-top, a genre in Greek literature called Old Comedy. Many of them were aimed at Socrates, like this inspired myth about how there came to be people with different sexual orientations.   This treatise appears in the Symposium by Plato, written by 360 BCE, and is from the Greek. In the Beginning   In the beginning, there were three parents: Sun, Moon, and Earth. Each produced an offspring, round and otherwise like itself. From the  sun was produced the man; from earth, the woman; from the  moon, the union of the two, the androgyne. Each of these three was a double, one head with two faces looking out in opposite directions, four arms and legs, and two sets of genitalia. They moved about on the earth with a great deal more freedom and power than humans do now, for they rolled rather than walked—ran hand over hand and foot over foot at double speed. One day, these fast, powerful, but foolish creatures decided to scale Mt. Olympus to attack the gods. What should the gods do to show the foolish humans the error of their ways? Should they shoot them down with thunderbolts? No, they decided, too boring. Theyd done that before to the giants. Besides, who would pour out libations and offer sacrifices to them if they destroyed their worshipers? They had to devise a new punishment. Arrogant Humans Zeus thought and thought. Finally, he had a brainstorm. Humans werent a real threat, but they did need a dressing down. Their arrogance would be checked if they lost their speed, strength, and confidence. Zeus decided that if they were cut in half, they would be only half as fast and half as strong. Even better, it was a re-usable plan. Should they act up again, he would repeat the operation, leaving them with only one leg and one arm each. After he revealed his plan to his fellow Olympians, he asked Apollo to join him in putting it into effect. The king of the gods cut the man-man, woman-woman, and man-woman creatures in half and Apollo made the necessary repairs. The face which previously facing out, Apollo turned inward. Then he gathered all the skin together (like a purse) with an opening in the middle as a reminder to mankind of his earlier state. Rejoining Soul Mates After the surgery, the half-creatures ran around frantically looking for their other halves, seeking them out, embracing them, and trying to join together again. Unable to join, the creatures despaired and began to starve to death in their sorrow. Zeus, mindful of his need for worship, decided something must be done to recharge the creatures spirits, so he instructed Apollo to create a means to rejoin temporarily. This Apollo did by turning the genitals to the belly side of the body. Before, mankind had procreated by dropping a seed on the ground. This new system created an interesting new means of producing offspring. The creatures who had been double women before, naturally sought out women, those who had been androgynous, sought out members of the opposite gender, those who had been double men, sought out the company of men. They sought out their other halves,  not simply for intercourse, but so they could become whole again by being rejoined with their souls. Sources Plato. Symposium. Trans. Benardete, Seth [1930–2001] Internet Archive. Web Plato. Symposium. Trans. Jowett, Benjamin [1817–1893]. Project Gutenberg 2008. Web.   Plato. Symposium. Trans. Shelley, Percy Bysshe [1792–1822]. Internet Archive. Web.