Quote 1:
Proctor: "I say- I say- God is dead!" [...] I see his filthy face! And it is m face, and yours Danforth! (Miller 119-120).
Analysis 1:
Proctor is finally understanding his society as the reader does. The entire trial is debating the specifics of a a false concept (witches). Reason has long been gone and Proctor has finally accepted it. Proctor cannot convince the court that witches do not exist, so he found a new alternative. By accepting Mary's accusation and taking on the role of the devil Proctor has accepted his already inevitable death. Proctor is going to die in a more meaningful ways than those before him. Rather than deny his charges and pass without anyone remembering him, he will will bring Danforth down with him and cripple Salem's Court. This will frighten the officials away who would fill Danforth's position.
Quote 2:
Tituba: "We goin' to Barbados, soon the Devil gits here with the feathers and the wings" (Miller 122)
Analysis 2:
Tituba exemplifies the Salem's wickedness because she has developed a fear of God. In her experience, those who acted in God's name only persecuted her. It was only through blaming the Devil that she was saved. Tituba's concepts of God and the Devil were thus inverted. God has become the evil and the Devil has become the good. Tituba believes Salem to be evil and representing God. The Devil, who is emblematic of goodness, is closely associated with Barbados which harbors all of the happy memories in Tituba's life.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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