Dramatic Irony In The Crucible

The novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury is an outstanding book that demonstrates a lot of irony. Irony is the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect, according to Oxford Dictionaries. There are three types of irony. which are verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. In most cases, verbal irony is referred more to when words express something contrary to what someone says. Situational irony is irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected. dramatic irony is used a lot within books, plays, and movies. It is when the audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not aware of. Within this paper, I will demonstrate on how Ray Bradbury utilizes irony within the novel Fahrenheit 451.

Rhetorical appeals serve as a major role in the characters speaking style. The speaking style reflects his or her main points that the character is trying to convey. It also reveals the characters feelings and emotions. John Proctor uses strong rhetorical appeals throughout the play. John Proctor is loyal, honest, and kind-hearted. Proctor can end Abigail Williams only if he admits to adultery. Proctor does not want to ruin his reputation. The famous play, ‘The Crucible” Arthur Miller explains Proctors speaking style through the use of diction, logos, and ethos.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is about the people of 17th century Salem, Massachusetts during a dangerous and dynamic period. The people of Salem were Puritans and very religious so they associated witchcraft and anything impure or evil with the Devil. When the witch hysteria, which was initially caused by girls falsely accusing others, got out-of-hand, the residents of Salem conformed to the hysteria out of fear because those who were accused were intimated certainty to death. However, the accused had a chance to save themselves by confessing to a crime they did not commit. Many took advantage of the opportunity for self-preservation because it is a human instinct,

Although Samuel Parris was sought out to be a respected reverend, his personal and physical actions make him an ugly selfish man.

Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the corruption, lying, strict actions of the Salem witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Miller was inspired to write this play to relate to the era of McCarthyism during the 1950’s that he and American citizens were experiencing. In the 1950’s Joseph McCarthy starting accusing public figures of being guilty of treason by supporting the communist party (of Russia). But McCarthy had no physical proof or evidence that suggested his wild accusations. The accusations caused havoc in America, hundreds imprisoned, and thousands to lose their job. The Crucible is focused on the wrongful and unjust accusations on townspeople guilty of “witchcraft” by a young teenager Abigail. If guilty, the town holds a trial, which if the accused confesses to witchcraft the accused would live; if the accused will be hanged. The accusations and trials led to twenty deaths of innocent people. These deaths are the fault of court official Danforth, integrity of John Proctor, and the lies told by Abigail are the reason these people were hanged.

The Crucible is a piece of literature that can be attributed to a few other situations in history, not simply just the Salem Witch Trials. People throughout history have turned on each other in fear, and have use irrational thinking to justify what they have done. Though the story portrays the Witch Trials, it is able to connect with other events in history due to how the themes can connect with the reader and resonate with how people can feel under certain stress at these moments. Arthur Miller writes in the way that the story can live on in other situations to make points on how we treat each other during these times, the rhetorical appeals he uses becoming important as to why this story is still important to our history in more than one event.

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that truth does not concern the people of Salem; the townspeople are concerned with what they want the truth to be. The idea of witchcraft has plagued Salem, several girls including Tituba and Abigail have confessed to practicing witchcraft. Salem is relying on Abigail and her friends to tell the truth, they do not know that there is no thing as witchcraft. Proctor presents himself to the court to testify against Abigail, the court dose not listen because Danforth and the other court members are concerned with preserving the reputation of the court. While Abigail uses lies to protect her reputation, Proctor uses the truth. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that despite the sacrifices that Abigail and

Situational irony is created in the text through Proctor reciting “ thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… You have said that twice, sir… Adultery, John”(Miller.II.12.). This is an example of Situational Irony because the only commandment Proctor couldn’t remember is the one he broke. Proctor’s inability to remember his commandments causes the community to question his faithfulness to his religion and in return creates conflict later in the trials when people question his judgment and accuse him of witchcraft. Dramatic irony is created in the text through Danforth asking “Why did you dismiss Abigail Williams?”, and Elizabeth responding “She - dissatisfied me”(Miller.III.18.). This is an example of Dramatic Irony because the reader already knows that John has confessed to adultery, but Elizabeth doesn't so she lies in hopes of protecting his reputation. Elizabeth's attempt in maintaining John’s Power caused her and John to both have bad reputations, and resulted in John being out on death row. from this, more chaos in the community is created because of more deaths of significant characters, leaving the town to run with orphans and rotting from lack of order. In the text, Irony is used to really create a lot of the conflicts in the

Arthur Miller's The Crucible highlights a human frailty, arrogance, responsible for the witch hysteria in the 1690s. Each character portrays arrogance which make him abuse power. The play explores the human nature of being arrogant and the fear of tarnishing one's reputation, by acting unmorally. Through Hale's, Parris's, and Danforth's actions, Miller indicates that arrogance is the frailty most responsible for the witch hysteria.

In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.

Irony is often used in literature to illustrate certain situations to the audience. In some pieces of literature that might be pointing out an unjust system, in others that might be to add a comedic effect, but whatever situation the author wants to illustrate, irony is very beneficial. Through small and witty, one-liners, or a bigger dramatic irony situation contrasting two very different situations, irony can be very beneficial for the reader to understand the story. Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins have a corrupt dystopian society. Through the use of irony, the author can portray the corruptness to the audience. Transition!!! Irony is used in both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and The Hunger

The irony is well woven within Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, but before going into how it is used in the novel let's take a look at the different types of Irony. First, it is important to understand that irony is expressing a meaning by using language that is opposite. Situational irony occurs when the audience or the reader has expectations of what is going to happen and what happens instead is the opposite. For example, a fire station burning down. Dramatic irony occurs when the significance of a character's words, intention, and actions are known to the audience or reader but not the other characters. For example, the relationship between Robert and Edna continues to grow and we know that, but not Mr. Pontellier. Verbal irony is when words

Sardonic tone reveals the characters’ true nature and hypocrisy to the audience through contradictions in writing. When introducing Mr. Putnam, Miller writes that “he was a man with many grievances, at least one of which appears justified” (Miller 14). The second part of the sentence undercuts the first, discrediting Mr. Putnam and his grievances. Miller’s sardonic tone indicates what he thinks, and by extension what he wants the audience to think, about Mr. Putnam. The tone also acts as character building for Mr. Putnam, revealing his personality. During the court scene Reverend Hale tells Danforth “I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord” (Miller 99). Miller places Hale’s death warrant count next to his statement

the final moments on The Crucible would be when Danforth carries on the hanging of the people