The Crucible language essay Essay Example for Free

The Crucible language essay Essay The Crucible by Arthur Miller fits into the genre of a Realism. Its time period is set in the late 1600s. Thus the language used in the script is archaic and realistic for the time period it is set. The images that The Crucible creates in the minds of the audience (although infrequent) are enlarged and exaggerated; Danforth declares he would hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes John Proctor describes his farm as a continent and his wifes behaviour as an everlasting funeral. This enhances the imagery in the minds of an audience. The play is of a naturalistic theme, but in the language Miller can be surreal. In order to make the audience aware of what is happening elsewhere than the scene (within naturalistic conversation) the characters discuss the events that are going on in the town, this is known as Reported action for example Abigail says to Paris Uncle the rumour of witchcraft is all about this is a form of narrative for the audience who cannot leave the present scene on stage. Miller used the actual court records from the witchcraft trials to influence his wording in the script. He studied these in great detail and attempted to use accurate dialect from this time period. However Miller admits that without planning to, he elaborated a few of the grammatical forms, particularly the double negatives. Another influential source for the use of language in The Crucible, which Miller referred too is the king James (authorised) version of the bible. When Proctors wife, Elizabeth, describes to him the effect Abigail has on the court room, imagery is used from the Old Testament of the bible saying and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel. The fact that everyone inside the play uses the same archaic speech, for example all the men are referred to as mister and the women goody short for goody wife, distances a twenty first century people; it gives the feeling of a diverse society from our own. Even though they are in America the characters do not speak with an American accent as they are still fairly early settlers in the country and sound British. In the script there are distinctive speech patterns enforced by Miller. The servants/slaves in the play use bad grammar for they are low status and uneducated for example Mercy, Proctors servant, says to him I best be off. I have my Ruth to watch. In contrast to Paris the town pastor who has high status, he uses proper wording e. g. you compromise my very character. I have put clothes upon your back and Proctor who is a farmer uses rough language like Ill show you a great doing on your arse one of these days. and uses abbreviations for instance Ah, youre wicked yet, arent y! by this language you can tell hes a bit of a farmer. Various colloquial phrases no longer used like there be no blush about my name and I say shut it both said by Abigail who is an orphan living with her Uncle, Paris. The Proctors farm is big and further away from the town and when he describes it as a continent that indicates to the audience its size and setting. There is not a lot of imagery in The Crucible and this is because it is a naturalistic play and in real life people dont usually go around trying to create imagery in their speech. Although, Miller does use repetition recurrently, particularly the words witchcraft, God and pretence which are the main themes of the play. These words play on the subconscious minds of the audience. God is dead is a widely-quoted and sometimes a misconstrued statement by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It is found in some of Nietzsches classic work. God is dead is not meant literally, as in God is now physically dead; rather, it is Nietzsches way of saying that the idea of God is no longer capable of acting as a source of any moral code or teleology. Proctor speaks this statement in the last act of the play when he is bound in prison, he is completely battered by his fellow Salemers and he cant believe what cruelty human beings are capable of. Miller makes Proctor say this because that is what he himself is thinking along with a lot of other people at that time of McCarthyism. In the beginning scene of Act two involving Proctor and Elizabeth there is significant language used. To begin with their language is not the same as a modern audiences, their grammar is different; I were planting far out to the forest edge this makes it harder for the audience to relate to the characters. We are reminded of their religion when Proctor says they should pray now for a fair summer. The couple use simple, short sentences when talking to one another, which show conflict Are you well today? I am . it is a rabbit this conveys the tension between them. Proctor uses ominous metaphors in his speech for example Lilac is the smell of nightfall and Its warm as blood beneath the clods. This hints at the blood shed to come. When Proctor rebukes his wife for letting their servant go to Salem he repeats again that it was a fault this enforces his point of authority. Proctor compares their servant to a mouse making Elizabeth, who seemingly cant stand up to her, look even more pathetic. The word God keeps being repeated throughout the scene making an audience think of sin, religion and punishment. More biblical references are made when Goody Proctor states that where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel. Meaning Abigail who apparently has much power at the court, which the audience has found out about through the couples reported action in their conversation. Proctor: Oh, it is a black mischief. Again with the ominous wording. Proctor tells Elizabeth he will think on it referring to testifying in court about Abigail, Elizabeth repeats this statement let you think on it her repeating this is mocking and disrespectful to John. Proctor retorts calling her Women which is equally demeaning which is what Miller was aiming for. When in argument with his wife proctor talks formally compared to how he spoke before I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail this is unfriendly, in comparison to how he spoke to Abigail his former lover, and similar to a parent using their childs full name when reprimanding them. An everlasting funeral marches round your heart Proctor tells Elizabeth, this again is ominous and he is foreseeing his own death at the end of the play. Proctor compares his wife to a court judge. Imagery for the audience when he says her justice would freeze beer! Miller uses a rich variety of language techniques in the play/script of The Crucible, which communicate narrative, form and content to the observer, which have just been described previously, above.

The difference between Classical music and classical music? :: essays research papers

In this essay I am going to look at the differences between Classical music and classical music. There are many differences between the two, one is an era and the other is a type of music. Classical is an era, it is from about 1730 to just after 1800. There are 5 different periods in time (for music), Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern (20th Century). At this moment in time, we are still in the Modern period of time even though we are in the 21st, not 20th century. A few people who contributed to the music in the Classical era are: Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The period that came before the Classical period, the Baroque, was a time of ornamentation and cluttered sounds. The Classical period focused on the opposite types of sounds- music during that period was orderly, uncluttered, well planned and precise. Music was expected to be technically pleasing and grounded in certain traditions and styles that had been "approved" by the public, often quite formal. Composers were seen as workers who were hired to write music that would please their employer. Vienna, Austria was the center of musical activity during the Classical period. Composers traveled from near and far to study with music teachers in Vienna. Vienna was such a hot spot for musicians that a style was even named for much of the music composed during the time: the "Viennese Style." The size of the symphony orchestra was growing, allowing composers to create more complicated pieces calling for new instruments that made unique sounds unheard before this time. Opera remained very popular, as did symphonies (large works with several sections composed for entire orchestras to play), concertos and sonatas (pieces featuring one instrument). Classical music (with a lower case ?c?) is completely different from Classical music (with a capital ?c?), classical music is music that is quite formal, and usually played by an orchestra that has lots of string instruments.

How Does Charles Dickens Create Sympathy In Great Expectations? Essay

Dickens uses many ways to create sympathy for his characters in great expectations this is very useful in a successful novel as it will help to sell and not only that more people will want to buy it. Charles Dickens uses many ways to achieve sympathy for his characters such as the use of vivid descriptions with powerful adjectives, the setting is also used very well to great effect as it is a great way to create sympathy â€Å"The small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip† this is just one way that Dickens uses to create sympathy for his characters in Great Expectations. Dickens also uses many other ways to create sympathy for his characters such as the use of adjectives. The adjective ‘overgrown’ shows an unloved place of which no one cares how it looks, also it could be full of weeds and plants this adds to the impression created by the mind. Dickens also uses the setting to enhance the feeling of sympathy ‘bleak place overgrown with nettles was the church yard’ in this the adjective ‘bleak’ gives on impression of an exposed barren also cold and damp place. The whole sentence creates an impression of a dismal place. This enhances the sense of sympathy. For his characters I am going to focus on three main characters theses are; Pip, Magwitch and Miss Havisham. I am going to use some character of less importance these are; Estella, Joe and Pip’s sister. In addition, I am going to use two main texts and these are; pip in the churchyard and the meeting of Miss Havisham also, I am going to add elements of the novel I think there are other points that creates sympathy for pip than these two texts. When we first meet Pip, he is sitting in an isolated village churchyard staring at his parents’ tombstones. The village churchyard is described as a â€Å"†¦ Bleak place overgrown with nettles† giving the setting an image of dismal place unloved and uncared for. The adjective â€Å"bleak† aids the description as it means bare or desolated and also it often means wind swept this helps aid the description of the church yard as this describe it well because a church yard is often very sombre or a very upsetting place . Pip was in the churchyard where his parents were buried, along with his five brothers instantly we feel sorry for him as he has no living relatives except for his older sister . â€Å"†¦ Five little stone lozenges each about a foot and a half long† from this we know his brothers have died and have been buried in a row. Pip’s brothers would have most probably have died or stop trying to earn a living. Pips younger brothers would not have gone to school, as there was no education for those who could not afford it. At this time, many people were poor and could not afford it. Additionally, there was no NHS service but also there was some medical service but you would have to be rich enough to afford it. From the text we know both his parents had died by;† I never saw my father or mother† this gives us a sense of sympathy and loneliness also â€Å"†¦ I never saw any likeliness of them†. Pip never saw his parents or what they look like later on in the text we realise that the only impression of his parents are derived from there grave stones and more so from the lettering . Pip probably saw no reference to what his parent looked like as at this time there were no camera’s to take a photo of the times they spent together as this is why he saw no likeness of them also his parents probably died because the were mo medicine or you had to be rich to get some. Also later on in the novel his only living relative beats pip up.

11 Taboos in Chinese Culture

Every culture has its own taboos, and it is important to remain aware of them when traveling or encountering another culture to ensure you dont commit a social faux-pas. In Chinese culture, some of the most common taboos involve gift-giving, birthdays, and weddings. Numbers According to Chinese tradition, good things come in pairs. Therefore odd numbers are avoided for birthday celebrations and weddings. To avoid bad things happening in pairs, activities such as burials and gift-giving are not performed on even-numbered days. In Chinese, the  number four (å››, sà ¬) sounds like the word for death (æ ­ », sÇ ). For this reason, the number four is avoided—particularly on phone numbers, license plates, and addresses. For addresses that do contain fours, the rent is usually less and apartments on the fourth floor are typically rented by foreigners. Work Shopkeepers may opt not to read a book at work because book (æ› ¸, shÃ… «) sounds like lose (è ¼ ¸, shÃ… «). Shopkeepers who read may be afraid their businesses will suffer losses. When it comes to sweeping, shopkeepers are careful not to sweep toward the door, especially during the Chinese New Year, in case good fortune is swept out into the street. When eating a meal, never turn over fish when you are with a fisherman as the motion symbolizes a boat capsizing. Also, never offer a friend an umbrella because the word umbrella (傘, sÇŽn) sounds similar to æ• £ (sà  n, to break up) and the act is a sign that you will never see each other again. Food Young children should not eat chicken feet as it is believed that doing so will prevent them from writing well when they start school. They may also become prone to fighting like roosters. Leaving food on one’s plate—particularly grains of rice—is believed to result in marriage to a spouse with many pockmarks on his or her face. Not finishing a meal is also believed to incur the wrath of the thunder god. Another Chinese taboo relating to food is that chopsticks should not be left standing straight up in a bowl of rice. This act is said to bring bad luck to restaurant owners as chopsticks stuck in rice look similar to incense placed in urns. Gift-Giving Since good things are believed to come in pairs, gifts given in pairs (except sets of four) are best. When preparing the gift, do not wrap it in white as that color represents sorrow and poverty. Certain gifts are also seen as inauspicious. For example, never give a clock, watch, or pocket watch as a gift because to send a clock (é€ Ã© Ëœ,  sà ²ng zhÃ… ng) sounds like the funeral ritual (é€ Ã§ µâ€š,  sà ²ng zhÃ… ng). According to Chinese taboo, clocks symbolize that time is running out. There are many other such ominous  Chinese gifts to avoid. If you give an unlucky gift by accident, the receiver can make it right by giving you a coin which changes the gift to an item they have symbolically purchased. Holidays It is a Chinese taboo to share stories about death and dying and ghost stories during special occasions and holidays. Doing so is considered extremely unlucky. Chinese New Year There are many Chinese New Year taboos  to be wary of. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, inauspicious words cannot be spoken. For example, words such as break, spoil, die, gone, and poor should not be uttered. During the Chinese New Year, nothing should be broken. When eating fish, diners must be careful to not break any of the bones, and be extra careful not to break any plates. Also, nothing should be cut during Chinese New Year as that signifies one’s life could be cut short. Noodles should not be cut and haircuts should be avoided. In general, sharp objects like scissors and knives are avoided during Chinese New Year. All windows and doors in the home should be open on New Year’s Eve to send out the old year and welcome the New Year. All debts should be paid by Chinese New Year and nothing should be lent on New Year’s Day. When preparing paper dragons for the Chinese New Year, it is taboo for women who are menstruating, people in mourning, and babies to be near the dragons when the cloth is being pasted to the dragon’s body. Birthdays One long noodle is typically slurped on one’s birthday. But revelers beware—the noodle should not be bitten or cut as this is believed to shorten one’s life. Weddings In the three months leading up to a couple’s wedding, they should avoid going to a funeral or wake or visiting a woman who has just had a baby. If one of the couple’s parents passes away before the wedding, the wedding must be postponed for 100 days, as attending happy celebrations during mourning is considered disrespectful to the dead. If a roasted pig is given as part of the bride’s gift to the groom’s family, the tail and ears should not be broken. Doing so would mean the bride is not a virgin. Fifth Lunar Month The fifth lunar month is considered an unlucky month. It is a Chinese taboo to dry blankets in the sun and build houses during this time. Hungry Ghost Festival The Hungry Ghost Festival is held during the seventh lunar month. In order to avoid seeing ghosts, people should not go outside at night. Celebrations such as weddings are not held, fishermen do not launch new boats, and many people opt to postpone their trips during the Hungry Ghost Month. The souls of those who die by drowning are considered to be in the greatest turmoil, so some people refuse to go swimming during this time to lessen the chance of a run-in with wayward ghosts.