Blog Post #9 - Paranoia

Blog Post #9

So, somehow, I totally forgot to write my blog post last Thursday. I’m hoping this isn’t too late.

Compared to The Crying of Lot 49, The Crucible, in my opinion, is a much better and easy to read book. I used to find myself drudging through The Crying of Lot 49, but with The Crucible, I am flying through pages and enjoying the book quite a bit. The only gripe I have, so far, is all the different characters. I believe we’ve been introduced to most of them, which is good, but as of now, I’m still having to go back and re-read certain passages to refresh my memory. It’s not too bad, however, and it’s getting easier.

A passage that I found interesting, or significant, was on pages 61 through 64. We actually spoke about it in class, but I meant to write about before our class. Anyway, this passage is where Hale comes to visit Proctor and Elizabeth, and questions them about a few things to prove their innocence. I think this passage is pretty significant, mainly because it shows to what extent the people of Salem went to in order to find out who was practicing witchcraft. The questions Hale asks, such as why the couple doesn’t attend church that often, why only two of their three boys are baptized, or if Proctor knows all the Ten Commandments, just prove how serious these people are. It proves the idea of paranoia that we spoke of in class; the people of Salem were paranoid when it came to witchcraft, and this passage shows how the process of finding people guilty or innocent sat on that same line of paranoia and insanity.