Appendix-What Is It Good For?
How does The Crucible "Appendix/Act II Scene 2" that we read impact your thematic understanding of the drama and its two primary characters- John and Abigail? Should it be included in each production or reading of the drama? Why? Defend your position using textual evidence. Please respond to this blog post by 2:30p.m. on Monday, October 12th.
posted by Greg T at Friday, October 09, 2009
28 Comments:
I believe that is part in the play should be re-added because of its significants to understanding Proctor's and Abigail's relationship. It really shows how manipulative Abigail is towards John when talking about the witch trials. They both want something out of each other and they wont stop till they get it. John wants Abigail to say that his wife is not a witch and set her free. If she does not follow threw he threatened to tell the town about their affair. They do not have a healthy relationship because they are always threatening each other and this appendix really shows it at its best. This part in the play also tells us that both Proctor and Abigail are not as perfect as they portray themselves to others. If this part in the play is added to the original then it would make it clearer to the audience about Proctors and Abigail's relationship with each other,
I do not believe that this scene is necessary for the play; in fact I think it may bring the play down overall. The main idea of this scene is to reiterate the point that Abigail is crazy, and by this point in the play I think that message is clear. This scene also further clarifies John’s stance of rationality which again has already been expressed in the first two acts. The thing I really do not like about this scene is that it foreshadows the upcoming court proceedings too much. To me, this scene spoils the surprises that lie ahead and kill some of the dramatic moments the reader would feel. This act is called the appendix for a reason, it is just not necessary.
This part of the play is very significant to the story. It goes into more detail of the motives and intentions of Abigail. It also shows Proctor's committment to his wife and his growing hatred for Abigail and her lying friends. I believe that this scene should not however be included in the actual play. For one, it takes away much of the suspense of the coming court scene, although it may clarify things for the moment. Something that is also worthy of being noted is we, as the audience, know most of these things already. We know that Abigail is a bit insane and dramatic. We also knows of her intensions of getting with Proctor and eliminating Goody Proctor. So most of this scene is not necessary.
I think that by reading the appendix, we learn very much about John and Abigail. We learn that Abigail is a little obsessed with John, but the feeling is not mutual. Abigail really does want to be with John and does not want to leave without him, which is why she threatens him. She probably thought that he came just to see her and when she figures out that he did not, she gets mad. John seems to feel a little regretful towards Abigail because he is not being very kind to her and he seems to not even want to talk to her. I think this appendix should be included in every production of the play. It gives the audience some good background information that is helpful in realizing what is going on between the 2 characters. For example, I learned that John's attitude towards Abigail is not the same as his attitude towards his wife.
I do not believe that this scene should be included in this act; we can already see that Abigail is very disturbed in the act so far. She has threatened her friends in to doing what she says, she thinks she can be with a married man, and mainly she practices witchcraft. We all know she is just trying to convict "Goody Proctor" of being a witch so maybe she could have a relationship with him. We also know that John does not want to see Abigail any more, And that he wants her to clear his wife's name because she had nothing to do with any kind of witchcraft. She just was holding the doll that marry warren gave her. I think the appendix is just a supplement for your understanding of the play.
I believe that the Appendix helped me and maybe others understand Proctor and Abigail better. But do think that it wouldn't have much of an impact on the story, we all new that Abigail was crazy and a little to obsessed with Procter. What I don't understand is Proctor wants Abigail to say that his wife is not a witch and set her free but if Abigail does not do it than Proctor will threatened to tell the town about their affair. How will this have an effect on Abigail? I think it would have an bigger effect on Proctor than Abigail.
The Appendix scene may not have been the most necessary thing to put in the Crucible, but it surely does reiterate and clarify that Abigail and Proctor have issues. She is a fraud and is almost obsessed with him while he wants to get rid of her for getting his wife mistaken for witchcraft. This scene helps clarify that Abigail is crazy and what she has done to anger Proctor. I think it is necessary to add in the play because it does help the reader better understand the issues at hand. Proctor says, "If you do not free my wife tomorrow, I am set and bound to ruin you, Abby. I have rocky proof in documents that you knew that poppet were none of my wife's; and that you yourself bade Mary warren stab that needle into it." I feel this is foreshadowing as well as to what is about to happen in the play.
I believe that this part of the play is not needed. This part is not needed because all this scene represents is that Abigail is indeed crazy, however not just crazy; crazy over John Proctor. By act 2 I believe that we already know that Abigail is indeed crazy and simply do not need to be rein formed with another scene. I also agree with Craig's statement about this scene revealing too much about what will happen in the court hearing. This scene foretells and reiterates too much for it to be included in the play. This scene is utterly unnecessary and the play would be much better off without it.
jordan lawler
I believe that this scene reiterates the ideas that readers already have of abigail and john, but does not provide any knowledge groundbreaking. The one thing that I really did get out of this act though is that Abigail might be so bent on keeping this lie alive, that she is actually believing her own fiction. This act scene does seem to dissipate the tension about whats going to happen, instead of having no idea whats going to happen in the courtroom, you know its going to be one of two possibilities. Abigail confesses, or Proctor attempts to reveal her for the fraud she is. Depending on the direction the directer is taking this production, this scene could either be crippling or an aid.
I think that this scene really shows how much drama both John and Abigail bring to the table throughout this entire play. I think it should be included in all of the versions because it really makes the rest of the play make more sense. It shows what really happened between the two and it even shows another example of how Abigail lies and brings unnecessary drama.
I don't think the part should be re-added. From what we have read in the play we already know Abigail is crazy and try's to get people to respect her. We already know she will threaten someone to get her to be safe as she did with the other girls. We can guess proctor is already over Abigail and is commitment to his wife. I think this part just shows us more about proctor and Abigail and just goes more into debt about what they want to get out from each other and how they feel.
I would agree with many others in the class in saying that this part of the play is very consequential. It really helped me see how Proctor's and Abigail's relationship really is. I think you can read the play without this part but it is a very helpful guide now for throughout the play. It really shows Abigail's intentions and how manipulative she is. It really shows that Abigail is indeed crazy and obsessed with Proctor. On the other hand i agree with Craig's comment when he says it kind of spoils the surprises that lay ahead and the court hearing.
I do not think that the Appendix should be included in the play. The idea of this scene is to show Abigail's obsession of John but we already know this from what we have read. Abigail gets mad when she finds out that John really didn't come just to see her and that his feelings aren't mutual towards her so she threatens him. This shows Abigail's manipulation of people which we also already knew about her. Although the Appendix gives a little background information about Abigail and John's relationship, it also foreshadows what is going to happen during the trials. I think that this sort of kills and spoils what is going to happen in the upcoming act. The Appendix is just an unnecessary addition to this play.
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I believe that the "Appendix, in Act II" should be placed in every reading of the drama because it shows more depth on the character of John and Abigail's relationship. Also earlier in Act II Elizabeth asks John to talk with Abigail about what she is saying in the court. John at first rejects her idea but then comes around to understanding Abigail may be trying to take Elizabeth’s place in the household. Before reading the “Appendix” I thought John might be able to convince Abigail to drop the charges because of their connection; however after reading the “Appendix”, it revealed Abigail would not change her mind. Although Craig said the Appendix "is not necessary", yet it is still in the body no matter what, but can be removed.
Of course this needs to be added into each production of this play. It gives the audience a great insight to the relationship of Proctor and Abigail. It also proves that Abigail uses her body to get around and stir up trouble you could say. However these two are special because they are always threatening each other to get what they want, but neither ever gets it. The relationship should be exposed for what it is and I think it might be revealed in the next act depending on what Abigail says in the courtroom.
I think that it should be included in the play, because it gives us some incite on Proctor and Abigail's relationship. After reading the 'appendix" act, I realized that Abigail only accused Elizabeth Proctor to get closer to John. When John goes to see Abigail, he says that he will tell the court what Abigail told him when they were alone in the room in act 2. All Abigail wants is to be with John, and while he was talking to her, she didn't really listen to him, she just heard what she wanted to hear.
This gives us more information on the relationship between John and Abigail; and shows that John does not want to have the relationship and wants his wife back.
No it shouldn't because it ruins the fact that John is going to tell on Abigail. It ruins the suspense. It spoils this because we know John is going to do it now, and it makes the play more exciting and interesting.
I think that this scene is crucial to the development of the plot in this play. If I had not read this act, i would have missed out on some very vital information to the plays outcome. Without this, i would not have known about Abigail and John Proctors plans during court. I feel this was very necessary to the play. It was great writing.
This scene is very crucial in understanding the relationship between Abigail and John, thus it should be included in every production or reading of the drama. The part demonstrates the intentions of both characters in more detail and how their feelings affect one anothers' decisions. I began to fully realize how much Abigail is in love with John and how much she has an obsession to get what she wants, even though it puts others in danger. To my great surprise, John didn't fall into her trap and he kept his ground and defended his wife, especially by telling Abigail his plan and his willingness to expose them both, to do what's right. The importance of him being brave enough to tell this to her face, is crucial information to know in the play, because it's completely different to act against someone and stand up for yourself and others to them.
i do not think that this scene is necesary to the play. In fact i believe that it spoiles the play in the sence that it makes it seem like John is going to go to court. the whole point of the play untill now is to see what John is going to do in his situation but with this scene it is obvious that he will take Abigail to court. wihtout this scene it makes the reader or watcher want to keep watching or reading.
The Appendix for Act II helps the reader to understand the chemistry of John and Abigail even further but in turn it takes away the suspense that the play would have if it did not have it. Interestingly, this scene gives the reader a sense that Abigail even believes her own lies. When John states the truth, Abigail seems to innocently defend the lie calling him hypocritical and that she wish him to be "sent." Shown in the very last few statements by each character in this scene, it really develops Abigail’s personality for some one who seems somewhat psychotic.
I believe that this act is important because it shows a couple of key points in the play. First it shows how fierce Abigael's intentions are toward everyone in the town. second it shows john proctors commitment to his wife and that he is starting to show a hatred toward Abigale and her friends. i think that this is important because it will set up for the rest of the play.
This "deleted scene" is crucial to the understanding of the play in my opinion. The dialogue between Abigail and John really helps describe another side to their conflict and their relationship. Abigail is deceitful and uses John. This scene shows that Abigail is not very cooperative and that she has strong feelings for John. I believe that it should be included in the drama because many secrets are revealed and it is extra valid information for the audience. The only down side to this scene is that it is a spoiler. The text reveals what is going to happen next in the play, although it does provide an extra understanding of what is actually going on. Overall, I think this scene should be included in every part of the drama.
I believe this part in the play was very helpful to my understanding between Abigail and John but i don't beleive it needs to be in the play. I think that we already know that Abigail is a crazy lady already. It shows her intentions and proctor and her realtionship but i don't think that is needed in the actually play. I would also agree with Craig on how it would spoil the rest of the play because now its not as interesting later on with the court scene.
I believe that this two characters in this part have a very strong emotional part because they have a bond that unites both of them, it also see how Abigail has a control over John, because John can get her out of his mind. Abigail is just trying to get John away from his wife so that she can have him, but John have realize that and he just want her to get out of the marriage that he have. So this part have a lot of emotions, they have love, hate, so they just don;t realize the important part that they have to play with the Salem town.
The Appendix should be re-added because it helps to better understand the relationship between Abigail and John Proctor. It shows how John doesn't want anything to do with her anymore because of what she did to his wife. Abigail if a very manipulative girl to everyone in order to get her way and get her out of trouble. She add the drama to the play which makes it better.
One can easily see the problem that this scene brings to any director. For one, it develops the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail. However, it is not a necessity to moving the plot. A reader of this story, who is searching for a more literary experience, I can see the importance of this scene. It reveals how out of place Abigail is in this society and how bonkers she really is. However, looking at a more cinematic view it takes away from the climax. If this scene is removed you don't see how out of whack Abigail really is until the courthouse scene where she completely freaks out. There are both good arguments for keeping this scene in or taking it out. I believe it should be taken out just to make the courthouse scene that much crazier and enjoyable for the viewer.
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