We all have our own niches, our own flavors, our own styles. We all prefer different approaches to this thing called life. We all look for inspiration in different places, people, and methodologies. We all have our own passions.
My passion happens to be reading. I love the feeling I get when I can escape reality and enter into a world where my mind works in a miraculous way: I use my brain to read and process the material I am looking at; then I engage in the text by using my imagination and picturing what each character looks like, what gestures they use, and where they come from. Lastly, I use my mind to think of what lessons about life I can get from reading that particular novel, short story, play, poem, or even quote. Reading is active.
While I was in high school, one of the required readings we read was entitled The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In summation, the play discusses the tragic story of a town–Salem, Massachusetts–that is plagued by flaws of human nature: lies, deceit, adultery, and accusation. It is a vivid rendition of Miller’s perspective of what happened during the Salem witch trials. To see a full summary of the play, please click here.
The reason I liked this play so much was the fact that I was selected to play the role of Elizabeth Proctor while we enacted the play in my AP English class. As I was reading Elizabeth’s part, I felt engaged with her. I felt her emotions welling up inside of my chest. I felt her conflict, her struggle, her hate, her jealousy. I felt her hopelessness as she witnessed the tragic fate of her husband. Arthur Miller had the ability to do that. His clear, beautiful writing style enables the audience/actors (or reader in this case) to imagine how another person’s mind works.
I strongly suggest that you all read this play. It was very interesting, historical, creative, and enlightening. Some things to think about while reading the play: what was the role of religion at the time? What about superstition? What are the innate differences between men and women, boy and girl, child and adult? Does love have bounds? What is the role of love? How is it different from romance? What does it mean to stand up for what you believe is right and true?
Enjoy the read!
Post submitted by Casey O’Neill
