Crucbile Essay

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Situation 1

Imagine you are a citizen of the village of Salem, 1692. Write a letter to Governor Phips of Massachusetts persuading him that the witch trials must end. Use evidence from your reading of The Crucible to support your demand. Make sure your argument is clearly outlined and logical. Also, do not forget to defend each part of your argument against those who would like to see the trials continue.

Format

        Remember to write this assignment as a letter. You should address your audience respectfully and sign your name (real or fabricated) at the bottom of the letter. However, still use proper MLA format for your citations.

Expectations

        Address your audience’s head and heart using both logical and emotional appeals. How do you reason with Governor Phips while appealing to his sentiments?  Avoid fallacies in your logic, and be sure to incorporate rhetorical devices such as repetition, restatement, parallelism, and rhetorical questions! You should use at least three (3) and mark these in the essay with (rep), (res), (//), (cw), or (RQ).

Again, be sure to answer possible counterarguments to each of your three supporting claims. And finally, you should have at least three (3) main supporting points, each backed by at least two (2) strong supporting quotations. Please, though, do not be bound by formula. These are minimum requirements. Refer to the checklist on the reverse for specifics.

Alternative Assignments

• Situation 2   -- The year is 1697. The Court of Oyer and Terminer has long been disbanded in Salem. Though the town has not yet offered an official apology for the events of ’92, a deep sense of shame and regret pervades the land, that is, except in the homes and hearts of the families who did the accusing. It is at this time that Abigail is recognized working at a brothel in Boston. When the village gets word of this, she is quietly extradited back to Salem. A local court quickly convenes, and new judges will preside over the case. Abigail now stands accused of multiple counts of premeditated and attempted murder. You are a young judge from Boston tapped to defend her. You must make your case in Abigail’s favor. Is she guilty of murder? If so, how will you defend her? Is she a victim herself? Remember families on both sides of the tragedy are present in the court where you will present your speech.  Address your speech as a letter to the judge, jury, and Salem community.

• Situation 3 -- The time is modern day. You are a teacher who has just begun a unit on The Crucible. One of your more conscientious students approaches you after class and says that his or her parents do not want him or her to read the play because “it is all about adultery and witchcraft.” How do you support the class’s reading of the text? What would you say the play is about? In a letter, politely defend your reading the play to the parents and positively explain your stance.

**Please remember to turn in your essay with this score sheet on the next page.

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