BY: DIANA HEREDIA, CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE, CHRISTINA COLUCCI, STEVEN SERNA, RILEY MURPHY, ROSEMARY AGUILAR, MIA TUCKER Discipline and Punish, Panopticism Author: Michael Foucault

Summary  This article is an explanation of panopticism, which is a social theory named after the Panopticon. This is a hypothetical prison proposed by Jeremy Bentham, having circular tiers of cells surrounding a central observation tower. Each individual is in a cell that is being watched by people within the towers. This gives them no privacy from security personnel. The goal is to give the inmates a mentality that strikes fear in them, forcing them to be on their best behavior at all times. This allows the guards to maintain power without necessarily viewing all inmates at once.

Central Claim  When someone possesses too much power, the people around them will act deferentially.

Quotes from the passage  "Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary" (Foucault 27).  This quote is saying that eventually it's in a person's conscious to be good because the inmates are used to being watched so it is a natural feeling for them to behave.  "Bentham laid down the principle that power should be visible and unverifiable. Visible: the inmate will constantly have before his eyes the tall outline of the central tower from which he is spied upon. Unverifiable: the inmate must never know whether he is being looked at any one moment; but he must be sure that he may always be so" (Foucault 28).  Although the inmates don’t know when they are being spied on, they must make sure to always do the right thing because they don’t know at which moment someone will spy on them and they are scared of getting into trouble.

Connections to The Crucible  The central claim of "Discipline and Punish, Panopticism" is when someone possesses too much power, the people around them will act deferentially.  The central claim connects to The Crucible by a character named Abigail having too much power in her relationships with other people, causing others to be more respectful toward her.

Textual Evidence  "I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin' out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil's people-and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a -" (Miller 108).  When Mary is telling Danforth that all the girls were telling lies, about the accusations, Danforth begins to question Abigail. In this scene at first Mary held the power, but then Abigail took control and turned on Mary. She was very upset that Danforth would call all of her accusations a lie. Danforth came to her defense and denied that the accusations were a lie. Abigail showed that she was not lying by making all the girls believe it was freezing in the court to show that Mary was a witch. She got the whole court on her side again and Mary was about to get put in jail.

Textual Evidence  "Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it! There is-" (Miller 108).  Abigail is threatening Danforth that the devil may come for him next and he should watch out. This shows that Abigail really acts like the head of the court if she is able to threaten the judge. She is the one telling Danforth who to put in jail and who to hang and he is intrigued with every word that Abigail says. She is letting him know that the Devil can come to anyone including him and that he must not question her again.

Thesis Statement  Although there were characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller that should have had more power, Abigail possessed all the power and like in the text "Discipline and Punish, Panopticism", power is used to manipulate others and have them act deferentially but it is beneficial to the one in power.  What this addresses is that Abigail and the people in power in the article both possess power that allows them to take control of others. They are both able to control to the point where those who are being controlled act in ways that seem very unlikely to their true character. This relates to the inmates in the article and the influential people in the play.