Foil is used throughout the play to provide striking contrasts between two characters, which can reveal an important theme. Write an essay exploring how either Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, or Reverends Danforth and Hale are foils. What character traits do each have which makes them foils to each other? How do they change as the play progresses? Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses foil to enhance the meaning of the work. Support your analysis with concrete evidence and insightful, well-developed commentary. ESSAY 2

Miller uses the striking contrasts between the characters of Reverends Danforth and Hale in order to reveal the theme that in a time of trial, rational thought cannot stand against the impulsive actions of a fearful society. THESIS

Commentary: shows how specific examples reveal a piece of the thesis. It goes beyond plot by explaining what the text DOES. (Plot merely tells me what the text SAYS in your own words.) Ex: Write about events that juxtapose Hale’s and Danforth’s reactions to the increasingly incredulous stories of witchcraft. Show Hale as rational, Danforth as caught up in the “truth” of accusations without true evidence. When Hale hears Proctor’s open confession of adultery, his logic and rational thought force him to question the validity of the accusations. Although Danforth is willing to listen to his testimony and question Proctor’s wife, he quickly drops the inquiry based on Elizabeth’s refusal to damn Proctor. He does not question the fact that he is asking a wife to testify against her husband. SUPPORT

Analyze: This takes your commentary and explains what it MEANS. What is the author’s purpose? New insight? Hale’s change of heart is timely, but it is not enough to get Danforth to change his focus on finding and punishing those accused of witchcraft. He is already so deeply committed to the cause that he cannot see reason. This reveals that in a time of mass hysteria, an individual, no matter how rational, will not be heard clearly above the chaos created by fear. ANALYSIS