How to ask a question without asking a question

HELP! Struggling with planning for tomorrows essay

Here is a plan for an essay (covering all possibilities) - this is the way my brain works so it is following a bunch of lines and making connections between themes and setting.

If I was planning it out I would look at 

Intro: Outline themes and cover the basics of the Salem lifestyle/setting, as well as defining McCarthyism/what was happening in America in the 50s.

Paragraph 1: First aspect of Salem's setting (black and white courts) - relates to themes of inflexibility and irrationality (dangers of not being able to look at both sides of an arguement - being so strong in your belief that you are right and everything else is wrong) - explain this in relation to McCarthyism (similar court situation - either communism or not)

Paragraph 2: Second aspect of Salem's setting (superstition and unwillingness to bend) - relates to the theme of intolerance (intolerant of those who are different or question: questioning authority is a sign of evil/witchcraft) - explain how this relates to McCarthy trials (truely believed in communists regardless of the lack of evidence, those who questioned were black-listed, including Arthur Miller)

Conclusion: Summarise major points in P1 and P2.

Homework - Essay writing

It is that time of year where you need to start putting the skills into practice. You need to complete a full essay. 
Your question is:

Analyse how the setting was used to develop your understanding of one or more themes.

(setting is time, place or circumstance that form the background against which characters live and act.)

Setting of The Crucible: Salem, 1692 - think about the type of society, the rules and expectations and how they might affect characters or emphasise themes eg pride, integrity, revenge etc.

If you are not sure how to approach the essay please make a time to see me this week (before school or lunchtime). This essay is due Friday.

paragraph written in class

ANALYSE HOW THE USE OF OPPOSITES OR CONTRASTS HELPED YOU UNDERSTAND ONE OR MORE THEMES.

MOST DEVELOPED - the one we wrote in class together:

[POINT] One way the writer helped us understand the theme of pride was through showing the characters of Hale and Danforth as being opposite. [EXAMPLE] Both are educated men and well respected. However, Reverend Hale (a well-known witch hunter and reverend) is willing to admit his mistakes while Danforth (a high judge of the court) is not. For example, when John Proctor, an innocent man is arrested, Hale storms out, shouting “I quit this court!” [EXPLANATION] He shows he doesn’t agree with what was is happening in Salem by leaving. Hale is able to see that the hysteria of Salem is all built on the lies of young girls. He is willing to give up his name and importance in order to do what is right. He is not blinded by his pride in his position of authority. [EXAMPLE] However, Danforth in the same situation, stays in the court and continues to be wilfully blind in order to keep his position of power in Salem, hanging people for crimes they haven’t committed. For example, when Hale points out the fact that Abigail (the main accuser of witches) is just putting on a show, Danforth says, “Mr Hale, surely you do not doubt my justice?” [EXPLANATION] Danforth takes Hale’s suggestion that he is being lead around a group of girls’ lies as a personal attack and threat to his name, reputation and his position. Although Danforth might suspect that what Hale is saying is true, he never admits it. He is blinded the the truth by his pride his position of power in the courts. He would lose all of that if he admitted that everything that had happened so far was a lie. This concept that pride in position can blind one to the truth is as relevant to audiences in the 1950s, when it was originally written, as it is for today’s audiences. In the 50s in America when Arthur Miller wrote the play, Senator Joseph McCarthy was accusing people of being communists without evidence. This made him powerful, important and famous, and people looked to him for answers, just like Danforth in the story. McCarthy was blinded by his own pride in his position and he wouldn’t see that he was accusing innocent people. His pride led to many people being hurt and arrested. Miller wanted his audience to understand this and be wary of being too prideful. This idea can still be seen in America today. . For example, Donald Trump is so full of pride in his own position that when people question him and his ideas he will take it as a personal attack. His pride in his position makes him blind to the ugliness of his own words he says on TV and at political rallies.  [LINK] Miller used contrasting characters like Danforth and Hale in the play to allow his original audience and future audiences to understand that pride in position can blind one to the truth.

MORE DEVELOPED:

[POINT] One way the writer helped us understand the theme of pride was through showing the characters of Hale and Danforth as being opposite. [EXAMPLE] Reverend Hale (a well known witch hunter) is willing to admit his mistakes while Danforth (a high judge of the court) is not. For example, when John Proctor, an innocent man, is arrested, Hale storms out, shouting “I quit this court!” However, Danforth in the same situation, stays in the court and when Hale points out the fact that Abigail (the main accuser of witches) is just putting on a show, Danforth says, “Mr Hale, surely you do not doubt my justice?” [EXPLANATION] Hale shows he doesn’t agree with what was is happening in Salem by leaving. He is willing to give up his name and importance in order to do what is right. He is not blinded by his pride in his position of authority. Danforth, on the other hand, is so full of pride in his own position that he takes Hale’s suggestion as a personal attack. He is blinded to the truth by his pride his position of power in the courts. This concept that pride in position can blind one to the truth is as relevant to audiences in the 1950s, when it was originally written, as it is for today’s audiences. In the 50s in America when Arthur Miller wrote the play, Senator Joseph McCarthy was accusing people of being communists without evidence. This made him powerful and people looked to him for answers. McCarthy was blinded by his own pride in his position and he wouldn’t see that he was accusing innocent people. His pride led to many people being hurt and arrested. This idea can still be seen in today. For example, Donald Trump is so full of pride in his own position that when people question him and his ideas he will take it as a personal attack. His pride in his position makes him blind to the ugliness of his own words he says on TV and at political rallies. [LINK] Miller used contrasting characters like Danforth and Hale in the play to allow his original audience and future audiences to understand that pride in position can blind one to the truth.

DEVELOPED

[POINT] One way the writer helped us understand the theme of pride was through showing the characters of Hale and Danforth as being opposite. [EXAMPLE] Reverend Hale (a well known witch hunter) is willing to admit his mistakes while Danforth (a high judge of the court) is not. For example, when John Proctor, an innocent man, is arrested, Hale storms out, shouting “I quit this court!” However, Danforth in the same situation, stays in the court and when Hale points out the fact that Abigail is lying, Danforth says, “Mr Hale, surely you do not doubt my justice?” [EXPLANATION] Hale shows he doesn’t agree with what was is happening in Salem by leaving. He is willing to give up his position and importance in order to do what is right. Danforth, on the other hand, is so full of pride in his own position that he takes Hale’s suggestion as a personal attack and is wilfully blind to what is happening. Miller wrote this play for a 1950s audience but this idea is still relevant for today’s audiences. In the 50s in America, Senator Joseph McCarthy was accusing people of being communists without evidence. He was in a position of power and people looked to him for answers. McCarthy was blinded by his own pride in his position and he wouldn’t see that he was accusing innocent people. His pride led to many people being hurt and arrested. This idea of pride can also be seen today. For example, Donald Trump is so full of pride in his own position of power that when people question him and his ideas takes it as a personal attack. [LINK] Miller used contrasting characters like Danforth and Hale in the play to allow his original audience and future audiences to understand that pride in position can blind one to the truth.

Opposites essay planning