Miss Allaker's essay plan

Commentary on essay writing 2015

Here is a link to the commentary on essay writing from last year. Look over what they say and use that as a starting point when attempting essays.

NZQA commentary 2015 L2

You can do this! Good luck!

Structure of the Crucible

Structure of the Crucible

Essay - good analysis

Main topics with discussion notes

High and low points

Overcoming Adversity discussion

Stuff you can discuss

Things you can write about to show linking beyond the text

Theme practice - The Crucible

Think of theme as being a philosophy or outlook or idea or message

Echoes between the play and 1950s America

·         People were being pointed at for being something they weren’t

·         Punishment of the innocent

·         Many would shift the blame

·         Lises were indistinguishable from the truth

·         Caused mass hysteria and fear

·         People began to not trust one another

·         When blamed people would name others to get out of trouble

·         Constantly being told lies

·         The system was corrupt in the 1950s America just like in the play. Writing the play was a way to show how unfair the decisions and accusations were in real life.

Hysteria

·         Defined as:

o   Uncontrollable emotion

o   Abnormal behaviour and is caused by uncontrollable excitement (good or bad)

o   Over the top emotions

·         Hysteria is an uncontrollable emotion that tears apart communities

·         Hysteria causes mistrust amongst people

·         Hysteria causes people to make poor decisions because they are blinded by what is happening in the moment

·         Hysteria most often leads to dramatic and negative decisions

·         Hysteria make you handle situations differently and often leads to negative outcomes

·         Eg

o   Abigail created hysteria

o   Marry Warren – state of hysteria

o   People of Salem in a state of hysteria

Justice and corruption

·         Defined as:

o   Justice: Authority exercised in the maintenance of right

o   Corruption: moral deterioration, use of corrupt practices especially bribery or fraud

·         Corruption of an individual who is in a position of power can lead to false justice and lack of morals. It causes others to question the morality of the system/society/the courts.

·         Eg

o   Judge Danfoth was corrupt because he knew he was hanging innocent people but he didn’t care about real justice. He just cared about his reputation. He ignored his own morals.

o   Danforth – corrupt

o   Hale – Just

o   The courts – corrupt

o   Thomas Putnam – corrupt

o   Hathorne – Corurpt

o   Abigail – corrupt

o   Proctor – just

Fear

·         Defined as:

o   Panic or distress cause by a sense of impending danger

·         Fear makes people lie to avoid consequences

·         Fear makes people run away from problems or causes them to be blinded by their fears

·         Fear makes people afraid of making decisions that could affect them

·         Fear forces a person to question themselves

·         Fear of the future manipulates the choices we make in the present

·         Eg:

o   Proctor

o   The villagers

o   Putnams

o   Tituba

o   The girls

Intolerance

·         Tolerance is defined as:

o   Disposed to tolerate others and their acts/opinions

o   Displaying tolerance

o   Intolerant is the opposite

·         Brings together and divides communities – unhealthy communities

·         Is rarely a virtue and often leads to disaster

·         Unable to share opinions in a safe way – people will look at you differently.

·         Not accepting of one’s views or beliefs can cause rivalry, rejection and tension in a community

Reputation

·         Defined as:

o   What is generally said or believed about someone’s character eg. They’re a crook or honest.

·         If a person thinks an important decision will affect their reputation it can cloud their judgement.

·         A person with a good reputation will lie to save their name

·         The truth can damage a reputation so some people will do anything in their power to maintain control so the truth won’t come out

·         People are willing to hide the truth in order to maintain a good reputation

·         Eg

o   Proctor

o   Danforth

o   Parris

Intro and conclusion stuff

Motifs

Heroes Journey

Overcoming adversity and Mark Watney

Homework reminder

Don't forget that your essay resub (or first attempt) is due tomorrow.
If they are not in tomorrow I will be contacting parents and your deans.

You can email it to me d.allaker@gc.ac.nz

Your next reading blog is due week 10 (Monday) - Don't forget to work on it. Check texts with me if you are unsure.

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

Character relationships

Themes in the Crucible

Ideas for The Crucible

Who is responsible? Pie graph

Is Donald Trump the new Joe McCarthy? Reading

Is Donald Trump The New Joe McCarthy?Top of Form

JAN 8, 2016 @ 02:29 PM 

 “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.”

- George Santayana, “The Life of Reason,” 1905

There seems to be nothing Donald Trump will not say.  Or at least infer.

Take for example his recent comment that evangelicals should not trust Ted Cruz because his father is from Cuba, and Cubans are mostly Catholic. He didn’t say Mr. Cruz wasn’t an evangelical, he just inferred that Mr. Cruz must not be, due to his origins. That Mr. Cruz’s father is a “born again Christian” and Bible-belt evangelical minister is simply ignored, regardless of its relevance.

Or, take for example the notion that Mr. Cruz is not eligible to be president because he was born in Canada, even though his mother is an American citizen. Mr. Trump doesn’t say Mr. Cruz isn’t a natural born citizen, he just implies thatpossibly he is not and therefore he may not be a legitimate candidate. Maybe Mr. Cruz really isn’t the American he claims to be?

Or, inferring all Muslims are bad, because some followers of Islam have implemented bad acts. Mr. Trump has denounced all Muslims, and would deny all Muslims entry into the USA, because of the actions of a few. After all, why not?  If you can’t tell the good from the bad, why not condemn them all? If he were doing the same to Jewish believers we would call Mr. Trump’s language antisemitic. Could you imagine denying all Jews entry into the USA – for any reason?

These are just a few of the outrageous things Mr. Trump has said, and yet he has people who think he is an admirable business leader suitable to be a political leader. Recently a good friend of mine was quite eloquent in her praise for how well Mr. Trump “plays the media like a church organ.” Even if she didn’t like some of his messages, she thought it admirable how he obtains media attention, and keeps it focused on himself, and lures people into listening to him.

Which takes me to my opening quote. Mr. Trump is great at practicing McCarthyism – and yet nobody seems to care. And if we don’t do something, we will repeat a part of history that was a very black eye.

Senator Joe McCarthy was a conservative Senator from Wisconsin in the early 1950s. To achieve fame and glory, he famously developed a great skill for feeding the news media bits of information that would bring attention to himself. Senator McCarthy excelled at building on the public’s FUD – Fears, Uncertainties and Doubts.

At the time, Americans were terribly afraid of communists. Fearful they would ruin the U.S. social order and make the country into the next Soviet Union. So Senator McCarthy conveniently blamed all social ills on communist infiltrators – people working in government jobs who were set on destroying the country. He then would accuse those he didn’t like of being communists. Or, if that accusation was proven baseless, he would accuse those he saw as political opponents of sympathizing with communists – claims that amounted to “you are guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent.” He didn’t have to prove someone was bad, just that they might look bad, sound bad or know someone who was possibly bad.

Mr. McCarthy was fantastic at feeding great lines to the media – newspapers, radio and TV. He would seek out reporters and say outrageous comments, which were so outrageous that the media felt compelled to report them. And the more outrageous Senator McCarthy was, the more media attention he acquired. And the more attention he had, the more he used false attacks, innuendos and statements that pandered to the FUD of many Americans.

Eventually, Senator McCarthy was exposed as the blowhard that he truly was. Full of innuendo and attack, but lacking in any real policy skills or ability to govern. The word “McCarthyism” was born to “ describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of political adversaries.” Famous broadcaster Edward R. Murrow eventually exposed the baselessness of Senator McCarthy, leading to his Senatorial censure and media decline.

Few have ever demonstrated the skills of McCarthyism better than Mr. Trump. Feeding the public FUD, Mr. Trump doesn’t say President Obama is a Muslim – but he accepts the notion from an audience member’s shout out at a public rally. Just like McCarthy called members of the State Department “sympathizers” as he tried to ruin their careers, Mr. Trump says that the investigation of Benghazi implies that former Secretary of State Clinton did something wrong – even though the investigation results were that there was no wrong-doing by the Secretary or her staff. The “investigation” is held out as evidence, when it is nothing more than an inference. And attacks on whole groups of people, like Muslims, is the definition of demagoguery.

Mr. Trump may be good at media management, but that is not to be admired. Being good at a skill is admirable only if that skill is used for good. We admire magicians for slight-of-hand, but not pickpockets. We admire forest rangers for skillful use of burns, but not arsonists. We admire locksmiths for knowing how locks work, but not thieves. We admire artists for great brushwork, but not forgers. We admire hard working business people for their skills, but not skillful lawbreakers like Skillling of Enron, Ebbers of Worldcom or investment advisor Bernie Madoff.

Mr. Trump clearly knows how to identify the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubts that plague many Americans. And he is quick with a phrase to make people even more fearful, uncertain and doubtful.  And he is well spoken enough to know how to obtain the attention of all media outlets, plus clever enough to know how to appeal to their need for quotes and images to meet the daily news cycle.  But, he does all of this as the heir apparent to Senator “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2016/01/08/is-donald-trump-the-new-joe-mccarthy/#1c72cb2826bd

Dawn raids reading

Dawn raids

New Zealand

Dawn raids were a common event in Auckland, New Zealand during a crackdown on illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The raids were first introduced in 1973 by Norman Kirk's Labour government and were continued by Robert Muldoon's National government.^[1] These operations involved special police squads conducting raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand usually at dawn. Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.^[2][3]

The Dawn Raids were a product of the New Zealand government's immigration policies to attract more Pacific Islanders. Since the 1950s, the New Zealand government had encouraged substantial emigration from several Pacific countries including Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji to fill a labour shortage caused by the post–war economic boom. Consequently, the Pacific Islander population in New Zealand had grow to 45,413 by 1971, with a substantial number overstaying their visas.^[4] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, New Zealand's economy had declined due to several international developments: a decline in international wool prices in 1966, Britain joining the European Economic Community in 1973 which deprived NZ of a major market for dairy products, and the 1973 oil crisis. This economic downturn led to increased crime, unemployment and other social ailments, which disproportionately affected the Pacific Islander community.^[5]

In response to these social problems, Prime Minister Kirk created a special police task force in Auckland in 1973 which was tasked with dealing with overstayers. Its powers also included the power to conduct random checks on suspected overstayers. Throughout 1974, the New Zealand Police conducted dawn raids against overstayers which sparked criticism from human rights groups and sections of the press. In response to public criticism, the Labour Immigration Minister Fraser Colman suspended the dawn raids until the government developed a "concerted plan." In April 1974, Kirk also introduced a two–month amnesty period for overstayers to register themselves with the authorities and be granted with a two–month visa extension. Kirk's change in policies were criticized by the mainstream press, which highlighted crimes and violence perpetrated by Māori and Pacific Islanders.^[6]

In July 1974, the opposition National Party leader Muldoon promised to reduce immigration and to "get tough" on law and order issues if his party was elected as government. He criticized the Labour government's immigration policies for contributing to the economic recession and a housing shortage. During the 1975 general elections, the National Party also played a controversial electoral advertisement that was later criticized for stoking negative racial sentiments about Polynesian migrants.^[7] Once in power, Muldoon's government accelerated the Kirk government's police raids against Pacific overstayers.^[3]

The Dawn Raids were condemned by different sections of New Zealand society including the Pacific Islander and Māori communities, church groups, employers and workers' unions, anti-racist groups, and the opposition Labour Party. One Pacific group known as the Polynesian Panthers combated the Dawn Raids by providing legal aid to detainees and staging retaliatory "dawn raids" on several National cabinet ministers including Bill Birch and Frank Gill, the Minister of Immigration. The raids were also criticized by elements of the police and the ruling National Party for damaging race relations with the Pacific Island community.^[8] Critics also alleged that the Dawn Raids unfairly targeted Pacific Islanders since Pacific Islanders only comprised one-third of the overstayers but made up 86% of those arrested and prosecuted for overstaying. The majority of overstayers were from Great Britain, Australia, and South Africa.^[2] The Muldoon government's treatment of overstayers also damaged relations with Pacific countries like Samoa and Tonga, and generated criticism from the South Pacific Forum. By 1979, the Muldoon government terminated the Dawn Raids since the deportation of illegal Pacific overstayers had failed to alleviate the ailing New Zealand economy.^[2]

Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_raid