The Merchant of Venice (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

Book Description

The Merchant of Venice is one of the ten most popular titles from the best-selling Cambridge School Shakespeare series now available in a new edition. The new edition includes new and revised activities throughout, new black and white photos from the widest selection of stage and film interpretations of the plays, and a larger glossary providing extra support with the language of Shakespeare. In addition, expanded sections on characters, language, and performance history offer the best support for the KS3 SATs and GCSE coursework. The new edition also includes exciting new features to bring the play to life such as a visually stunning eight-page section packed with full-colour production photographs and a striking new cover design. The new edition remains faithful to the Cambridge School Shakespeare active approach, which treats the play as theatre and the text as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed.

John Milton's Paradise Lost (Bloom's Reviews)

Average customer rating:

Some people don't know what they're reviewing
The epic of mankind
Nerve deadening
fantastic, two thumbs up
Generations X's favorite word: boring

John Milton's Paradise Lost (Bloom's Reviews)

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0791041468

Book Description

According to Harold Bloom, John Milton intended Paradise Lost to be a theodicy--justifying the ways of God to men and women. Examine various aspects of this work through some of the most prominent critics on the subject. A brief biography of Milton is included, along with thematic and structural analysis of his epic poem.

This series is edited by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University; Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor of English, New York University Graduate School. These texts are the ideal aid for all students of literature, presenting concise, easy-to-understand biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on a specific literary work. Also provided are multiple sources for book reports and term papers with a wealth of information on literary works, authors, and major characters.

Customer Reviews:

Some people don't know what they're reviewing.......2000-08-23

I was confused by other people's reviews on this book and I'm sure other people have been as well. This is NOT John Milton's epic, but actually a collection of historical criticisms on this work. I ordered this book by accident, basing my decision on other people's comments, but luckily I was glad about what I found. So if you want a perspective of famous views on Paradise Lost, buy this book. But if you want to buy John Milton's classic (which I would recommend as well), buy another book.

The epic of mankind.......1999-12-10

This is arguably the single best work ever written in the English language -- or in any language. Milton sets out to 'justify the ways of God to man' - could there be a bigger task? And comes darn close. The story of God and Satan, Adam and Eve, Paradise Lost is the epic of mankind. Written in blank verse, it is thick and a bit tough to get through at first -- but as with all things, perseverance pays off and soon you'll be loving the verse.

Don't just read it once, though. This is one of those books that is better studied than read -- and there are lots of things you'll get the second, third, fourth time through that you won't the first.

Everyone should read this. That'd be a step toward Utopia.

And yes, I am Generation X.

Nerve deadening.......1999-10-30

Unreadable. This endless poem is so stuck in the "old time religion" that it is totally irrelvant to modern readers.

fantastic, two thumbs up.......1999-09-14

this book was amazing. once i opened the front cover, i couldn't close it. i read the entire book in two days.

the scenery was incredible, and it contained the battles to match

Generations X's favorite word: boring.......1999-09-12

As I look over the reviews of the classic works of literature, I am appalled by how often I see the word boring being used. I guess it's because great books don't come with big screens, speakers and a joy stick. Welcome to the Millenium

William Shakespeare's Othello (Bloom's Notes)

Average customer rating:

The illusion of trust and the semblance of honesty

William Shakespeare's Othello (Bloom's Notes)

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 079104145X

Book Description

Suggesting that the character of Iago is so strong that he essentially takes over the play, Harold Bloom presents numerous critical views on Shakespeare's Othello. Referring to his assertion the Shakespeare invented the human as we understand it, Bloom states that Iago represents the sublime of human negativity. Study the play more in-depth with this text.

Customer Reviews:

The illusion of trust and the semblance of honesty.......2000-04-30

"Othello" is a wonderfully constructed tragedy. At its core, we have Othello, an experienced black general, who is however terribly naive off the battle field and puts his trust in anyone who seems remotely honest. After his marriage to Desdemona, a white senator's daughter, Othello departs with her to Cyprus to fight the Turcs. Once there, however, his ensign Iago proceeds to torment him by suggesting that Desdemona is unfaithful to him; Othello believes him and thus leads the play to its tragic ending. What is played upon here is the subtle difference between semblance and truth - Othello trusts too easily the ironicaly called "honest Iago" and only believes what he sees. He demands proof, but the "proof" that Iago gives him is nothing more than a subtle game of illusion in which Iago seems honest and Desdemona unfaithful. Language plays an interesting part also, with Othello believing every one of Iago's sly suggestions and interpreting Desdemona's innocent replys as proof of her infidelity. The play is constructed around two couples: Othello and Desdemona, Iago and his wife Emilia. Both are jealous men, Iago believing his wife has been unfaithful to him with the general - and yet Othello isn't, like Iago, evil by nature, just a weak trusting fool. Desdemona and Emilia are both innocent of these charges, and yet the former is more pure and naive than the down to earth Emilia.What is remarkable in this play is the tension between conflicting forces or themes: between the honest Othello and the evil Iago; between the "angel" Desdemona and, in turn, the "devil" Othello/Iago; between illusion and truth; jealousy and trust; appearances and proof; good and evil, black and white. Like King Lear, like OEdipus, Othello is blind to the truth and only realises it too late.

Richard Wright's Native Son (Bloom's Reviews Comprehensive Research & Study Guides)

Average customer rating:

Stunning and Thought Provoking
A True Classic
He Never Had a Chance
Black and White
More Interesting As History Than Literature

Richard Wright's Native Son (Bloom's Reviews Comprehensive Research & Study Guides)
Richard Wright
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0791041395

Amazon.com

Bigger Thomas is doomed, trapped in a downward spiral that will lead to arrest, prison, or death, driven by despair, frustration, poverty, and incomprehension. As a young black man in the Chicago of the '30s, he has no way out of the walls of poverty and racism that surround him, and after he murders a young white woman in a moment of panic, these walls begin to close in. There is no help for him--not from his hapless family; not from liberal do-gooders or from his well-meaning yet naive friend Jan; certainly not from the police, prosecutors, or judges. Bigger is debased, aggressive, dangerous, and a violent criminal. As such, he has no claim upon our compassion or sympathy. And yet...

A more compelling story than Native Son has not been written in the 20th century by an American writer. That is not to say that Richard Wright created a novel free of flaws, but that he wrote the first novel that successfully told the most painful and unvarnished truth about American social and class relations. As Irving Howe asserted in 1963, "The day Native Son appeared, American culture was changed forever. It made impossible a repetition of the old lies [and] brought out into the open, as no one ever had before, the hatred, fear and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our culture."

Other books had focused on the experience of growing up black in America--including Wright's own highly successful Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of five stories that focused on the victimization of blacks who transgressed the code of racial segregation. But they suffered from what he saw as a kind of lyrical idealism, setting up sympathetic black characters in oppressive situations and evoking the reader's pity. In Native Son, Wright was aiming at something more. In Bigger, he created a character so damaged by racism and poverty, with dreams so perverted, and with human sensibilities so eroded, that he has no claim on the reader's compassion:

"I didn't want to kill," Bigger shouted. "But what I killed for, I am! It must've been pretty deep in me to make me kill! I must have felt it awful hard to murder.... What I killed for must've been good!" Bigger's voice was full of frenzied anguish. "It must have been good! When a man kills, it's for something... I didn't know I was really alive in this world until I felt things hard enough to kill for 'em. It's the truth..."

Wright's genius was that, in preventing us from feeling pity for Bigger, he forced us to confront the hopelessness, misery, and injustice of the society that gave birth to him. --Andrew Himes

Book Description

Richard Wright's powerful and bestselling masterpiece reflects the poverty and hopelessness of life in the inner city and what it means to be black in America.

Customer Reviews:

Stunning and Thought Provoking.......2007-10-07

It's been a decade since I read this book (I am planning on re-reading it soon, which is what brought me here) and I can still recall the impact this book had on me during the first read. The intersection of two very different lives - the young violent protagonist (?) and the misguided clueless rich girl and the events that follow. The scenes where the girl and her boyfriend are unwittingly patronizing our protagonist, their attempts to let him know he has their unwanted compassion so at odds with the survivor realities of his world so that they are almost (unknowingly) mocking him are just incredibly awkward and telling about our world in general. I can remember groaning out loud as the angry young man makes mistake after mistake, desperation clouding his judgement, yet his actions realistically parallel with real lives one reads about in the newspaper year after year. Excellent book - highly recommended.

A True Classic.......2007-08-27

(In all honesty I didn't actually READ the book. I listened to the unabridged audio version, but since it was the first audiobook I listened to I have no idea about the quality of the production versus other audiobooks. I'm just mentioning that in the interest of full disclosure.)

What separates an old book from a classic book? The classic book has themes and ideas that are relevant and important to readers decades or even centuries after its initial printing. "Native Son" fits this definition because its portrayal of the doomed young black man Bigger Thomas is just as relevant today as it was in 1940.

For the obligatory plot summary, Bigger Thomas is 20 years old and lives in one cramped, rat-infested room on Chicago's South Side with his mother, younger brother, and sister. At this point Bigger is already a petty criminal, sticking up some black businesses with his buddies Gus, Jack, and GH because the police don't care if black kids rob black businessmen. When he's offered a job as chauffeur to the rich white Dalton family, Bigger is reluctant at first, until he sees the Dalton's attractive daughter Mary on a Newsreel. But Mary is no Paris Hilton-style heiress partying her days away. She is involved with a Communist leader named Jan and has Bigger drive her to meet him. Jan and Mary's well-intentioned but heavy handed kindness towards Bigger makes him uncomfortable, more so when they ask him to take them to somewhere to eat on the South Side. This begins a night of drinking that leads to all three getting drunk, Mary most of all. She is so out of it that Bigger has to help her into the house. While standing over her bed, Mary's blind mother enters the room. Bigger panics and accidentally suffocates Mary. After this he panics further by stuffing her into the furnace. Soon enough this deception is found out and Bigger is a fugitive before finally being caught and brought to "justice."

If I were to nitpick I would say there's a little too much interior monologue that at times slows the story down to a crawl. And the speech by Bigger's lawyer goes on much too long so that it seems like his defensive plan is to filibuster. Those are very small and unimportant imperfections.

A quick word here on what this story is not: it is not a story about injustice. Bigger does commit the second-degree murder of Mary Dalton. He compounds this by fleeing, killing an unwitting accomplice, and resisting arrest. The only crime he's accused of he didn't commit was the rape of Mary Dalton--how officials could determine this since her body was burned I have no idea. This isn't a story like "To Kill A Mockingbird" about a black man being railroaded by the white courts.

"Native Son" is more complex than that. This is a book more about the causes that create a man like Bigger Thomas. It's about the oppressive society that caged young black men like him in the South Side, teaching them to fear and hate the white man so that he doesn't trust even well-meaning do-gooders like Jan and his lawyer. The killing of Mary Dalton is a by-product of the fear and ignorance bred by centuries of hatred and discrimination. That is of course the real injustice here.

For examples of how this message continues to be relevant, one need look no further than high-profile, racially-dividing cases like Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, or Rodney King among many others. While advances have been made since the time of "Native Son"'s first printing, every day there are still new Bigger Thomases being created and stuffed into an already overcrowded prison system. That's what makes "Native Son" a true classic.

He Never Had a Chance.......2007-01-23

"The Native Son" delivers a chilling account of how an ordinary Black American, living in 1930s Chicago, can commit a heinous crime and subsequent cover-up, for the systemic racism and oppression present in America helped to create the conditions in which this horrendous act could occur. "The Native Son", written before the modern Civil Rights movement, does not issue a blanket amnesty for the crimes committed by Blacks, but helps the reader to understand the mindset of a Black living in this oppressed and segregated society where hope abounds only in the afterlife. Although Communists are portrayed sympathetically, this novel is not a call for a "revolution" or blatant propaganda against the "rich."

Wright explores racism and its effects, not only on the oppressed, but also on the oppressors. Bigger, the oppressed, fails to see whites as individuals and stereotypes all as racist bigots who intend only to harm him. Of course, there are plenty of these individuals about, yet there are genuine decent whites who Bigger fails to see as human. On the other side, of course, is the systemic abuse of Blacks as they are forced to live into a small section of the South Side in decrepit ghettos. Remarkably, this is a step up from their sharecropping days in the Jim Crow South, where Bigger grew up. However, even those whites who deem themselves to be sympathetic to the "Colored" cause, such as the Daltons, are condescending and arrogant. The Daltons, typical guilty liberals, have contributed thousands to the NAACP, yet they indirectly control the real estate company that reaps the benefits of the segregated society and the artificially higher rents in the black tenements. Even Mary and Jan, who attempt to treat Bigger as an equal, do so in a degrading and condescending manner as they attempt to understand his "people". Indeed, when this large wall of separation is breached, rabid fear is instilled in Bigger, which leads to his acts of murder.

Blindness is a recurrent theme throughout, as Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, yet it is the entire society that is blind to the plight of the likes of Bigger Thomas. Of course, Bigger is also blind to the other side and has bred hate and contempt for all whites, even those that do good. Throughout Bigger's journey of self-awareness in prison, he attempts to break through this blindness and to see his purpose in life. Tragically, only as he awaits his final fate does he realize that his white enemies and himself share the same fears and hopes and insecurities.

Although the first two-thirds of this novel will leave you spell-bound with its details and its suspense, I was expecting a letdown in the final part of the novel and a rehash of "The Jungle" syndrome, as I'll call it. In "The Jungle", Sinclair provides a scintillating story in the first part of the novel, but this serves only as a pretext to the blatant Socialist propaganda in its final part (no thanks, Mr. Sinclair). And though the last part of "The Native Son" espouses Wright's philosophy on racial oppression and may be sympathetic toward Socialist ideals, it is more of a subtle warning against the conditions that existed at that time which were a powder keg for future violent racial strife. Although there are definitely aspects which serve to blame society and divorce responsibility from his actions, in the end Bigger does take responsibility and comes to an understanding that he may have been oppressed and victimized, yet there were outlets other than violence for his despair.

Overall, Wright provides a chilling account of the state of race relations in 1930s Chicago and in America, in general. Although some may interpret Wright's novel as an attempt to deflect responsibility and to blame society for the actions of others, I believe Wright is attempting to distill a much deeper meaning and understanding for all races to come together.

Black and White.......2006-10-08

It is a stunning story of a 20 year old black youth, Bigger Thomas, born and raised in Chicago slum in a fatherless home. He has known prejudice, white scorn and poverty all his life, a life without hope future or any meaning. When he gets a job as a chauffer in a good Samaritan white family, he is happy and yet bit resentful of their patronizing, their condescending manner. On the very first outing with their young daughter and her communist friend, tragedy strikes due exclusively to Bigger's sub- conscience fear of association with white women. Once he commits the ultimate crime, inadvertently as it was, it spirals out of control and one need not wonder about the denouement.

When the case goes to trial, Bigger's attorney makes eloquent, convincing case of three hundred year history of slavery, bigotry, hatred that resulted in such inevitable tragedy. He concludes Bigger was a victim of society, a world at large with its own rules and customs where he was a pariah from the day he was born. Bigger could not comprehend that not all whites hate blacks and harbor bigotry.

It is a fascinating account of racism in the twentieth century America. I wonder how much progress we have made since the book's first publication in 1950. It is a must read.

More Interesting As History Than Literature.......2006-09-09

It is not simple to review this novel, since its success and value depend a great deal on what the reader is looking for. Purely as entertainment -- is it an enjoyable (however you want to define that) read? -- the book is spotty. My edition runs about 500 pages, including a lengthy, self-important introduction by the author, and I found the middle 250 pages very compelling reading; I really wanted to know what happened next. The beginning and end were far less interesting. This is attributable largely to the author's very obvious intent to use the novel as a means to convey a Message, and his limited skill. Rather than have the message emerge as an implication of the story, the characters instead are crudely-drawn stereotypes designed to portray and declare, in very broad strokes, the author's philosophical beliefs, which are not at all subtle. Time and time again I came across passages that were so heavy-handed and preachy, with the narrator forcing his views down the reader's throat between the characters' chessboard-like moves, that I thought they'd make excellent examples of bad writing for a class of beginning novelists.

The book therefore must be valued, if at all, for the author's message and the novel's place in history as one of the first to try to address it. I find it difficult to imagine that a modern reader could find the author's premise -- that centuries of oppression made blacks capable of acting in a manner that those in the dominant culture would consider inhumanly brutal -- particularly new and revealing, but it's important to consider that it apparently was so when the book was written only sixty-six years ago, itself an important commentary on American society. The book therefore would be an excellent addition to the reading list for a class on history or sociology.

Taken out of historical context (i.e., ignoring the fact that this was a new perspective at the time and setting aside the tremendous credit due Wright for having written it when he did), I found it unpersuasive. This is not to say that conditions have changed so much that what may have been true in 1940 has little relevance today, but that the author failed to persuade me that a brutal rapist and murderer who, the author acknowledges, has virtually no redeeming qualities, and never showed any remorse, should be spared, in 1940 or today, the death penalty, unless it is assumed the death penalty is per se never appropriate. This is certainly a reasonable view, and at very least a point worth debating, but it is not the author's point, which is that his protagonist should be spared because Society Made Him Do It -- a point that he tries to make in an attorney's speech that (speaking as an attorney) is terribly inept. (In fact, after taking hundreds of pages to get to the point where Wright finally takes the opportunity to express his perspective directly, I felt the author fell flat on his face.) I know of far better crafted works that have since been written that are both more interesting and more persuasive about the author's intended message, and I'm by no means very knowledgeable about this genre (Manchild in the Promised Land and the Autobiography of Malcolm X come to mind.)

So as an historical document, I'd give this five stars, but if its historical context doesn't interest you, I'd pass.

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (Bloom's Reviews)

Average customer rating:

ýCommunity, Identity and Stability'
Everyone should be required to read Brave New World!
A Shocking Glance At The Future

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (Bloom's Reviews)

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 079104114X

Customer Reviews:

ýCommunity, Identity and Stability'.......2000-10-29

Aldous Huxley's `Brave New World' takes place in Europe, in 625 after Ford (people started a new era in 1908, the year in which the American industrialist Henry Ford produced his first Model-T car). There is a New World society. People are no longer born the natural way, but the state creates and conditions them. Humans are being mass produced and preconditioned to become members of one of the social classes, ranging from Alpha plus to Epsilon minus. People are going to work and get their soma. They get their education at their level and they get sleep teaching. It's a totally arranged life.

Aldous Huxley was born at Godalming in 1894, into a prominent family of scientists. The nearly blind man was educated at Eton and Oxford and writer of many novels, short stories, essays, drama and verse, but `Brave New World' has proved to be his most lastingly popular work. The title was taken from Shakespeare's `The Tempest', in which Miranda, when seeing the first glimpse of the world outside the island on which she grew up, speaks the words: "O brave new world that has such people in it."

In this novel-of-ideas and dystopia, or in other words, a savage criticism of the scientific future, the motto is Community, Identity and Stability. There is no love, no individualism and people do not have emotions. Everybody belongs to one big group. No one is alone, because everybody is the same. The motto is, off course, an ironic contrast with the battlecry of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. It's obvious that Huxley wants to point out the dangerous aspects of the advancement of science. People will abuse the results of investigations, which will make the individual disappear.

The link of the motto with the battlecry of the French Revolution is not the only one. Many of the character's names are composed by use of the names of historical heroes. For example Benito Hoover, is made of Benito Mussolini and Herbert Hoover. This way the writer is parodying all the time.

The story starts at the London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, where the Director explains some students how humans are being made by the Bokanovski-process. Eggs divide again and again (sometimes even 96 humans are beings hatch from one egg). When the Director asks a student whether he knows what a parent is, he answers: `"Human beings used to be." he hesitated; the blood rushed to his cheeks. "Well, they used to be viviparous."'

Bernard Marx is different from others. Something went wrong when he was in his bottle. He turned out to be, although he is, too small for an Alpha. He doesn't look like and has more emotions than other Alphas, which makes him not belonging to the big group. He and his colleague Lenina, a very pretty girl, who is very popular among the Alphas, go to New Mexico, to the Savages. Here the people haven't been scientifically produced. They meet John and his mother and take them to their world, which John really likes. He would love to see the New World. John hasn't been manipulated, so he's still able to have strong feelings....

A real pessimist can only think of a world like this. Therefore I think it's amazing how Huxley made up this story. It's been a great pleasure reading it, and it makes you start thinking about what the world will be in the future. Next to that, there's another, an educational aspect in the book. People have to be aware of abusers of knowledge. Huxley sure makes clear what he wants to say. It's a perfect novel.

Everyone should be required to read Brave New World!.......1999-05-21

Everyone should be required to read Brave New World. Huxley provides great insight into the effects of science dominating the human race. He shows that life in the Utopia is more efficient in many respects, however it lacks the deep human emotions that give meaning to life other than "constant consumption." Although first published in 1932, it is amazingly close to reality of life today. Brave New World's vivid descriptions and lively commentaries will hold your attention throughout the entire book. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down!

A Shocking Glance At The Future.......1999-05-05

This was a great book. Huxley's view of a future "Utopian" state is very shocking, and it says a lot about society and technology. It really makes you think, and I like that. It is also very straightforward and it's hard to miss the point Huxley is making. If you like science fiction this book is a must! Definitely worth your time.

Bloom's Reviews: Comprehensive Research Study Guide/Arthur Miller's the Crucible

Average customer rating:

A great read of the play by professionals
Crucible Excellent
High School English help
"Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!"
The Crucible

Bloom's Reviews: Comprehensive Research Study Guide/Arthur Miller's the Crucible

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0791041174

Book Description

Arthur Miller's classic play about the with-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially-sanctioned violence. Written in 1952, The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip. Directed by Martin Jenkins.

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Stacy Keach, Irene Arranga, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Begley, Jr, Georgia Brown, Jack Coleman, Bud Cort, Judyann Elder, Hector Elizondo, Fionnula Flanagan, Ann Hearn, Carol Kane, Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Marian Mercer, Franklyn Seales, Madolyn Smith, Joe Spano, and Michael York

Customer Reviews:

A great read of the play by professionals.......2007-10-03

The L.A. Theatre Works' rendition of Miller's _The Crucible_ is an excellent demonstration of the actor's craft, as the tenor, pitch and emotive power of the play bring the characters to life. On the recommendation of Amazon reviewers, I used this for my English class (in addition to the Daniel Day-Lewis / Winona Rider DVD and a class read-around) to get a feel for the play and the various theatrical interpretations of the work.

As a previous reviewer noted, there are some differences between the audio version and Miller's script, but they are minor, and if one is not using the entire CD, a moot point. The performances are fantastic, and, as others have mentioned, it certainly gives life to the written word. Outside of a classroom, I couldn't recommend it, but as a teaching tool, it is first-rate.

Crucible Excellent.......2007-03-13

I used this as a review of the play for my students and was very pleased with the performances. A little disappointed with some of the cuts they made, but do realize the necessity for cuts.

High School English help.......2006-11-06

I find that books on CD help my 17 year old get an edge on his English projects. He has a reading disability that makes conventional book reading difficult so books on tape or CD are an answer to his problems.

"Can you speak one minute without we land in Hell again? I am sick of Hell!".......2006-09-14

When John Proctor says these words at the beginning of this play, he has no idea that he himself will face accusations of being in league with the Devil. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which will ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.

Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.

Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.

Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple

The Crucible.......2006-03-18

The printing is of poor quality, some pages are genuinely difficult to read. Since I was unable to view pages on the website I was unaware of the print quality. I would choose a different edition, if I had it to do again.

Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" (Passnotes)

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Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" (Passnotes)
Anne Holker
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140770038

GCSE British and European History (Longman Revise Guides)

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GCSE British and European History (Longman Revise Guides)
E.G. Rayner , and R.F. Stapley
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Europe | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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GCSE History (GCSE Study Guide)
Peter Lane
Manufacturer: Letts Educational
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1857583086

GCSE Modern World History (Collins Study & Revision Guides)

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GCSE Modern World History (Collins Study & Revision Guides)
Christopher Culpin
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0003235092

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