Writing the Literary Analysis on Theme

Step 1

Theme (meaning /purpose of the work): Those who appear pious and virtuous may in fact be guilty of hypocrisy.

Step 2

Thesis: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible exemplifies how those who appear the most pious and virtuous may in fact be guilty of hypocrisy.

Step 3

Thesis and map (the answer to the prompt)- Arthur Miller’s The Crucible exemplifies how those who appear the most pious and virtuous may in fact be guilty of hypocrisy. Characters like Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams, who should have been moral or judicial models for the community, are in fact the most deceiving and, in turn, the most dangerous.

Step 4

Catchy Opener and thesis:

I= Paragraph 1: Sports heroes speak out on domestic abuse while secretly beating their wives; government officials urge Americans to be frugal while spending millions on homes and transportation. , Even now some of our most prominent public figures have had misleading public personas. (Now add thesis and map from above)

Step 5 Topic Sentences/ Transitions:

Body I= Paragraph 2: Reverend Parris provides one example of how a person’s moral exterior may differ from his interior motivations.

Support with lots of specific details/ support from text- must include more than one example and have textual evidence with quotes and citations.

Body II= Paragraph 3: Like Parris, Judge Danforth is well respected in his community for his supposed values and morals; however, in reality we discover he too is a hypocrite.

Support with lots of specific details/ support from text- must include more than one example and have textual evidence with quotes and citations.

Body III= Paragraph 4: Perhaps the most glaring example of hypocrisy is portrayed through Abigail who is so deceiving that she has fooled both Parris and Danforth.

Support with lots of specific details/ support from text- must include more than one example and have textual evidence with quotes and citations.

Step 6 Conclusion V= Paragraph 5: Although this play was written in 1953 and its subject matter highlights the Salem witchcraft hysteria of 1692, it is ultimately about human nature and one of its most destructive forces. (Continue now referring back to , but not copying you’re the central point NOT the thesis itself).