My Notes

Learning Targets• Analyze the use of dialogue and character interactions in a dramatic text.

• Generate scripted dialogue that reveals character and propels action.

Before Reading1. With one more act remaining in the play and the tension at its peak, predict the

outcome of the play in a quickwrite using details from the text to support your thinking.

During Reading 2. As you read the opening section of Act Four (until Elizabeth and Proctor are

alone), mark the text for changes that have occurred in the town. Be prepared to share your observations with the class.

3. Track the characteristics of Proctor, Hale, and Corey as possible representations of particular points of view in the final pages of Act Four by paying special attention to their dialogue. In the graphic organizer below, record adjectives that describe each character.

Hale Proctor Corey

Integrity Rises to the Top: Writing Dialogue

ACTIVITY

2.15

LEARNING STRATEGIES:Close Reading, Marking the Text, Graphic Organizer, Questioning the Text, Note-taking

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After Reading 4. Revisit the literary definition of a foil. How do Hale and Corey function as foils

to John Proctor? What traits of Proctor are more apparent when comparing him with each of the other men?

Creating a DialogueThe last step in writing a script is to actually write the dialogue. This essential element functions to reveal characters’ relationships and to move the action forward. As you look through the three excerpts from the play, review your writer’s checklist and add any details that will help you in writing your own script.

Dialogue that reveals characters’ relationships:

ACT TWO, SCENE 2

PROCTOR

(Searching)

I must speak with you, Abigail. (She does not move, staring at him.) Will you sit?

ABIGAIL

How do you come?

PROCTOR

Friendly.

ABIGAIL

(glancing about)

I don’t like the woods at night. Pray you, stand closer. (He comes closer to her.) I knew it must be you. When I heard the pebbles on the window, before I opened up my eyes I knew. (Sits on log.) I though you would come a good time sooner.

PROCTOR

I had thought to come many times.

Dialogue that moves the action forward:

ACT THREE

DANFORTH

Your husband—did he indeed turn from you?

ELIZABETH

(in agony)

My husband—is a goodly man, sir.

DANFORTH

Then he did not turn from you.

ELIZABETH

(starting to glance at Proctor)

My Notes

Unit 2 • The Power of Persuasion 137

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My Notes

Integrity Rises to the Top: Writing Dialogue

He—

DANFORTH

(reaches out and holds her face, then)

Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery? (In a crisis of indecision she cannot speak.) Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!

ELIZABETH

(faintly)

No, sir.

A final type of speaking in a play is a monologue, in which a character reveals private thoughts and emotions.

MARY

(Innocently.)

I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she come into the court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in ditches, and so very old and poor. . . But then. . . then she sit there, denying and denying, and I feel a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air; and then. . . (Entranced as though it were a miracle.) I hear a voice, a screamin’ voice, and it were my voice. . . and all at once I remembered everything she done to me! (Slight pause as Proctor watches Elizabeth pass him, then speaks, being aware of Elizabeth’s alarm.)

Check Your UnderstandingWriting Prompt: Revisit your notes for a script for “The Very Proper Gander.” Include at least one monologue that offers the inner thoughts of a single character. These words are often an ideal opportunity for offering the social commentary of the scene. As you write your dialogue, be sure to:

• Include dialogue that moves the action forward and reveals characters’ thoughts and motivations.

• Incorporate syntax variety in the dialogue, keeping in mind that your characters need to speak realistically and according to their individual traits (be sure to reference your character notes).

Rehearse your lines according to the movement in the stage directions and revise your dialogue and stage directions according to your intended effect (remember, stage directions are always in present tense).

When your script is complete, perform your scene for another group in the class. Use the Scoring Guide so the other group can offer feedback on your script. Switch roles and offer suggestions to help them improve their script.

ACTIVITY 2.15continued

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