Arthur Miller manages to capture and hold the audience in the long scene using a variety of techniques which keep us at the edge of our seats waiting for the next burst of excitement or conflict in the trial. Some of these techniques include the noise in the courtroom, the order in which people speak, the tone of their voice and even silences in the scene. What is interesting in the scene is how some of the character’s true personalities stand out and how some of the characters develop through the scene.
Miller also manages to make us become attached to some characters because of the noble and good deeds they do while he also makes some characters seem less appealing because of the acts they do in the scene. From the beginning the judges are clearly a well educated and experienced bunch as they easily manage to turn around one of Martha Corey’s statements against her. Martha Corey: “I am innocent to a witch. I know not what a witch is. ” Judge Hawthorne: “How do you know, then, that you are not a witch? ”
Then in the middle of the hearing for Martha Corey, Giles Corey, her husband, comes storming in to the courtroom exclaiming that he has evidence for the court. This easily manages to capture our attention as Giles interrupts the ever so confident and powerful judges. When Giles calls out that everyone is hearing lies from the court, “A roaring goes up from the people. ” The court audience react in a way that makes us believe that what Giles is doing is not exactly usual and is an extremely bold move as the court is a very powerful group of people who are control of everything at the moment.
When Giles enters the courts and gets the judge’s attention, Paris tries to sway the way the judges think about Giles because he is not friends with him. When Danforth asks, “Who is this man? ” Paris butts in rather quickly, “Giles Corey, sir, and a more contentious-” but then Giles interrupts the question to answer the question himself, “I am asked the question, and I am old enough to answer it. My name is Corey, sir, Giles Corey. ” This set of interruptions clearly show the tension between Paris and Corey, but more so, shows how much Paris tries to sway the court with his own thoughts and opinions.
