The Crucible Literal Vs. Literary Essays - Salem Witch Trials

The Crucible: Literal Vs. Literary Arthur Miller's famous drama The Crucible, a tale of how accusations and lies ruinously impact a whole community, is very aptly titled. By definition, a ?crucible? is ?a severe test,? and the challenges faced by Miller's characters are many. The historical events dramatized in the play reflect how core human values, including truth, justice and love, are tested under life and death conditions. The trials of the characters and the values they hold dearly come when their simple, ordered world ceases to be black and white and easily deciphered, and is turned upside down in the gray shade of ambiguity. A major test in The Crucible is found in how the household of John Proctor responds in situations where hard choices must be made between lies and honor or truth and shame. Early in the drama, it is revealed that Proctor has been unfaithful to his wife, Elizabeth, indulging in an extra-marital affair with a servant girl, Abigail. Suspecting the affair, Elizabeth dismisses Abigail amid rumor and innuendo, and Proctor confesses to his wife. The value of truth in their marriage is sorely tested when Elizabeth cannot find it within herself to forgive him. As the chain of events surrounding Abigail and the dancing girls in the forest leads to mounting self-protective lies about their activities, many women in the community, including Elizabeth, are accused of the practice of witchcraft. When the magistrate comes to arrest Elizabeth, the charges revolve around a doll made by servant girl Mary Warren and Abigail's claim that the doll is Elizabeth's devilish instrument of torture. Mary Warren's awakening to the truth about Abigail's lies causes her to question her experiences and the oddly vaulted place she holds in the community as one of the bewitched. When Mary cannot withstand the pressure of the taunting girls in the face of her truth, she crumbles. Even though Proctor realizes that coming forth and confessing to his lechery with Abigail will bring shame and dire consequences upon himself and his family, he steps forward to save the reputation and life of his wife. Proctor calls upon the court to summon his wife to verify his faithlessness, swearing ?there are them that cannot sing and them that cannot weep---my wife cannot lie. I have paid much to learn it.? The irony of his confession of adultery to save his bride comes full circle when she denies his adultery to save him. Ultimately, Proctor chooses to denounce the lie of ?doing the Devil's work,? knowing that the choice of truth will mean his death. The value of justice in the ordered society of Salem is also put to the test. When Betty Parris, the daughter of the self-serving Reverend Parris, falls ill , ?the whole country's talkin'witchcraft.? Parris, to save his tenuous position as minister of the flock, calls in an expert in expelling demons, the Reverend John Hale. Reverend Hale is an intellectual, full of desire to put to practice the tools he possesses that are ?weighted with authority.? As Reverend Hale responds to the pleas of parents to intervene on behalf of their daughters, the deceit of Abigail and the dancing girls takes on a life of its own, resulting in the formation of a tribunal to judge the implicated witches. The reverend finds himself caught up in a system of justice where confessions of consorting with the Devil are rewarded with forgiveness and life, while denial of impurity and witchcraft are harshly punished with death. Repeatedly, he tries to assert the value of justice, protesting that Elizabeth Proctor is unjustly arrested and advocating that her husband be allowed a lawyer. ?I may shut my conscience to it no more,? he cries as the court turns their focus on Proctor, and eventually he leaves the court in the name of justice. The test of Reverend Hale's sense of justice later takes an ironic turn, when he returns to minister to the condemned. As he upholds the value he places on justice, he supports Proctor's ultimate decision to die an honest man. In the drama, the value of love is also challenged. The love that John and Elizabeth Proctor have is first put to the test by Proctor's infidelity and later as they try to uphold their values as their community succumbs to the hysteria of the accusations of witchcraft. They struggle to heal and maintain their marriage as they care for their farm and children and to help their friends and

These skills are vital for administrative assistants -The JobNetwork

These skills are vital for administrative assistants -The JobNetwork Administrative assistants are some of the most versatile professionals out there. From handling personalities to keeping everything organized to running office operations, it’s a job that requires a lot of different skills at any given time. If you’re thinking about becoming an administrative assistant for the next phase of your career, let’s look at some of the most important skills you’ll need to succeed.Hard SkillsFirst and foremost, you should make sure that your hard skills are in order for a job as an administrative assistant. What are hard skills? They’re the skills that require technical or specific ability. These are easy to list because you can use very specific points. For example:Expert in Microsoft ExcelHTML coding expertiseTyping 100 words per minuteHard skills are the skills you can quantify and show easily (as opposed to â€Å"soft† skills, which are often more subjective and need more specific examples or clarification). Ther e’s no additional context necessary to show that you can use a particular type of accounting software; merely listing the software or app conveys your skill to the reader. And the good news is that hard skills are easier to build, if you want to bulk up your resume. You can take online courses in how to do complex Excel spreadsheet magic, or find tutorials on HTML and other coding languages. Whatever you want to learn, theres surely an opportunity out there to bulk up your resume.Technology SkillsAdministrative assistants need to be pretty tech savvy in today’s world. It’s not enough to be familiar with using computers in general. Your boss may depend on you to be a technical ninja in areas he or she is not. An administrative assistant should have a good grasp on software or apps in these areas:Email. Microsoft Outlook is the most common, but many companies are turning to Gmail and Slack to manage interoffice email.Maintaining a calendar. Again, Outlook’s calendar is the gold standard, but you should be able to schedule meetings, create invitations, and manage calendars. And with a growing focus in the workplace on connecting people remotely via technology, programs like WebEx or GoToMeeting help you set up videoconferences.Word processing. Microsoft Word and Google Docs are most typical, but you should be skilled in using document creation programs to create different kinds of formatted documents (like correspondence or reports).Presentations. Whether you’ll be making presentations or the people you support will be making them, chances are you’ll be expected to either organize information into presentations or create them from scratch. Programs like Microsoft PowerPoint have built-in tools and templates for creating down-and-dirty presentations, but if you want to bump your skills to the next level, you can also learn shortcuts and design elements to create ones that stand out more.Digital databases/filing systems. Pa rt of just about every administrative assistant’s job is maintaining orderly files, whether those are old-fashioned hard copies or digital records.Digital editing. Many administrative assistants are tasked with creating or editing manuals, newsletters, invitations, marketing materials, or other materials for public consumption or within the company. Having expertise in programs like Adobe Acrobat or Photoshop can make you even more valuable and add some designer cred to your resume.Productivity/project management. From project management systems like JIRA to personal organizational tools like Asana, experience using productivity software can be essential to planning, executing, and organizing projects.Administrative Support SkillsAdministrative support skills are also hard skills that help an admin support his or her team. These can include:Answering multi-line phones and routing callsFaxing documentsProcessing timesheetsTranscribing contentAccounting or billing (using progra ms like QuickBooks)Typing with speed and accuracySoft SkillsSoft skills are the skills that aren’t so easily quantified. If you want to show that you’re good at data analysis, you can list specific Excel skills. If you want to show that you’re organized or a good problem solver, it’s a little tougher. Here are the most essential soft skills you’ll need as an admin.Communication SkillsCommunicating well in person and in writing is a key element of the administrative assistant’s job. It’s a service role, which means that you need to be able to talk, email, or otherwise communicate on behalf and/or your boss. Coordination is a huge part of the job, so that means not only getting along with everyone (or fake it if you can’t quite muster genuine â€Å"like† or enthusiasm in dealing with someone), but also making sure everyone has the information they need. Clear and efficient communication, complete with good grammar, is esse ntial.Examples of communication skills:Drafting, editing, and sending correspondenceFielding phone calls and taking messagesResponding clearly and efficiently to emailsTaking notes and sending follow-up requests/summaries as neededAnswering questions or explaining processesPublic speaking or presentingWriting clean, grammatically correct (and always business-appropriate!) emailsPeople SkillsSupporting a boss (or a team of bosses) can be challenging. It often means negotiating different personalities and ensuring that everyone has what they need. As an admin, you may be interacting with all kinds of different people- other employees, executives, the public- so a calm, friendly demeanor is a helpful asset. And if your job includes handling sensitive or confidential information, you’ll need to be sensitive about how to communicate that information.Examples of people skills:Customer serviceManaging client relationshipsWriting email or other correspondence with the whole audience in mindTime Management SkillsAs an admin, you’re likely going to be responsible for other people’s time as much as your own, so being able to coordinate schedules, set reminders, and make sure things are staying on task is a crucial part of the job.Examples of time management skills:Setting deadlinesMeeting deadlinesManaging calendars (potentially multiple ones)Coordinating meeting times among large groupsSending reminders to stakeholders to keep projects or tasks on scheduleOrganizational SkillsAdministrative assistants are usually responsible for not only keeping themselves organized, but also those around them. The admin’s desk should be a calm oasis of order even when everything else is chaotic. These skills are essential, but they can be developed as well, with care and attention to both the tasks at hand and the bigger picture of what needs to be done.Examples of organizational skills:Attention to detailBilling/bookkeepingManaging calendars and appointment sPreparing for meetings, including making room, technology, or logistics arrangementsFilingTaking inventoryMultitaskingMaking travel arrangementsCoordinating and planning eventsPrioritizing tasks and projectsProblem Solving SkillsAdmins are also fixers. That may mean helping your boss troubleshoot issues or helping to solve problems around the office to make sure things are running smoothly. Being able to think calmly and critically about how to approach a situation (even when things are overwhelmingly busy or going wrong) is a skill set highly valued by just about every employer, no matter what industry.Examples of problem solving skills:Training and supervising othersManaging employee relationsProviding technical helpServing as a point person for questions or guidanceOrganizing the necessary people and resources to resolve an issue, and helping to coordinate follow-up actionsComing up with an action plan to resolve issuesAs you can see, administrative assistants need a pretty broa d range of skills in their day-to-day work. If you focus on building your skills in these key areas (or emphasizing the skills you already have), you’ll be in great shape for your career as an admin.