The use and abuse of power : a critical discourse analysis of Arthur Miller's “The Crucible”

Abstract EN

This study outlines Norman Fairclough‘s-Critical Discourse Analysis‖ and applies it to the scene in Arthur Miller‘s ―The Crucible” where the black slave Tituba confesses to witchcraft.

The researcher uses Teun A.van Dijk‘s framework of power to prove that Tituba is forced to confess.

She seemingly confesses yet her confession has a number of attributes which render it void.

Tituba‘s position as a slave means that she is powerless to deny her guilt, and indeed her confession enables her to escape execution.