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THE CRUCIBLE

by Arthur Miller

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________ / 100 POINTS

Pre-Reading Questions

Prior to reading The Crucible, respond to each statement by putting a plus sign (+) if you agree with it, a minus sign (-) if you disagree, and a question mark (?) if you are unsure of your belief.

_______ Confessing to a crime you didn’t commit in order to avoid punishment is wise.

______ It is better to die for what you believe in rather than to lie to save your life.

______ It’s more difficult to forgive yourself if the person you have hurt doesn’t forgive you.

______ A person is innocent until proven guilty.

______ Courage means doing something even though it can be difficult and fearsome.

Choose one of the above statements and ELABORATE on why you agree or disagree. (10 points)

The Salem Witch Trials

Background Notes

Setting: Salem, Massachusetts - 1692

Puritans believed:

The Puritans, who came to Massachusetts Bay after the Pilgrims came to Plymouth, came to set up a theocracy, a "city on the hill" that would show the rest of Europe, especially England with its religion that they regarded as corrupted, just what a religious community could be. They were quite fervent, and the ministers were the community leaders. Their doctrines stressed original sin--that all people are sinners (for Adam sinned), but that God, in his infinite mercy, has chosen to save a few. Since He knows everything, he knows who will be saved (and in Heaven) and who will be damned to Hell; however, a person does not know for sure if he or she is saved. Therefore, the Puritans were constantly examining their lives, especially their thoughts and inclinations, to see if they indicated whether they might be saved.

Their lives focused on work and prayer and minimalist living.

What were the Salem Witch Trials?

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil's magic—and 20 were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. Since then, the story of the trials has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice, and it continues to beguile the popular imagination more than 300 years later.

Read more:

How can personal vendettas cause something like the Salem Witch Trials to occur? – 10points!

McCarthy Hearings & Arthur Miller:

During the McCarthy hearings (1950’s) many innocent people were accused of being traitors (communists, mainly) to our country and, while they were not physically harmed, their professional and personal lives were ruined by this adverse publicity, which was often untrue. During this period also (as in Salem) many supposed “good people” participated in the accusations against others because they were afraid that if they refused to do so their own lives would be ruined. Miller is thus drawing a parallel between two periods of hysteria in our country, though far apart in time, that are dangerously close in ideology. (Guidon study materials)

Vocabulary study: Glossary: these words are defined for you.

1. theocracy: governed by religion

2. providence: God’s will; God’s intervention in human affairs

3. Puritanical: strict in morality and religion; this term has come about since the reign of the Puritans

4. inculcation: impress with insistent urging; convince

5. propitiation: win good will

6. ameliorate: improve

7. theology: the study of a religious doctrine; what a particular sect believes

8. vestry: the room in the church where robes are kept

9. apparition: ghost

10. trafficked: have dealings with

11. blink: tolerate

Language: Miller makes the language distinctive of the time period by combing the following features.

1. Using old-fashioned, archaic words: “bid” (told), “Aye” (Yes), “Nay” (No), “Hearty” (Well)

2. Incorporating expressions from the time period: “Goody” (Mrs.) “Be open with me” (tell the truth)

3. Changing the use of the verb “to be”: “it were” (it was), “There be” (there was)

4. Adding double negatives: “he cannot discover no medicine” and “I don’t compact with no devil”

5. Changing the normal order of words: “I like not to search a house.”

6. Adds a rustic, colloquial fee to the language by dropping the “g” from the ends of some words: dreamin’, carrin’, nothin’

SALEM WITCH TRIALS – Facts

19 – the number of convicted witches hanged in Salem

80/81 – the age of the oldest person hanged for being a witch

4 – the age of the youngest person accused of witchcraft

2 – the number of dogs executed for their “involvement” in witchcraft

Failure to recite the Lord’s Prayer could prove you were a witch

They believed that the devil “sucked at your spirit” through moles on the body.

Themes:

1. People who stand by their beliefs, no matter the cost, ultimately triumph.

2. The effects of fear on a society can lead to its destruction.

3. Repression, fear, and lies can lead to mass hysteria.

4. A man’s reputation is worth dying for

5. When good men do nothing, evil will triumph

6. Absolute power corrupts absolutely

The Crucible Vocabulary

Vocabulary study: Read the italicized word in context from the play and try to interpret the meaning. Write the definition below the sentence, and add your own sentence using the word correctly.

1. “Abigail Williams [is] an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling.”

Dissembling your true personality is wrong, for you are not being honest to your friends and family.

Definition: 1. (Verb) To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. 2. To make a false show of; feign.

Your sentence:

2. “Goody Ann! You sent a child to conjure up the dead?” (39).

It is really creepy to conjure spirits with the Ouija Board; I never play with those things!

Definition: (Verb) To summon a devil by magic or supernatural power

Your sentence:

3. “His vindictive nature was demonstrated long before the witch-craft began” (14).

You shouldn’t be so vindictive; he didn’t mean to ruin your iPhone; it was an accident.

Definition: (Adj/Noun) Disposed to seek revenge; revengeful.

Your sentence:

4. “Enter Mary Warren, breathless. She is seventeen, a subservient, naïve, lonely girl” (18).

Never act subservient in a group activity, for you should make sure your voice is heard.

Definition: (Adj) Subordinate in capacity or function. One who is a slave to another.

Your Sentence:

5. “That is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, Goody Nurse, a prodigious sign” (25).

The notorious gangster was arrested on drug charges and will be in jail for a long time.

Definition: (Adj.) Known widely and usually unfavorably; infamous

Your sentence:

6. “That is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, Goody Nurse, a prodigious sign” (25).

A prodigious storm approached, so everyone began seeking shelter.

Definition: (Adj.) Impressively great in size, force, or extent; enormous

Your sentence:

7. “Is it the devil’s fault that a man cannot say you good morning without you clap him for defamation?” (31).

You can be sued for defamation of character.

Definition: (Noun) The act of injuring a person's good name or reputation

Your Sentence:

8. “That woman, however, turned into a mere pest under his searching scrutiny” (33).

I hope you reviewed your research paper with scrutiny to avoid any minor mistakes.

Definition: (noun) A close, careful examination or study.

Your Sentence:

9. “The church’s enemies relied no less upon the Old Boy to keep the human mind enthralled” (34).

I was so enthralled with the show Game of Thrones that I watched the whole season in a week.

Definition: (verb) To hold spellbound; captivate

Your Sentence:

10. “You cannot evade me, Abigail. Did your cousin drink any of the brew in that kettle? (43).

Don’t try to evade your Deans if you know you have done something wrong. It only makes things worse.

Definition: (Verb) To escape or avoid by cleverness or deceit

Your Sentence:

11. “Proctor, with solemn warning: ‘You will not judge me more, Elizabeth’” (54).

I give you my solemn word that I will grade your research papers fairly.

Definition: (adj) Deeply earnest, serious, and sober.

Your Sentence

12. “Evasively, looking at it: ‘Why, I – I think it is mine’” (75).

She evasively gave an excuse for why the research paper was late; unfortunately, she will lose half credit.

Definition: (Adv.) Intentionally vague or ambiguous

Your Sentence:

13. “Danforth, now an almost imperceptible hardness in his voice: ‘Then your purpose is somewhat larger’”(92).

The concepts were so imperceptible to me I knew I was going to fail the test.

Definition: (Noun) Impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses

Your Sentence:

14. “Mary Warren, hardly audible: ‘Aye’” (95).

You have to be audible when giving a speech in Intro to Speech class or you might fail.

Definition: (noun) That is heard or that can be heard.

Your Sentence:

15. “This is a hearing, you cannot clap me for contempt of a hearing” (97).

She spoke to the teacher with such contempt that the hall monitor pulled her into the Deans Office.

Definition: (noun) The feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn.

Your Sentence:

16. “Abigail, with a slight note of indignation: ‘It is a lie, sir’” (103).

The student felt indignation when another student claimed all the credit for the group project she worked so hard on.

Definition: (noun) Anger aroused by something unjust, mean, or unworthy

Your Sentence:

17. “Danforth, pointing at Abigail, incredulously: ‘This child would murder your wife?’” (104).

I view stories of aliens incredulously.

Definition: (adv.) Skeptical; disbelieving

Your Sentence:

18. “Mary Warren, utterly confounded, and becoming overwhelmed by Abigail’s – and the girls’ – utter conviction, starts to whimper” (116).

A crowd of confounded spectators stared at the injured football player.

Definition: (Noun) Confused; befuddled

Your Sentence:

Look up the definition of CRUCIBLE in a print dictionary or on your phone. Write the DEFINITIONS below. There are THREE definitions, and you should include them all!

Study Questions: Answer each fully (sometimes in sentences, sometimes the answer is just a word or two). Keep these questions out and fill in your answers as we read and not when we finish. Answers to some of the questions might be found in the exposition sections.

Act I

1. What was Reverend Samuel Parris’s attitude toward children?

2. Why do you think Rev. Parris has many enemies?

3. What truths come out when the adults leave the girls alone?

4. What’s going on between Abigail and John Proctor?

5. Why does Betty start screaming?

6. Though Rev. Hale is trying to get Tituba to name her accomplices, who is the first person to actually mention names?

Act II

1. What do you know about the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor from the stage action and opening dialogue of Act II?

2. Ironically, which commandment can John not remember?

3. Why is Mary Warren afraid of telling the truth about Abigail, for herself and for John?

Act III

1. Over and over, Danforth says that the good have nothing to fear. What evidence can you give to show that the opposite is true?

2. Mary Warren's testimony is destroyed in the end because she cannot do something. What? How does she explain the problem?

3. What is the importance of John Proctor’s last speech (in Act III)?

4. Explain what happens when Elizabeth Proctor is called into the court to defend her husband?

5. Although this act centers on the hypocrisy and hysteria of the court proceedings, we also see several examples of courage and integrity. How do each of the following characters behave courageously: Mary Warren, John Proctor, Giles Corey, John Hale?

Mary Warren:

John Proctor:

Giles Corey:

John Hale:

Act IV

1. What is Hale’s mission in Act IV?

2. Parris tells Danforth, “You cannot hang this sort” (123). What does he mean?

3. Why won’t Danforth pardon the prisoners? How does the theme “absolute power corrupts absolutely” connect to Danforth’s behavior?

4. Do you think Elizabeth Proctor would confess if she were in her husband’s place? Explain.

5. In the end, what is it that is of utmost importance to John Proctor?

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