ARTHUR MILLER’S

American Literature (Academic)

NAME:

ABOUT THE PLAY…

A CRUCIBLE is a severe test or trial of society and its people and it is a place or situation that causes change.

This play is a work of historical fiction—meaning, it is written from true events, but some characters and their actions are from the imagination of the playwright. Arthur Miller, the playwright, wrote this play in the 1950s.

This play takes place in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, during the year 1692. In the spring of 1692, a group of girls fell ill with hallucinations and seizures. Because of the strong religious beliefs of the Puritans and their fear of God, any frightening or strange occurrences were attributed to the devil. In addition, the unfamiliar wilderness of the “New World” created fear within the people as to where the devil could be lurking.

The illnesses of the girls created fear of witchcraft in the people of Salem…then…the accusations began…

FEAR

WHAT ARE PEOPLE AFRAID OF? / HOW DO PEOPLE ACT WHEN THEY ARE AFRAID?

Begin to think about…

  1. In instances of fear, do people care more about themselves or others?
  1. How can we learn a lot about a person based on how they react when afraid?
  1. Are there any current instances of mass fear in our society?

Read the following rules and rewrite the resolutions in language we use today. Then star (*) the resolutions that are most important for people to follow today.

THE PURITAN CODE

By Jonathan Edwards

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by
his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions so far as they are agreeable to his will.
REMEMBER TO READ OVER THESE RESOLUTIONS ONCE A WEEK.

  1. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
  1. Resolved, to live with all my might while I do live.
  1. Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
  1. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.
  1. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.
  1. Resolved, never to speak evil of any person except some particular good call for it.
  1. Resolved, never to do anything which I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for or to think any way the more meanly of him.
  1. Resolved, never to speak anything that is ridiculous or matter of laughter on the Lord’s day.
  1. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, resolved to endeavor to imitate it.
  1. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire what I am the better for them; what good I have got, and what I might have got by them.

Puritanism in New England

David Cody, Associate Professor of English, Hartwick College

n 1608 a group of Puritan separatists, attempting to escape religious persecution, fled England for the Netherlands. They remained there until 1620, but, fearing that they were losing their cultural identity, they decided to settle in Delaware in the New World. A mixed group of Puritan emigrants (the "Pilgrims") and adventurers from England sailed to America on the Mayflower and landed, accidentally, on Cape Cod in November 1620. Within five months half of the original 101 colonists were dead. During the course of the early seventeenth century, however, increasing numbers of immigrants, many but by no means all of them Puritans, managed to establish a group of autonomous (independent) North American colonies, including Plymouth (1620), Massachusetts (1628), New Hampshire (1629), Connecticut (1633), Maine (1635), Rhode Island (1636), and New Haven (1638). Like their counterparts in Britain they were extreme Calvinistic Protestants who viewed the Reformation as a victory of true Christianity over Roman Catholicism. They believed that the Universe was God- centered, and that man, inherently sinful and corrupt, rescued from damnation (if indeed he was) only by arbitrary divine grace, was duty-bound to do God's will, which he could understand best by studying the Bible and the universe which God had created and which he controlled.

Their isolation in the New World, their introversion, the harshness and dangers of their new existence, their sense that they were a new Chosen People of God destined to found a New Jerusalem -- a New City of God in the midst of the wilderness -- insured that American Puritanism would remain more severe (and, frequently, more intellectually subtle and rigorous) than that which they had left behind. The American Puritan tended to interpret the Bible, which had supreme literary value because it was the perfect word of God, even more literally than did his British counterparts. Though many of the original American Puritans -- many of whom were both preachers and authors -- had attended English Universities, they tended to form religious oligarchies (where power rests with a small group of elite) and sought to establish a purified church -- which meant the frequently harsh imposition of religious uniformity upon an unwilling populace.

It was to escape Puritan religious persecution that Roger Williams, a minister from Salem, established his colony in Rhode Island in 1636. The overt (obvious) remnants of Puritanism did not die out in New England until well into the nineteenth century, and it echoes in American society today. In coming to the New World in the first place, Puritans altered the course of history, for better or for worse. There were approximately 4,000,000 English- speaking people in the entire world in 1603: less than four centuries later there is over seventy-five times that number.

Puritanism in New England Questions

  1. Who were the Puritans?
  1. Why did they cross the Atlantic?
  1. What did they believe?
  1. Read the underlined sentence in the 2nd paragraph and explain what it means to the best of your ability.
  1. How did the Puritans help our nation today?

“The Crucible” Terms

Drama-

Dialogue-

Stage directions-

Protagonist-

Antagonist-

Tragedy-

Comedy-

Direct Characterization-

Indirect Characterization-

Spectral Evidence-

Possible Themes

The Power of Pride-

Revenge-

The Corruption of Power-

Mass Hysteria-

The Power of Peer Pressure-

CHARACTERS

For each character below, write a brief identification (tell who he/she is), a brief character analysis (explain the character’s main personality traits), and then find a quote with citation that shows direct or indirect characterization.

Reverend Parris:

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Betty Parris:

Brief Identification – Who is she?

______

Character Analysis – What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Tituba

Brief Identification – Who is she?

______

Character Analysis – What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Abigail Williams

Brief Identification - Who is she?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Mary Warren

Brief Identification - Who is she?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Thomas Putnam

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Ann Putnam

Brief Identification - Who is she?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Giles Corey

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

John Proctor

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Elizabeth Proctor

Brief Identification - Who is she?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization

______

Reverend Hale

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Rebecca Nurse (this is her last name - not her occupation)

Brief Identification - Who is she?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is she?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Governor Danforth

Brief Identification - Who is he?

______

Character Analysis - What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Judge Hathorne

Brief Identification – Who is he?

______

Character Analysis – What kind of person is he?

______

Quote that shows direct or indirect characterization:

______

Act ONE reading questions

  1. Why has Reverend Parris sent for a doctor as the play begins?
  1. What advice does the doctor send back?
  1. About what does Parris question his niece Abigail?
  1. Why is Reverend Parris especially concerned about the talk of witchcraft?
  1. What did Parris see in the woods the previous night?
  1. What has Elizabeth Proctor said about Abigail?
  1. Why does Abigail say she was dismissed by the Proctors?
  1. What rumors have circulated the town about Betty Parris? What proof later occurs that “proves” that she is bewitched?
  1. Why did Mrs. Putnam contact Tituba?
  1. Who does Abigail accuse of conjuring spirits at this point?
  1. What does Betty Parris reveal about what happened in the woods?
  1. What threat does Abigail make to the other girls?
  1. What happened in the past between John Proctor and Abigail? How does each of them feel about it now?
  1. What is Rebecca Nurse’s opinion on the girls’ “illnesses”?
  1. How does John Proctor feel about Reverend Parris?
  1. What is the dispute between John Proctor and Thomas Putnam?
  1. Why is Reverend Hale in Salem?
  1. What does Giles Corey reveal to Reverend Hale?
  1. When Abigail is questioned by Reverend Hale, who does she blame? What proof does she offer?
  1. What ultimatum is Tituba given?
  1. Who does Tituba accuse of being a witch?
  1. Why does Abigail start accusing people at this point?
  1. Consider all the characters. If you could choose two characters who are most to blame, who would they be? Why?

Name ______

Direct characterization –

Indirect characterization –

Read each quote and answer the questions that follow.

  1. Betty says, “you drank blood Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” (19).
  2. How does this quote characterize Abby? ______
  3. Direct or Indirect? Why? ______
  4. Mercy says, “Oh, you’re a great one for lookin’ aren’t you, Mary Warren?” (19).
  5. How does this quote characterize Mary Warren? ______
  6. Direct or Indirect? Why? ______
  7. Parris says, “Where is my wood? My contract provides I be supplied with all my firewood” (29).
  8. How does this quote characterize Parris? ______
  9. Direct or Indirect? Why? ______
  10. Arthur Miller explains, “Mr. Hale is nearing forty, a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual” (32).
  11. How does this quote character Mr. Hale? ______
  12. Direct or Indirect? Why? ______
  13. Giles Corey tells Reverend Hale that his “wife reads strange books.”
  14. How does this quote characterize Mrs. Corey? ______
  15. Direct or Indirect? Why? ______

Name ______

The Crucible

Act I Review

Write the name of the speaker on the line. If you use your book to find the quote, write the page number next to the name of the speaker.

  1. “It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” ______
  1. “You’ll only be whipped for dancin’, and the other things!” ______
  1. “They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house.” ______
  1. “You loved me then and you do now.” ______
  1. “She’s improved a little, I think – she give a powerful sneeze before.” ______
  1. “Wherefore is everyone suing everybody else?” ______
  1. “It were sport, Uncle!” ______
  1. “Ah, you’re wicked yet, arent’ y’!” ______
  1. “The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone.” ______
  1. “I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” ______
  1. “What signifies the readin’ of strange books?” ______
  1. “I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in the Barbados to serve the Lord.” ______
  1. “Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated.” ______
  1. “But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” ______
  1. “I’ll clap a writ on you!” ______
  1. “I discovered…my niece and ten or twelve of the other girls, dancing in the forest last night.” ______
  1. “No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!” ______
  1. “There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore.” __
  1. “There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark.” ______
  1. “We shall need hard study if it comes to tracking down the Old Boy.” ______
  1. “Where is my wood? My contract provides I be supplied with all my firewood.” ______
  1. “You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” ______
  1. “I bought a tract from Goody Nurse’s husband five months ago.” ______
  1. “A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it.” ______

Name: ______Period:______

The CrucibleAct II Pre-reading

DIRECTIONS: Looking back at Act I, we have seen several conflicts established. Using textual evidence (i.e. quotes from the play), provide examples which show when each conflict is established. Include page numbers and a brief explanation for each example. Next, write a brief prediction about how these conflicts will manifest themselves in Act II and beyond. (What do you think will happen?)

Name of conflict: / Abigail and the Proctors / Reverend Parris / The Putnams
When is the conflict established?
What do you predict will happen?

Act TWO reading questions

1. At the beginning of this act, John Proctor says, “It is winter in here yet.” How and why is this pertinent to what is going on?

2. Why has Mary Warren disobeyed her employers and gone to Salem?

3. What did Abigail Williams reveal to John Proctor? Elizabeth reminds him of this.

4. Why hasn’t John told the court what he knows? What does Elizabeth attribute his not telling to?

5. What lie did John Proctor tell to Elizabeth which makes her more suspicious of him?

6. What news does Mary Warren reveal to John and Elizabeth about the trials?

7. How does Mary Warren behave towards her employers?

8. What does Mary Warren mean when she says, "I saved her life today!"?

9. What does Elizabeth realize when she finds out that she has been accused?

10. What does Elizabeth ask John to do?

11. Why does Reverend Hale visit the Proctors?

12. How does John Proctor respond to questions about why he has not been to church?

13. What is the importance of the golden candlesticks?

14. What does Reverend Hale ask Proctor to do?

15. What information does John Proctor reveal to Reverend Hale?

16. What does Reverend Hale want John to do with this information?

17. Why does Elizabeth say that she doesn’t believe in witches at this point?

18. What news does Giles Corey reveal to the Proctors and Reverend Hale?

19. Of what has Rebecca Nurse been accused?

20. Why has Martha Corey been accused?

21. Why do Ezekial Cheever and Marshal Herrick arrive at the Proctor home?

22. Explain why Cheever is both astonished and afraid when he finds the poppet with the needle in it.

23. What does John ask Mary Warren to do?

24. Why is Mary so afraid to do as he asks?

25. Why does Mary Warren warn John about testifying against Abigail?

26. What does John decide to do?

Name ______

The Crucible Act II Review

Match the following descriptive phrases to the letter of the appropriate character in the list below. Some names will be used more than once, and some may not be used at all.

  1. ______finds a rabbit in the corner.
  2. ______blushes when he sees Abigail in church
  3. ______accuses Elizabeth of twisting the single error of his life.
  4. ______is paid “nine pounds a year.”
  5. ______questions Proctor about his family’s Christian practices
  6. ______fears that Abigail wants to take her place
  7. ______gives a promise “that a stallion gives a mare.”
  8. ______is charged with the murder of the Putnam babies
  9. ______claims to have saved Elizabeth’s life.
  10. ______is a pregnant, unmarried woman of nearly sixty.
  11. ______made pewter candlesticks for the altar.
  12. ______discovers a needle in the doll.
  13. ______believes Abigail “must be ripped out of the world.”
  14. ______recites all of the Commandments except one.
  15. ______admits to making a poppet in court.
  16. ______is charged with bewitching Mr. Walcott’s pigs.
  17. ______says that “little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom.”
  18. ______chains Elizabeth.
  19. ______believes that “the Devil is alive in Salem.”
  20. ______accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft.
  1. John ProctorE. Abigail WilliamsI. Martha Corey
  2. Reverend HaleF. Elizabeth ProctorJ. Ezekiel Cheever
  3. Rebecca NurseG. Marshal HerrickK. Francis Nurse
  4. Goody Good H. Mary WarrenL. Goody Osburn

THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW…

We know the people of Salem are mad with frenzy. Are there really witches lurking around, or is this a plot of selfishness, deception, and revenge? Your mission is to create a news report (like what you see on ABC or Fox news) with your partner that will be “aired” to all people of Salem, which explains the truth of what is really happening to Salem village.

TASK

1)You will explain with creativity, passion, and intensity a specific scene that happened in Act II. You can choose the scene, but it should be a crucial scene. You will pretend that you are “live” at the scene.