Creative Response to The Crucible
Due: November 1, 2013
75 points
Directions: You are to choose ONE project to complete and turn in on November 1, 2013. If the project is not turned in by 3:30 on November 5, it is automatically ½ off. I will accept projects until November 8 at 3:30 for ½ credit-after that time, it becomes a 0.
It is mandatory that all options be displayed before the class. If you do option 5,6,7, or 8, you may record your video outside of class and bring it in for students to watch. If you do this, you must make sure that your stage is classroom appropriate.
Option 1: Poetry
Compose two poems of tribute to two victims of the witchcraft hysteria. It would be a good idea to check in the library for additional information which could easily be obtained on various victims of the Salem trials. The following is a sample poem by an anonymous source which serves as a tribute to Giles Corey.
The Man of Iron
Giles Corey was a wizard strong,
A stubborn wretch was he;
And fit was he to hang on high
Upon the locust tree.
So, when before the magistrates
For trial he did come,
He would not true confession make
But was completely dumb.
“Giles Corey,” said the Magistrate,
“What hast though here to plead
To these who now accuse thy soul
Of crime and horrid dead?”
Giles Corey he said not a word,
No single word spoke he.
“Giles Corey,” saith the Magistrate,
“We’ll press it out of thee.”
They got them then a heavy beam,
They laid it on his breast;
They loaded it with heavy stones,
And hard upon him pressed.
“More weight!” now said this wretched man;
“More weight!” again he cried.
And he did no confession make,
But wickedly he died.
Your poems are to be a minimum of 4 stanzas with 4 lines each. Poems are to be typed on separate sheets of paper. Be sure to give each poem a title. There needs to be a visible rhyme scheme. I will be looking for historical accuracy in your poems and some reference to information about the person as he or she is presented in Miller’s play.
Option 2: Diary Entries
Imagine that you are one of the characters and that you are keeping a private diary of the events dramatized in The Crucible in the year 1692. Write a diary that covers the events of the play about which you could have direct knowledge. Study the play to determine the events that your character could report as an eyewitness.
After you write your diary entries with a first-person point of view, revise and edit them to make sure that your observations and style are consistent with the way in which your character is characterized in the play. Diary entries should be appropriately dated and hand written. DO NOT TYPE! Total, entries should be a minimum of 600 words (you can have 6 entries of 100 words each). Pages of the entries should be fastened together in some manner and should have a cover to represent a diary form. Try to make the diary look like one that could have been used in 1692- Be Creative!
Option 3: Short Narrative
In his postscript entitled “Echoes Down the Corridor,” Arthur Miller reports that Samuel Parris “was voted out of office, walked out on the highroad, and was never heard of again.” Write an imaginative narrative of the subsequent career and “adventures” of Samuel Parris after the Salem trials in 1692. Where does he go? How does he live? (Remember that he reports in Act IV that Abigail’s theft of his money has left him penniless.) How does he deal with his memories of his experiences in Salem? Your narrative should be shared in the form of an oral reading to the class.
Your narrative should be titled and neatly typed. This narrative should be a minimum of 600 words. Make arrangements with me so that we can pick a day on which you may share your narrative with the class. Remember that a story rich in dialogue is usually more interesting to read than one that merely narrates events. Make sure that you know how to properly write and punctuate short story dialogue.
Option 4: Song
Write a song based upon the events described in The Crucible. In your song, you should make mention of or reference to at least one of the following:
- Elizabeth’s discovery of her own faults while in prison.
- John’s struggle to forgive himself and find his goodness before he dies.
- John’s undying love for Elizabeth and hers for him.
- The jealous rage Abigail must feel knowing she’s going to lose her lover no matter what she does.
- The cruel irony that as John and Elizabeth grow closer emotionally, they are about to be separated by death.
Your song should include at least three verses and a chorus. Make arrangements to sing your song to the class. You may sing your words to the tune of a familiar song or write your own music as well. When you turn in your typed copy of your song, specify the tune your words are to be sung to. (You cannot simply insert John and Elizabeth’s name in a current song.)
Option 5: Drama with a Partner
Suppose that John Proctor had decided differently and had given Danforth a signed confession. Although this is highly unlikely, imagine that, as a result, Danforth ordered John and Elizabeth released from jail and that they returned to their own house (the scene of Act II) for the first time in many months. Write a dramatic scene featuring John and Elizabeth and exploring their emotions about their acquittal and release. (Keep in mind that Rebecca Nurse and others will have been hanged the same morning that John and Elizabeth are freed to return home.) In your scene, try to remain faithful to the personalities of John and Elizabeth as they are developed in the play.
Revise and proofread your dramatic scene. Refer to Miller’s play to see how dialogue and narration are written. Your scene should be neatly typed. You and your partner should then share your scene in the form of a reading to the class. Make arrangements with me so that we can schedule class time for your performance. The use of props is mandatory. The drama must be a minimum of two minutes long.
Option 6: 17th Century News Cast
Assume that you are a member of a news crew during the Salem Witch Trials. Write a broadcast in which you cover at least one of the trials. Make sure that you include who is being tried, what they are being tried for, who else is involved in the trial, and what the outcome is. Be creative! You must turn in a typed copy of the broadcast, at least 600 words. You must also present this broadcast to the class. The use of props is mandatory. You may have up to 3 people in this group.
Option 7: Voice Over
Imagine that John Proctor is walking out of the meeting house (where the play ends). Write a voice over, like a James Earl Jones voice over that is heard in movies, that comments on exactly what John Proctor is feeling. Tell me exactly what is going on in his head as he walks to his death. Does he regret his decision? Is he happy with the man that he has become? You must type this out and it has to be a minimum of 450 words. You must orally present your voice over to the class. (If you want to have a student act like he is John walking to his death while you read your voice over, you are more than welcome to do so.)
Option 8: Reenactment
Choose one scene from The Crucible and reenact it. The scene must be a minimum of three minutes long, and you have to type out a copy of the dialogue you will use. It is okay to change some of the dialogue, but you must make those changes in the copy of the script you give me, and the dialogue has to fit in with the story line and the spoken words of 1692. This is not just a reading, but an interpretation, so you must actually ACT. The use of props is mandatory- those must be supplied by you. There can be up to four people in this group- a group can be a mix of any of the English III classes.