Themes in The Crucible

1. Themes in The Crucible 11 CP

2. Conflicts Act 1 • Paris vs. Town: reputation with his daughter/niece associated with witchcraft • Abigail vs. girls: desire to keep quiet events in the forest • Proctor vs. Abigail: affair and romantic relationship

3. Conflicts: Act 1 (con’t) • Proctor vs. Town Elders: resents Putnam’s land greed, doesn’t think Parris preaches effectively • Putnam vs. Francis Nurse: resents the fact that he owns more land and wants the property for himself. • Rebecca Nurse vs. Town: doesn’t think the town elders should look into witchcraft. • Hale vs. Rebecca: She doesn’t think demons should be sought • Tituba vs. the town: Scapegoat for witchcraft.

4. Act 1 Thematic Motifs • Theocracy: what happens when the church tries to regulate behavior by severe punishment? • Control: When society is too repressed, it cracks • Appearance vs. Reality. Characters appear different on the outside: Paris, looks holy but wants political gain. Abigail looks innocent but is evil. Can’t trust what you see.

5. Act 1 Themes • Deflected blame: Pointing the finger at another takes the blame off the guilty. • When a person is threatened with violence, he or she will say anything from being harmed, there fore justice is lost.

6. Act 1 Quotes 1. "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit.“ Speaker: Paris Significance: Shows his obsession with his reputation. 2. "There be no blush about my name."Speaker: Abigail Significance: Is not who she appears to be

7. Act 1 Quotes 3. "... I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth."Speaker: Anne Putnam Significance: Shows a motive to instigate hysteria, she is bitter 4. "Give me a word, John. A soft word." Speaker: Abigail Significance: Shows her desperate desire for John and motive to capture him.

8. Act 1 Quotes 5. "We vote by name in this society, not by acreage." Speaker: Proctor Significance: Shows he is not willing to be shamed 6. "You are God's instrument put in our hands to discover the devil's agents among us." Speaker: Hale Significance: Manipulation and loss of justice 7. “You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor…” Speaker: Betty Significance: Result of repressed emotions

9. Act 1 Quotes 8. “A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back.” Speaker: Rebecca Nurse Significance: Voice of reason, kids are kids 9. “I am not some preaching farmer with a book under my arm; I am a graduate from Harvard.” Speaker: Paris Significance: Appearances are deceiving, he is insecure 10. “The devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone...” Speaker: Hale Significance: Shows his belief that he has the right to judge others

10. Act 1 Quotes 11. "I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it.“ -Show’s Paris’s obsession with his reputation 12. "And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes?“ -Shows Abigail’s inability to hear “no” from John • "She made me do it! She made Betty do it!“ -Example of deflected blame.

11. Act 1 Quotes 14. “You are God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us.” -Shows Hale’s “ability” to find out evil in others 15. “You load one oak of mine and you’ll fight to drag it home!” -Shows Putnam land greed

12. Act 2 Themes • The worst judge is oneself: John is tormented by his own guilt of adultery. • Proctors are voice of reason. They know who they are and don’t pretend to be otherwise. • Hale’s cross examination: It is not for another to decide how “good” you are (McCarthy).

13. Act 2 Themes • Vengeance rules Salem, society is broken in the name of blame. • The accuser becomes holy. Accusing becomes a form of purification. Way of gaining power. • Fear is a powerful tool for manipulation.

14. Act 2 Quotes • 1. “I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it.” • Speaker: John Proctor • Significance: Shows his initial guilt and fear about coming forward • 2. “She’ll kill me for sayin’ that! Abby’ll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!” • Speaker: Mary Warren • Significance: Shows her meager attempt to use fear to control Proctor • 3. “I thought sir, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you will permit me.” • Speaker: Hale • Significance: Show’s Hale’s alleged ability to decide how “holy” the Proctor’s are. • 4. “You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed.” • Speaker: Elizabeth • Significance: Shows Elizabeth as the voice of reason, and her ability to use reason to save herself from Abigail’s attack

15. Act 2 Quotes • 5. “I am amazed you do not see what weighty work we do.” • Speaker: Mary Warren • Significance: Shows Mary gaining “power” as an accuser • 6. “The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl.” • Speaker: John Proctor • Significance: John says this to show he is through with Abigail • 7. “I labor the earth from dawn of day to blink of night…when I look to heaven and see my money at his elbows-it hurt my prayer sir.” • Speaker: John Proctor • Significance: Shows his willingness to show his beliefs • 8. “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.” • Speaker: Elizabeth • Significance: Shows the cost of guilt afflicting Proctor

16. Act 2 Quotes • 9. “I never said my wife was a witch, Mr. Hale; I only said she were reading books!” • Speaker: Giles Corey • Significance: Shows his regret for seeking Hale’s help. • 10. “Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem-vengeance is walking Salem…” • Speaker: John Proctor • Significance: Shows John as voice of reason. Shows how the girls gain power through accusation.

17. Act 3 Themes • Hale’s inability to stick up for justice shows that the “religious” are not always the most honest. • Hysteria corrodes the fabric of society. The town’s best are thrown in jail • The notion that truth is found in the governing powers is NOT necessarily true.

18. Act 3 Themes • Love in marriage is a very powerful force. Elizabeth is a pillar of honesty, but caves to protect John. • A man’s sinful nature doesn’t discount his heroic attributes. John’s willingness to come forward is heroic

19. Crucible Title • Crucible is a melting pot that separates base metals from valuable ones. • Separation of the good people from the bad-those with integrity and those without it. John Proctor, though he is condemned, has the greatest integrity

20. McCarthyism • Reflection of McCarthyism that Miller encountered which was an abuse of power. • Truth is not necessarily found in the judicial system or in the governing powers. Truth is found in an individual (such as Proctor).

21. Theocracy • Excessive repression in society (theocracy) leads to rebellion-hysteria tears apart a community. • Girls repressed sexuality led to an explosion of hysterical behavior.

22. Peer Pressure • Peer pressure is a powerful tool. People easily fall into corrupt behavior by following the crowd. • Few take responsibility for their actions when everyone around them is going crazy-known as mob mentality.

23. Proctor • You only get one name in life and can never have another. • In the end, personal integrity is the most important quality; Proctor dies with his good name and finds his goodness in that fact.