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Copy these literary terms into you notes then use page 1123 to define them: Plot Rising Action Falling Action Climax Resolution Dramatic Exposition. Warm Up. The Crucible. By Arthur Miller. . . . When History and Literature Collide. The Crucible is. Puritanism + Witchcraft +
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Copy these literary terms into you notes then use page 1123 to define them: Plot Rising Action Falling Action Climax Resolution Dramatic Exposition Warm Up
The Crucible By Arthur Miller . . . When History and Literature Collide
The Crucible is . . . Puritanism + Witchcraft + McCarthyism + Arthur Miller
The Crucible • MEANS: A severe test of trial • Setting: Salem, Massachusetts ~ 1692
Christian faith -1600s Puritans - predestination Split (Church of England) 1633 Emigrated - American colonies Flourished Puritanism
Salem Village believed in witches Witchcraft = “compact with the devil for … powers to do evil.” Witchcraft = sin and a crime; serious accusation Witchcraft in Salem
Witchcraft in Salem • Witchcraft hysteria - Salem, Massachusetts,1692. • Abigail Williams - fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucination. • A doctor determined it was witchcraft.
Witchcraft in Salem • Book detailed the symptoms of witchcraft; the girls’ fits were similar • Puritans believed the doctor’s diagnosis.
The girls (Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn) blamed Tituba (the Parris’ slave) Witchcraft in Salem
Eight months • 150+ people were imprisoned • 27 people had been convicted, 19 hanged, and 1 pressed to death. • The hysteria reveals belief of supernatural Witchcraft in Salem
Period of intense suspicion in the United States – 1950s Senator Joseph McCarthy, claimed that communists had infiltrated the Department of State. A special House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed “Witch hunts” often based on inconclusive, questionable evidence McCarthyism
Accused communists were often denied employment • Film industry: 300 + actors, writers, and directors denied work • Arthur Miller, was “blacklisted.” McCarthyism
McCarthy’s influence ended - 1954 • CBS newsman, Edward R. Murrow, report revealed McCarthy as dishonest • The public aware of how McCarthy made false accusations of communism. McCarthyism Edward R. Murrow
Arthur Miller • 1915-2005 • American Playwright and Writer • In 1953 he wrote The Crucible, which uses the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692to attack the anti-communist “witch hunts” of the 1950s.
Arthur Miller • Witch craft trials in Puritan New England paralleled the climate of McCarthyism • After the publication of the The Crucible, Miller was investigated for being a communist • Found guilty of contempt of court. Later overturned.
Themes • Jealousy or envy • Guilt or fear of discovery • Hysteria or loss of emotional control • Lying or misrepresenting the truth • Cowardice or lack of principles • Intimidation of those who are weaker • Greed
John Proctor • Protagonist • Husband to Elizabeth • Affair with Abigail • Knows that the girls are pretending
Abigail Williams • Antagonist • Orphaned niece of Reverend Parris • Former mistress of John • Very powerful influence • Obsessed with John. • Leader of the girls.
Other Important Characters: • Elizabeth Proctor • Tituba • Reverend Parris • Deputy Governor Danforth • The Girls – Betty Parris, Susanna Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren