The Crucible

1. By Arthur Miller The Crucible

2. Reverend Parris • Pastor of the church in Salem • He is the father of Betty and the uncle of Abigail Williams.  • The witch scare began with his daughter’s mysterious illness.

3. Tituba • Servant to the Parris household • She is a native of Barbados.  • She is enlisted by Ruth Putnam and Abigail to cast spells and create charms. 

4. Abigail Williams • Orphaned niece of Reverend Parris • Formerly a servant in the Proctor household • She is the leader of the girls.

5. John Proctor • Husband to Elizabeth • A prominent landholder and farmer in the Salem community

6. Elizabeth Proctor • Wife of John Proctor

7. Deputy Governor Danforth • The Deputy Governor of Massachusetts and presiding office of the court

8. Betty Parris- Daughter of the Reverend, cousin to Abigail Williams.  One of the initial accusers. Susanna Walcott- Accused of witchcraft Mercy Lewis- Servant to the Putnam household.  One of the accusers Mary Warren-Servant to the Proctor household.  One of the accusers. The Girls

9. Other Characters • Mrs. Ann Putnam- A bitter woman who sides with the accusers • Thomas Putnam- Ann’s husband for whom the witch trials are a means of increasing his already considerable land holdings. An enemy of Reverend Paris. • Rebecca Nurse- A prominent citizen of Salem, famous throughout Massachusetts for her virtue and charity • Giles Corey- A prominent landholder in Salem • Reverend John Hale- Another minister- from Beverly, Massachusetts- famous for his study of witchcraft and witches. • Francis Nurse- Rebecca’s husband • Ezekiel Cheever- Town constable (peace officer) • Marshal Herrick- Town jailer • Judge Hathorne- The inflexible judge in the witch trials. A distant ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne . • Sarah Good- One of the condemned. • Hopkins- A guard in the jail.

10. Arthur Miller • 1915-2005 • Called the greatest living American playwright • Known for Death of a Salesman and The Crucible • Plays contain themes of morality vs. pressures from society and family • Wrote The Crucible, which uses the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 to attack the anti-communist “witch hunts” of the 1950s.Comparison made people uncomfortable • He believed the hysteria surrounding the witch craft trials in Puritan New England paralleled the climate of McCarthyism – Senator Joseph McCarthy’s obsessive quest to uncover communist party infiltration of American institutions. • After the publication of the The Crucible, Miller himself was investigated for possible associations with the communist party. • He refused to give information regarding his colleagues and was found guilty of contempt of court. His sentence was later overturned.

11. McCarthyism is the term used to describe a period of intense suspicion in the United States during the early 1950s. It began when Senator Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, claimed that communists had infiltrated the Department of State. Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. A special House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed to investigate allegations of communism. During this period, people from all walks of life became the subjects of aggressive “witch hunts” often based on inconclusive, questionable evidence. McCarthyism

12. McCarthyism • Persons accused of being communists were often denied employment in both the public and private sector. • In the film industry alone, over 300 actors, writers, and directors were denied work in the U.S. • American writer, Arthur Miller, was one of those alleged to have been “blacklisted.”

13. McCarthyism • McCarthy’s influence finally faltered in 1954 when a famous CBS newsman, Edward R. Murrow, aired an investigative news report which revealed McCarthy as dishonest in his speeches and abusive in his interrogation of witnesses. • The public was finally made aware of how McCarthy was ruining the reputations of many individuals through false accusations of communism. Edward R. Murrow

14. Like all Puritans, the residents of Salem Village believed in witches and in witchcraft. They believed that witchcraft was “entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil.” They considered witchcraft both a sin and a crime; it was a very serious accusation, which was carefully and thoroughly investigated. Witchcraft in Salem

15. Witchcraft in Salem • The witchcraft hysteria began in Salem, Massachusetts, in early 1692. • Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter and Abigail Williams started having fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucination. • A doctor examined the girls and concluded that the only explanation for these bizarre behaviors was witchcraft.

16. Witchcraft in Salem • A recently published book of the time detailed the symptoms of witchcraft; the girls’ fits were much like those described in the book. • Therefore, the Puritans of Salem were quick to believe the doctor’s diagnosis.

17. Witchcraft in Salem • The girls pointed fingers at Tituba (the Parris’ slave), Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn, which sparked a witch hunt.

18. Witchcraft in Salem • During the next eight months of terror, more than 150 people were imprisoned for witchcraft. • By the time court was dismissed, 27 people had been convicted, 19 hanged, and 1 pressed to death. • The hysteria that snowballed in Salem reveals how deep the belief in the supernatural ran in colonial America.

19. Mob Mentality • The term “mob mentality” is used to refer to unique behavioral characteristics which emerge when people are in large groups. It is sometimes used disparagingly, as the term “mob” typically conjures up an image of a disorganized, aggressive, panicked group of people.

20. Mass Hysteria • Mass hysteria is a phenomenon in which a group of people simultaneously exhibit similar hysterical symptoms. Technically, mass hysteria involves physical effects, such as headache, nausea, dizziness, or a trance-like state or seizure-like movements.

21. Dramatic License • Play was not intended to be a history • Researched the information for the witch trials from primary documents in Salem • Careful not to misrepresent characters or their actions • Made some changes for the sake of the story • Inferred from documents about Abigail and John’s affair • Abigail was actually only 11 • Excluded some characters • Compressed time to make the play “fit” time constraints of performance

22. Key Features of Millar’s Literary Techniques

23. Authorial Intrusion • Interrupting the action to give the audience extra information often from his life or the audience’s current social experience • These interruptions are often his means of direct characterization

24. Allusion and Parable • Allusion-  brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.  • Parable- a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson • Uses historical and social allusions to emphasize the theme of morality vs. social pressure • References to the Inquisition, Martin Luther, Biblical stories, and the Red Scare show periods of history when these types of events have occurred.

25. Euphemism • polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant. • Example: • “kick the bucket” is a euphemism that describes the death of a person • “downsizing” is a euphemism for the distressing act of “firing” employees

26. Metaphor • A comparison between two things where one is said to be the other • Example: • My brother was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.) • The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was not difficult.)

27. Submerged Metaphor • The metaphoric vehicle is deep in meaning or requires a deeper understanding of the metaphoric meaning. • Example: • "He legged it," which really means he ran whatever distance there was.

28. Situational Irony • Irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected. • Example: • A fire station burns down • The marriage counselor files for divorce

29. Juxtaposition • A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts. • Example: • We notice the juxtaposition of “light and “darkness” repeatedly. Consider an example from Act I, Scene V: • “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!It seems she hangs upon the cheek of nightLike a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;” • Here, the radiant face of Juliet is juxtaposed with a black African’s dark skin. Romeo admires Juliet by saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows like a bright jewel that shines against the dark skin of an African.

30. Alliteration • A stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series. • Example: • But a better butter makes a batter better. • A big bully beats a baby boy.

31. Hyperbole • A figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. • Example: • My grandmother is as old as the hills. • Your suitcase weighs a ton! • I am dying of shame.

32. Metonymy • It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. • Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.) • Used distinct characters to represent a type of character found in nearly every society

33. Rhetoric • The art of speaking and writing effectively • Utilizes well-planned presentation of facts and ideas in clear, persuasive, and attractive language

34. Dynamic Character • A literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude

35. Didactic • Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.