The Crucible review

Crucible as allegory Social Climate The Crucible—1692 The McCarthy hearings—1950s Fraught with petty politics and conflicts among neighbors Fraught with petty politics and conflicts among neighbors

Crucible as allegory Cultural Beliefs 1692 1950s Strong belief in God & theocracy. Enemy = devil & those who participate in witchcraft = criminals --Even more dangerous because done in secret “American Way” = ideal Communism seen as a great evil, dangerous force; Americans who had espoused communism or were sympathetic to it = treasonous

Crucible as allegory Cultural Fears 1692 1950s Knew that people in other towns had been convicted of witchcraft Knew that some communist spies had been convicted

Crucible as allegory Experts 1692 1950s The Church, especially Reverend Hale U.S. Secret Service

Crucible as allegory Trial Proceedings 1692 1950s Relentless questioning; presumption of guilt; acceptance of flimsy evidence; stubborn insistence on the validity & power of proceedings Relentless questioning; presumption of guilt; acceptance of flimsy evidence; stubborn insistence on the validity & power of proceedings

Crucible as allegory Treatment of Victims 1692 1950s 19 people hanged Several died in jail 1 pressed to death Others—jail time, loss of property & prestige Some lost their jobs Some had to leave country Most lost prestige, reputation

Crucible experience John Proctor theme Ordeal of body & mind Physical torture in jail Mental anguish over Elizabeth’s imprisonment Guilt over affair In end, purged of guilt by resisting temptation to save himself Dies strong—has integrity to die to save his good name A terrible ordeal can sometimes lead to personal growth

Crucible Experience Elizabeth Proctor Theme Anxiety from time of discovery of affair, through willingness to lie, up to meeting with John at the end Emotional trial She searches with her heart Accepts personal responsibility for the past Ends strong—supports husband’s choice for personal integrity A great test can strengthen you

Crucible Experience Reverend Hale Theme Conflict between intellectual knowledge & his conviction of what is morally right His crucible purges him of intellectual arrogance Scholarly knowledge is not enough; people need compassion

Crucible Experience Rebecca Nurse Theme Long known as good, holy Crucible of separation from family, imprisonment, execution does NOT diminish her strength Never falters She is precious metal surviving fire ordeal A person can stand firm against evil

Crucible Experience Giles Corey Theme Sometimes cranky, foolish Ordeal of questioning, accusation, sentencing brings out the steel of his character Self sacrifice to provide for family Unlikely heroes can emerge through difficult life situations

Crucible Experience Salem as a whole Theme Ordeal of witch hunts Executions change Salem Trials end Restitution made Theocracy stops Societies can change— slowly, even reluctantly perhaps

Crucible Experience We the audience Theme Vicariously, we view it & identify with the character’s experiences and think about the outcome It is important not to let fear lead to unreasoning panic & mindless accusation

Theme of Authority & Dissent 1st, Reverend Parris sole voice of authority in Salem (minister & graduate of Harvard) Replaced by Rev. Hale, who derives his authority from books and learning These are supplanted by the courts and its officials Individualists like Proctor & Giles rankle under these layers of authority Proctor had long rejected Parris’s preachings Corey made authority of law work for him as constant plaintiff; however, being an outlier is dangerous Dissent = being an anarchist/agent of Satan Proctor & Corey both have willingness to push back against the extreme authority of the courts; however, they also suffer greatly

Theme of Reputation Reputation dictated your fate Witch trials elevated people who normally would not have held importance (Abigail & girls, Tituba) to positions of power Conversely, they lowered people with good reputations—Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor John Proctor placed into center (landowner, but adulterer) Parris more worried about his reputation than his daughter.

Theme of Sin & Guilt Opportunity for society to publicly proclaim their own sins & sins of others Guilt has been bottled up, now airing of sins & grievances a relief Guilt motivates witch hunt & several main characters Proctor haunted by remorse over infidelity Hale works to undermine the court that he created as penance for his sins Ultimate irony: sins of trial outpace original crime & there really was no original crime; therefore, abstract concept of sin was made concrete through compounding avoidances of guilt

Martyrdom Must a martyr be a saint? Proctor grapples with this Early victims not seen as martyrs because undesirable members of society Rebecca Nurse = martyr b/c has lived an upright life Proctor sees self as borderline, not sinless When he recognizes that he does not need to be perfect , he finds his goodness

Naming of names Miller against it, felt it was evil to finger others to save oneself—puts this idea into Proctor , Giles Proctor would rather die than accuse more innocent people