Bell Ringer- 2/5 Write the definition of “crucible” on page 912. What is it literally, and (most importantly) what has it come to mean? The Crucible depicts a trial, and the circumstances test the character of all persons involved. Describe a circumstance in which a person’s character might be tested. What aspect of the person’s character is tested in this situation? Their truthfulness? Resistance to temptation? Loyalty? What do the person’s actions in this situation reveal about him or her? What if he or she fails the test?

American Beginnings: Introduction to The Crucible Comunicación y Gerencia American Beginnings: Introduction to The Crucible

The Salem Witch Trials Began in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 A group of girls began displaying strange behaviors such as seizures, screaming, and trances. No natural causes could be discovered… so Satan must have invaded Salem through witches! The girls were pressured to reveal who was controlling them. One person named was Tituba, a slave who confessed that many other women of the community were involved.

The Salem Witch Trials cont’d When Martha Corey, a prominent member of society was accused, the hysteria in the community spread even further. Over 150 were arrested and imprisoned. Nineteen were hanged, one was crushed to death under stones, and at least four died in prison awaiting trial.

McCarthyism: the Salem Trials repeated??? Arthur Miller noticed striking similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the mass hysteria that took over America in the 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that communists had infiltrated the State Department (1950). Thousands of people were accused of being communists, especially government employees, educators, activists, and those in the entertainment business

Allegory MAKE SURE YOU RECORD THIS DEFINITION!!  Allegory: A narrative work in which the characters, setting, and plot are used as symbols and work together to teach a moral lesson.

ALLEGORY cont’d If a text is ALLEGORICAL, it can be read on at least two levels. It has BOTH a literal meaning and a figurative or symbolic meaning. Literal meaning: The Crucible is literally a drama about the Salem Witch Trials. Figurative/symbolic meaning: The Crucible can be read symbolically as a commentary on the “witchhunt” for communists during the 1950s era of McCarthyism.

Mass Hysteria A condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement/anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs or inexplicable symptoms of illness. Modern Examples: H1N1, Aids, Doomsday 2012

The Crucible characters Protagonist: the central character in a literary work around whom the main conflict revolves; the character who promotes the action John Proctor

Elizabeth Proctor: John Proctor’s wife She knows about John’s affair with their previous “maid,” Abigail, and fired her. She has remained loyal to her husband.

Abigail Williams The girl who starts it all! She is a 17-year-old orphan. She had an affair with John Proctor and still wants him. Because she got fired following her affair, she has moved in with her uncle, Reverend Parris, and can’t get a job elsewhere as a maid. She is scheming, devious, and attention-seeking.

Reverend Parris: Abigail’s uncle; father to Betty Parris, age 10, who is in a trance at the beginning of the play. An outsider who first acted as a reverend in Barbados. Concerned mainly With his reputation, keeping his job, and money. Many members of the Salem community are against him and want him out! He owns the slave, Tituba, who is from Barbados and is practiced in what we would call “voodoo.”

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AND THINK ABOUT: Reputation – including honor and the importance of keeping one’s good name Hysteria – how does the conflict escalate? Justice vs. revenge Intolerance How does this play warn us about the effects of intolerance, revenge, and hysteria??

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AND THINK ABOUT: Reputation – including honor and the importance of keeping one’s good name Hysteria – how does the conflict escalate? Justice vs. revenge Intolerance How does this play warn us about the effects of intolerance, revenge, and hysteria??

Journal- 2/8/12 In your own words…define moral impurity. What do you think that means? What evidence have you seen of this so far in The Crucible?