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The Crucible Witch Hunt, Allegory and the Domestic Tragedy
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Connecting to Previous Unit o 1600s o Puritans o Irony of religious freedom o Intolerance o Community o Theocracy
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Witch Hunt o What is a witch hunt? Cause? Effect? Examples?
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Salem Witch Trials o Where? o When? o Who? o What? o Why?
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Mass Hysteria Witch Hunt o The cause is often a baseless belief that begins small but, like a hurricane, travels and becomes more devastating as it picks up speed. o If people are aware of the phenomenon and know its features, they will be better able to overcome the main obstacle: accepting that there is may be no actual basis for their fear.
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Communist Hearings o Where? o When? o Who? o What? o Why?
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Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” o Experienced Communist hysteria of the era o Criticism of McCarthy’s personal mission o House Un-American Activities Committee
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The McCarthy Hearings o Accused: actors, writers, media, army o Naming names for leniency o Political repression in civil arena o Resistance to discuss social or political issues
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o Miller’s way of protesting the HUAC o Compared Communist hearings to witch hunts of Salem o Credibility/Impact of gossip, rumor, fear o “Witch Hunt”—any activity where people are looking for a scapegoat or they are using accusations for revenge, personal gain, or attention “The Crucible” and Witch Hunts
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The Crucible o Salem Witch Trials of 1692 Used trial documents (Sarah Good), but fictionalized Combined, created or changed characters Major trial events are relatively accurate o Thinly veiled criticism of the House Committee on Un-American Activities
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Makings of a Witch Hunt o WWII rise of Communist Party in the US o Cold War becomes intense after USSR gains atomic power o Truman initiates disloyalty laws o House of Un-American Activities Committee reinvigorated n Investigates communist activity n Hollywood Blacklist & The Hollywood Ten n McCarthy and his accusations n Others pressured to name others as communists
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Results of both Witch Hunts o Colonial Salem 20 innocent people were executed Dozens more were imprisoned One was stoned to death Families lost their land and livelihood o 1950’s Hundreds unjustly lost their jobs 10 were jailed for 6 months to 2 years 1 was sentenced to 5 years in prison 2 were executed
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Literary Elements to Look For o Characterization o Themes o Motifs o Irony o Tragedy
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Tragic Hero in Classical Literature o Noble Stature or Rank o Potential for greatness but doomed to fail o Trapped in a situation where he cannot win o Tragic flaw, causing his fall from greatness o Even though he is a fallen hero, he still wins a moral victory, and his spirit lives on.
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Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Characteristics: Noble Stature and has greatness Tragic Flaw—not Perfect Doomed to make a serious error in judgment Punishment exceeds the crime The fall is not pure loss: awareness, gain self-knowledge, epiphany
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Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Eventually… Fall from great heights or high esteem Realize they may have made irreversible esteem Faces and accepts death with honor meet a tragic death THE AUDIENCE IS AFFECTED BY PITY and/or FEAR
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Domestic Tragedy o Emerges during Shakespearean time o Misfortunes of ordinary people o The “every man” o Impact of fate (personal vs. national) o “What is an American?” o American Ideal: Everyone is valued
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o http://tttc.org/projects/JZarro2/process2.ht ml http://tttc.org/projects/JZarro2/process2.ht ml o http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/tragedy/aristot le.htm http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/tragedy/aristot le.htm
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