Crucible Intro

8/3/2019 Crucible Intro

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/crucible-intro 1/14

Agenda 10/25

Peer Partners

Peer Review: “Burning House” Essay

Introduce: The Crucible WARM-UP: Respond to following quote:

“Sex, sin, and the Devil were early linked, and

so they continued to be in Salem, and aretoday.” --Author Miller



The Crucible

A witch hunt and a metaphor



RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

In the 1600s, Puritans settled on the East

coast of the United States. They brought

with them the hope of religious freedom,

but instead became embroiled in hysteria

over the existence of witches. They had

been persecuted in their native England,but they created a theocracy and eventually

persecuted others.



WHO WERE THE ACCUSED?

Most of those accused of being witches were women. Many were healers, and used plants to heal people.

Many were without family, and this made them easy

targets.

They were people who did not fit in with the mainstream

for some reason.





Thorny Subjects

Miller tackles some of the thorniest subjects of

Puritans’ day and our day: religion, true spirituality,

and sexual desire.

The characters are indeed placed inside a burningcrucible, and their reactions to these forces speak to

us of universal attitudes and motivations

The linking of such powerful subjects (such as the

devil, sex, and sin) gives the play its longevity



SPECTRAL EVIDENCE

One of the ways most witches were accused was with the

use of “spectral evidence.” If someone said they had seenthe accused with the devil in a dream, or that the accused

had visited them in the night, or had hurt them, it was

taken as evidence that the devil was at work.

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20 executed

Between 175 to

200 imprisoned



How did it start? In 1692, several girls in the village of Salem, Massachusetts

became intrigued when a West Indian servant told them stories

of magic and voodoo from her native land. Bored and restricted by the oppressive Puritan life, the girlsslipped into the woods one night and “conjured” love charms

and hexes.

One girl, Betty Parris, slipped into unconsciousness when herfather caught them. She wouldn‟t wake up, and this started the

discussion of witchcraft. To avoid punishment, the girls

created the story of the “witches” who made them dance and

conjure the spells.



Why did it happen? It began as a way for the oppressed girls to avoid being

punished. It then became an ideal way to get revenge on anyone whom

you disliked. People started accusing their neighbors of being witches so

they could steal their farmland. People accused others of being witches if they wanted to

steal their husbands or wives or possessions.



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SYSTEM OF JUSTICE

Those accused of being witches

were most often found guilty.

Sometimes they were sentenced tobe tied to a rock dunked in a

pond, and if they sank, they were

declared innocent. Innocent. If

they somehow survived the

dunking, they were obviously

witches, and they were executed.

Most of those found guilty of

witchcraft were hung.

One man was pressed to death

with rocks because he refused to

plead guilty or innocent, insuring

that his sons still inherited hislands.



Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible”

Arthur Miller, one of America‟s most famous playwrights,

lived during the 1950s and experienced the Communisthysteria of the era. People thought their were Commies

everywhere, and one man, Senator Joseph McCarthy, made

it his personal mission to find Communists and destroy their

lives by bringing them before something called the HOUSE

UNAMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE.

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THE RED SCARE

Senator McCarthy accused many people — actors, writers,

people in media, people in the military — of being Communists.

He held hearings where people were commanded to give names

of other Communists in order for leniency. People were afraid

they might be named as Communists, and it was called the Red

Scare. („Red‟ was a word used for a Communist.)

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THE ANALOGY

The Crucible was Arthur Miller‟s way of

protesting the House Unamerican ActivitiesCommittee hearings. He compared the

Communist hearings to the witch hunts of

Salem, where gossip, rumors, and fear were

evidence enough to convict people.

The term “witch hunt” now applies to any

activity where people are looking for a

scapegoat or where they are using accusations

to get revenge or to get personal gain or

attention.



REFLECTION

Based on what you‟ve heard about the Salem Witch Trials andthe McCarthy hearings, write a paragraph detailing any

connections you see between the two occurrences.

Why do you think Arthur Miller chose to use the period of

history (1692) that he chose? Why didn‟t he just write aboutthe Red Scare and the McCarthy trials?

Are there any differences between the two occurrences (other

than the obvious things, like time periods and clothes, etc.)

Discuss examples of modern day “witch hunts” that may be

affecting our society and our beliefs about freedom from

persecution.

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Crucible Intro

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