The Crucible

Salem Witch Trials We watched a video yesterday speculating on the causes of the accusations that existed during the witch trials. Arthur Miller wrote a play in which he fictionalized the trials and added his own interpretation of what may have caused some of the accusations.

The Crucible During 1692, The Salem Witch Trials occurred in New England. Many were accused of witchcraft. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953 about the witch trials. He wrote the play during a time of unrest in America during anti-communist “witch hunts.” The term “witch-hunt” refers to whenever a person decides to target another person for reasons which may, or may not, be obvious.

The Crucible Even though the Puritans did believe in witches and goblins during the Salem Witch Trials, their fear of the Indians fueled the fear. Also, there were false accusations made to meet a political agenda. This is why Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950’s - he compared the accusations that were being made then to those made during the Salem Witch trials.

Intro to The Crucible months young girls 6. an apparition would come to you in the night telling you to sign the Devil’s book

Intro to The Crucible 7. The Indians and Indian War 8. main frontier 9. He was a minister who didn’t baptize his children and who disagreed with the war. Accusations were made against him, and he was hanged.

Intro to The Crucible 10. They were not hanged like today’s executions, so they suffocated or were strangled to death. 11. His death was by means of death by weight or crushing. 12. His last words were “more weight.”

Intro to The Crucible 13. If one were accused of being a witch, the land that was left would be seized by the government. False accusations were made so land could be seized. 14. Lack of sunlight could cause hysteria in the girls due to a chemical imbalance. 15. During a wet growing season, ergot may have grown in the rye and can survive the baking process; this may have made the girls sick.

Intro to The Crucible 16. Once a few girls became sick, the fear of Indians and witches, allowed the belief that they were “bewitched” to spread just by suggestion. This was shown and proven in the video that people can believe in things based on suggestion.

Intro to The Crucible Most likely explanation of the Salem Witch Trials: Some girls became sick from something like ergot poisoning The Puritans already were fearful of the Indians and Indian war This fear of the Indians and the girls’ sickness escalated their fear of witchcraft The Magistrates twisted the girls’ testimonies The judges allowed the accusation to continue to suit their political needs

The Crucible - DO NOW The word crucible comes from the Latin word for “cross.” A crucible is any pot made of material strong enough to withstand the intense heat necessary to melt down metals. Crucible also means “a severe trial or test.” What test or trial have you had to go through that is your “crucible?”

The Crucible, Act One guided reading 1. Who are Reverend Parris, Betty, and Abigail? What is their relationship? 2. Who is Tituba? What is her relationship to the family? 3. What is wrong with Betty? Describe her behavior? 4. What is Reverend Parris more concerned about-his daughter or his reputation? How do you know?

The Crucible, Act One guided reading 5. About what is Reverend Parris worried that has happened concerning Abigail’s actions? 6. Who are Ann and Thomas Putnum? What do they suggest is Betty’s problem? What is their motivation for suggesting this? 7. Who is Ruth? What is wrong with her? How do the Putnums tie her problem to Betty?

The Crucible, Act One guided reading What is the suspected cause of Betty’s illness? (1241) When the girls are alone, what do they discuss about the night before? What does Betty think they should do? What is Abigail’s reaction?

The Crucible, Act One 1. Reverend Parris is the minister of the village. He is Betty’s father and Abigail’s uncle. Abigail lives with them. 2. Tituba is the servant from Barbados for the Parris family. She is very close to Betty. 3. Betty is in bed pretending to be sick. She is unresponsive and seems to be sleeping.

The Crucible, Act One 4. The doctor can’t find a medical reason for Betty’s behavior. 5. The Putnams are neighbors who have a sick daughter, Ruth. They suggest Betty is witched because Tom Putnam is angry his brother in law didn’t become minister. 6. He worries that she has jeopardized his position as minister.

The Crucible, Act One (continued) (New Packet) 1. The girls were in the forest dancing. They were with Tituba who made a potion and Abigail wished that Proctor’s wife would die. Some drank blood.

The Crucible, Act One 2. She says she will bring a pointy reckoning in the dark night. This reveals she is manipulative, violent, and a bully. 3. Proctor is handsome, upstanding in the community, and strong. He speaks the truth and calls out others who are false.

The Crucible, Act One 4. Abigail and John had an affair. 5. She said Elizabeth told lies about her and called her a cold, sniveling woman. 6. Francis Nurse was in a land battle with Putnam. The Nurses also prevented Putnam’s brother in law from becoming minister.

The Crucible, Act One 7. Rebecca says Betty is playing and will come around when she bores of this game. 8. Parris only speaks about hell and damnation during his sermons. They also say he is only concerned about money and the deed to his house.

The Crucible, Act One 9. Putnam’s father left the largest portion of land to the stepbrother and was denied when he tried to break the will. He might make a false accusation. 10. Giles is old, new to religion, and grumpy. 11. Reverend Hale is educated and takes his role as demonologist very seriously.

The Crucible, Act One 12. Hale fires questions at Tituba and makes her nervous. During the conversation, Tituba realizes that to save herself, she must accuse others. 13. The girls join in on the accusations when they see Tituba is not in trouble. The girls are motivated by their involvement in dancing in the woods and want to get out of trouble. Eleven are accused.