1. THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller

2. Act One: Summary
Rev. Parris’s daughter Betty is lying inert on the bed.
Parris already suspects that it has something to do with witchcraft.
Abigail Williams, Ruth Putnam and a few other girls were dancing naked in the forest the previous night.
Doctor Griggs has no medical reason as to why Betty is this way, so Rev. Parris sends for Rev. Hale to see if there is any unnatural cause for this.

3. Act One: Summary
Ann Putnam arrives and also confirms that her daughter, Ruth, has been touched by the devil.
When the adults leave the room, Abigail and Mercy Lewis discuss what happened the night before and decide not to reveal too much so that they are not punished.
John Proctor (PROTAGONIST) arrives to see what the rumours are about.

4. Act One: Summary
Abigail and John Proctor are left alone and we find out about their affair.
Abigail confesses that what the girls did was just sporting.
Betty awakes for a moment and arguing occurs, as Rev. Hale arrives.
He questions Abigail and Tituba.
Abigail blames Tituba, to escape the blame.

5. Act One: Summary
Tituba avoids responsibility by saying that someone else bewitched the girls.
Putnam suggests names of women who could be responsible, and soon many women are already accused.
Abigail has successfully diverted the attention away from the girls – the hysteria begins.
Hale summons the marshal to arrest those who have been named.

6. Act Two: Summary
The action of the play now moves to John Proctor’s home, a week later.
The relationship between John and Elizabeth is strained because of the affair.
Elizabeth tries to convince John to tell what Abigail confessed to him but he is reluctant.
Mary Warren gives Elizabeth the poppet (doll) as a present.
Giles Corey and Francis Nurse arrive and bring news that Giles’s wife, Rebecca, has been arrested.

7. Act Two: Summary
Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick arrive and ask Elizabeth if she has dolls in her house because Abigail had been hurt by a needle that had been stuck in her belly.
Ezekiel finds the doll and he finds the needle in the doll, in the exact spot where Abigail was hurt.
After Mary says that she gave the doll to Elizabeth, Hale begins to doubt Abigail’s accusations but Elizabeth is arrested anyway.
John is furious. He realises that Abigail wants to get rid of Elizabeth and now wants to do everything in his power to save his wife.

8. Act Three: Summary
In the courtroom: Judge Hathorne and Deputy- Governor Danforth question Martha Corey.
Giles tries to intervene. He says that she was just arrested because Putnam wants more land.
The men leave the main courtroom to investigate further.

9. Act Three: Summary
Proctor brings Mary Warren to the court to tell the truth about the poppet.
Danforth wants to know whether Proctor wants to save Elizabeth or if he is there to challenge the court.
Elizabeth announces that she is pregnant.
Proctor says it must be true because she always tells the truth.
She will only get executed after the birth of her child.

10. Act Three: Summary
John gives a deposition signed by 91 people to testify that Elizabeth, Martha and Rebecca are all good characters.
Giles accuses Putnum of prompting Ruth to accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft so that he can buy his land when he is convicted.
When Giles refuses to say who gave him this information, he is arrested for contempt of court.

11. Act Three: Summary John Proctor confesses to his affair with Abigail.
He explains that Abigail was seeking revenge and wants Elizabeth killed so she could be with Proctor.
Danforth calls Elizabeth in to validate his story.
Elizabeth lies for the first time and says that she fired Abigail for no reason.
Proctor is arrested because he has no evidence to support his accusation.
Hale leaves the court in disgust.
Mary Warren, under pressure, rejoins the girls’ accusations.

12. Act Four: Summary
Abigail has fled Salem after stealing Rev. Paris’s money.
Hale tries to convince the prisoners who have not confessed and asked for forgiveness to do so, so they can save themselves.
Hale begs Danforth to pardon all the prisoners but he refuses.
Danforth does not want to cause doubt in the proceedings.
Danforth suggests that Elizabeth should speak to John to try to get him to confess.

13. Act Four: Summary John asks Elizabeth if he should confess.
She says that she will support him, no matter what he decides.
Proctor decides to confess but he refuses to sign the paper, he says that they have seen his confession and that is enough.
Hale and Parris plead with Elizabeth to convince Proctor to sign, but she refuses to stop him from doing what he believes is right.

14. Echoes down the corridor
Rev. Parris was voted out of the ministry, left Salem and was never heard of again.
Abigail supposedly became a prostitute in Boston.
Elizabeth remarried four years after John’s death.
Twenty years after the last execution, the government awarded compensation to the victims’ families.
Certain farms which had belonged to the victims were left to ruin, and for more than a century, no one would buy them or live on them.
The power of theocracy in Massachusetts was broken.

15. Themes: Individuality
Anyone who did not conform to the social norm was considered a threat to the community.
There was no distinction between an individual as a private person and a public person.
Thus, however you conducted yourself in private, opened yourself up to public scrutiny (examination).
John Proctor’s affair with Abigail becomes the business of the entire community.

16. Themes: Integrity The value of a good name in Salem was important.
To keep one’s reputation it was important to conform to the theocracy and keep clear of gossip.
The behaviour of many characters in The Crucible is governed by their desire to protect their reputation.
In the beginning of the play, Parris fears that Abigail’s affliction will bring disgrace to the household.
Proctor also avoids exposing Abigail’s true motives in the witch-crying for fear that his own sin will be revealed.

17. Themes: Irrationality
The people of Salem no longer trust their neighbours as they are not sure who is involved with the devil’s work.
The hysteria (panic) also provides the opportunity for people to act out their grudges.
The Putnams accuse their enemies of witchcraft so that they can get their land.
Abigail accuses Elizabeth so that she can try to get John Proctor.

18. Symbolism/Imagery: The Poppet
In the practice of voodoo, the poppet is a hand-sewn doll that is believed to represent the spirit of a specific person.
If needles are stuck into the doll, it is believed that the person represented by the doll will feel pain.
When Mary Warren sits in court making a doll as a gift for Elizabeth, Abigail uses the idea as a means to get Elizabeth arrested.

19. Characters with integrity
JOHN PROCTOR
In his mid-thirties, married to Elizabeth.
He is respected and feared in Salem.
He is respected because he is a man of integrity who is not swayed by party politics.
He is feared because he uses his sharp tongue to criticise hypocritical behaviour.
He shows he is a man of integrity by refusing to sign a false confession.

20. Characters with integrity
ELIZABETH PROCTOR
In some way, she does not blame John for having the affair with Abigail because she knows that she is cold and plain.
She is intensely loyal to her husband.
She never lies, until the end, when she tries to save her husband.
Unfortunately, the only lie she ever tells, condemns him.

21. Characters with integrity
GOODWIFE REBECCA NURSE
Rebecca is Francis Nurse’s wife.
She is a wise and decent woman.
There is no reason that she should be accused of witchcraft, other than to get her and husband out of the way, so that the Putnams can buy their land.
The only other reason she is accused is the speculation that she is bewitched because she was the midwife to Ruth Putnam and seven of her babies died soon after birth, even though they were health babies.

22. Characters who lack integrity
REVEREND SAMUEL PARRIS
He is in his mid-fourties.
His aims are materialistic.
His sermons are filled with damnation and aggression, making him unpopular.
He uses the witch-hunt as a means to destroy his enemies.
He is self-centred and power-hungry.
He has low morals and is a coward.

23. Characters who lack integrity
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS
Abigail is Reverend Parris’s niece.
She was initially Elizabeth Proctor’s servant but was fired when Elizabeth found out about the affair.
She is malicious (cruel) and dishonest.
She is determined to accuse Elizabeth so that she can have John Proctor to herself.
She is clever and manipulative with the other girls.
She acts out of her own selfishness and guilt, for her own self-preservation.

24. People involved in the naming
BETTY PARRIS
Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter.
She is 10 years old.
She is terrified when her father catches her dancing in the forest with the other girls.
This causes her to go into a strange state of unconsciousness.
It is this behaviour that sparks the rumours of witchcraft.

25. People involved in the naming
RUTH PUTNAM
Ann Putnam’s only surviving child.
Her mother asked her to go to Tituba to conjure up the spirits of her dead brothers and sisters to find out why they died.
She also falls into a state of unconsciousness when Reverend Parris finds her in the forest, dancing with the other girls.

26. People involved in the naming
TITUBA
She is a slave brought from Barbados,
with Reverend Samuel Parris, to serve
in his home.
She knows all about voodoo and black magic.
The girls encourage her to entertain them with her stories, and thus, she becomes an innocent victim in their game.
Initially, she helps to identify the “witches” but then takes the blame and is arrested for witchcraft.

27. People involved in the naming
MERCY LEWIS
She is one of the servants in the Putnam’s household.
She is probably encourage to join in on the accusing by Thomas Putnam, so that he can gain more land.
MARY WARREN
She replaces Abigail as the Proctor’s servant.
She is shy and easily manipulated by Abigail.
Mary tries to tell the truth about Abigail and her motivations behind the accusations.
She is terrified of losing her life, so she quickly sides with Abigail again, when the girls turn on her.

28. People of the court REVEREND JOHN HALE
He was a devoted Christian who hates the devil and anything to do with witchcraft.
He immersed himself in the study of the Devil and devil-worshipping.
Hale’s presence in Salem brings about the witch-crying hysteria.
In his passion, he encourages confessions.
In the end, he loses faith in the justice system.
He tries desperately to get the “witches” to confess.

29. People of the court JUDGE HATHORNE
He wants to uphold to law and justice, in spite of finding the truth and saving innocent lives.
He protect himself and the reputation of the Court.
MARSHAL HERRICK
He carries out the arrests and other duties of the Court.

30. People of the court DEPUTY-GOVERNOR DANFORTH
Like Hathorne, he is initially convinced that what he is doing is correct.
He proceeds with the trials to uphold the validity of the Court and his own reputation.
EZEKIEL CHEEVER
He is an honest clerk of the Court and he is determined to carry out the duty imposed on him by the court.

31. Factions in Salem THOMAS PUTNAM ANN PUTNAM
A wealthy farmer and politician.
A prominent and influential citizen in Salem.
He considers himself the intellectual superior of most of the people around him.
He had the former minister of Salem (George Burrows) jailed for debts he did not owe.
He failed in the attempt for his brother-in-law (James Bayley) to be elected as minster before Parris came.
These failures made Thomas feel as if his own name and the honour of his family had been smirched by the village.
He encourages his daughter (Ruth) to cry out witches, so he can buy up land cheaply.
Ann is Thomas Putnam’s 45-year-old wife.
Ruth is her only surviving child out of 8 children.
Ann is desperate for answers, so she sends Ruth to Tituba to conjure up the spirits of her dead children.
Ann blames her children’s deaths on witchcraft and encourages the witch-hunts.

32. Factions in Salem FRANCIS NURSE REBECCA NURSE
He is a wealth man in Salem.
He is influential and a leader of the faction opposing the Putnams.
He is well respected by many citizens.
This fuels the Putnam’s jealousy and he is accused of witchcraft too.
She is a wise and decent woman.
She suffers as a result of the jealousy that the Putnams have towards her husband.
There is no reason why she should be accused of witchcraft, other than to get her and Thomas out of the way, so that the Putnams can buy their land.
She is also said to be bewitched because she is the midwife to Ann Purnam’s babies who die, after having been healthy.

33. Factions in Salem GILES COREY MARTHA COREY
Giles is an old man in his eighties.
He is blamed for anything that goes wrong or that goes missing.
This was probably because he did not give a hoot for public opinion and because he was a crank and a nuisance.
He is also brave and innocent.
He is the only “witch” to be sentenced to death by having stones piled on top of him to crush him to death.
He dies without confessing, so that his sons could inherit the land.
Martha is Giles’s third wife.
She is an elderly woman who is quite religious.
Giles innocently remarks about her strange reading, which leads to her arrest and false conviction.