1. The Crucible Witch Hunt, Allegory and the Domestic Tragedy

2. Connecting to Previous Unit o 1600s o Puritans o Irony of religious freedom o Intolerance o Community o Theocracy

3. Witch Hunt o What is a witch hunt? Cause? Effect? Examples?

4. Salem Witch Trials o Where? o When? o Who? o What? o Why?

5. 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.

6. Communist Hearings o Where? o When? o Who? o What? o Why?

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Literary Elements to Look For o Characterization o Themes o Motifs o Irony o Tragedy

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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