Brenna Dooley- HistoryElizabeth Levy- English

Arthur Miller’s

Key Facts

• Play: - Tragedy- an event resulting in great loss and misfortune - Allegory-an extended metaphor

• Tone- Serious and Tragic • Setting- 1692 Salem, Massachusetts • Written- Early 1950s - America

Summary Overview• Girls are caught dancing

with Tituba• Abigail had affair

with Proctor• Betty wakes up

screaming (bewitched?)• Tituba admits to speaking with Devil &

blames others too• Elizabeth grows jealous of Abigail: due to

affair with husband who won’t denounce her.

• Elizabeth is accused and arrested for witchcraft– Proctor sends Mary to expose Abigail and friends

• Elizabeth is pregnant- spared for time• Mary testifies against girls

– Girls accuse Mary of bewitching them

• Elizabeth lies to protect husband; Mary accuses Proctor; he’s arrested

Tituba

Abigail Betty

Elizabeth

ProctorMary

harasses to testify against girls

pushes to

accuse

Abigail

Testifies against

Accuse of

bewitching

accuses

•Abigail- runs away with Parris’s money

•Hale- begs ‘witches’ to confess

• John Proctor- confesses; won’t incriminate anyone else– Retracts admission

• John Proctor & Others found guilty are hung: 19 DEAD

Themes• Intolerance

– Theocratic society• Moral & State Laws are ONE

– God or Devil?

• Reputation– Guilt by association– Drives motives

• Hysteria– Supplants logic– Tears apart community

Motifs• Empowerment

– Females– African American

• Accusations/ Legal Proceedings– Paris– Witchcraft

• Witch Trials/ McCarthyism– Both Confess and ‘name names’

Major Characters

Virtuous &

Cold

Hung for Witchcraft

Married to Elizabeth

Honest & Upright

John Procter

Once servant of Proctors

Liar and Manipulative

Had an affair

Niece of Reverend

Paris

AbigailWilliams

Background Info

• The Crucible explores discrimination caused by hysteria during Salem witch trials (Sept 1692). Hundreds of people were accused of witchcraft, convicted, imprisoned, and executed

• Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) American politician– 1950-Led campaign against Communist subversion – His charges were often not well substantiated. – United States Senate voted to censure him for his tactics.

• February 1950- first attracted national attention with the charge that Communists infiltrated the Dept. of State.– Accusations never substantiated. During next three years he accused

various high-ranking officials of subversive activities. – 1953- continued to probe alleged Communist activities as chairman of

the Senate subcommittee on investigations,– April 1954- accused the secretary of the army of concealing

foreign espionage activities. • The parallelism of times makes one aware of:

– the cycle of history.– results of the hysteria of both time periods. – Literature as a form of expression,

sometimes designed to enlighten us of our past mistakes, in the hopes that we can learn and not repeat them.

• Blacklisting –(1947) refusal to hire people in entertainment industry because they were thought to have a connection to Communism.

– Many were fired & could not find jobs. – Blacklisting was secret, it is unknown how many hundreds of people were affected.

• Created after the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), held public hearings investigating influences of Communists in the motion picture

industry. Some “friendly” witnesses told HUAC the names of other “Communists.”• Ten men (aka The Hollywood 10) called to testify, refused to talk, insisting the

questions violated their constitutional rights, went to prison in 1950 for anywhere from 6 mo.-1yr.

• Within a few years, hundreds were blacklisted. – Many refused to talk about their Communist connections or others, in the business.

Many people did have a Communist connection, though they had never done anything illegal.

– During early years of the Cold War, anyone who was suspected of sympathizing with Communists could lose his or her job.

• Transformed American theater at the end of WWII.

• Profoundly influenced by the Depression and WWII – Tapped into dissatisfaction and

unrest within America. – Dramas considered the conscience

and redemption of the times, allowed people an honest view of the direction the country had taken.

• Miller’s works were inspired by actual events

• The Crucible– 1st on Broadway (Jan 22, 1953)– Expanded his voice and concern for

the well being of the working class.– Within 3 years, Miller was called

before the HCUA, and convicted of contempt for not cooperating.

• During the difficult time- ended short and turbulent marriage with Marilyn Monroe.

• Throughout 1960s and 1970s, he wrote very little of note, he concentrated a bit on the Holocaust, then comedies.

• What events and accusations started the hysteria that led up to McCarthyism?

• What are some examples of discrimination during the accusations, and to what degree do you think discrimination was a cause of the hysteria?

• How did local, state, and federal government leaders respond to the accusations and proceedings? 

• How did the general public react to accusations of communism?• Discuss the role that grudges and personal rivalries play in the witch

trial hysteria?• How do the witch trials empower individuals who were previously

powerless? • Compare and contrast the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism.• Understand the living conditions in Massachusetts in the 1700s• Examine the dynamics of Puritanism in 1692• Gather historical perspectives of American Colonial period

• Formulate a goal statement which indicates the principles or concepts to be understood at the completion of the lesson

• Select the primary content base which will serve as the catalyst for instruction

• Identify events, discoveries, and writings within other disciplines that relate to the primary content base in a meaningful way

• Determine the key points of intersection between the disciplines which correspond to the established terminal goal of instruction.

• Formulate instructional objectives • Identify the necessary prerequisite knowledge that students

must possess in each discipline area you will address • Formulate instructional strategies which will compel students

to use their knowledge in one discipline to better understand and appreciate another