The Crucible Act 1 summary - very good PDF

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The Crucible Act 1 summary - very good will help with notes and understanding the questions and the text....

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The Crucible Act 1 summary •

Parris is obsessed with his reputation

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Ann Putnam and Thomas Putnam come into the room and say that their daughter Ruth is also afflicted by witchcraft.

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Ann Putnam confesses that she has seven children that either were born dead or dies soon after childbirth and says there now Ruth has also been afflicted by witches.

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Parris is determined not to accept that there was witchcraft

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Abigail comes and talks to them and Marcy Lewis join. Everyone else leaves and only mercy, Abigale and betty are left in the room.

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Abigale personality changes and becomes powerful. She commands Mercy to abide by what she has already confessed - that they danced but did nothing else. They also know that Tituba tried to do a spell to conjure up ruth's dead siblings.

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Merry warren comes in and is panicked that everyone is talking Abigale witching she says Abigale will only be whipped for dancing and Abigale replies "ho we'll be whipped". Abigail also drank blood as part of the charm to kill Elizabeth.

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John Proctor enters Abigale starts flirting with him, acting older and seducing him. John rebuffs her which makes her more angry - he says it was a moment of weakness and he lobes Elisabeth.

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Parris was singing the psalm (a Christian song) and betty hears "going up to Jesus" and starts screaming.

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Rebecca nurse is an old women and says is talking about all of her children - she says they all were silly at home at some point and it isn't witchcraft.

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Putnam, Proctor and Parris get into an argument. Putnam is angry at Proctor because Putnam is greedy and wants land and money that he believes Proctor has taken. He says Proctor doesn't even go to church and observe "Sabbath day". Against the 10 Commandments - shows Proctor's bad reputation.

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Proctor says that he doesn't go because Parris keeps talking about Hell and money in Church, rather than preaching about God. He is a good Christian man and prays at home.

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Reverend Hale arrives! Hale starts questioning everyone and asking for their opinions, he is very educated and has a lot of books.

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Parris tells him that he saw Abigail dancing in the wood. Abigail admits to dancing and accidentally says that they didn't even see what jumped into the kettle.

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They all question her and she admits that they were dancing around a kettle and a frog had been in it.

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Hale questions her intensely and she panics - and blames Tituba to save herself (slave, black, already accused).

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They bring in Tituba for questioning and she cannot stand up for herself.

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She will be hanged if she's guilty, so to save herself, she confesses and says that she was with the Devil. Hale says that she will be forgiven and she opens up to the light/God.

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Abigail acts as if she has also "seen the light' and is with God and they thus believe her shenanigans. She accuses (along with Betty) about 7 or 8 people of witchcraft

PARADOX of the play: to be 'saved', they must confess to witchcraft which is another sin (lying). Otherwise if they are innocent, they will be hanged anyway.

Act 1 significant characters • Reverend Parris: obsessed with his reputation • Abigail Williams: individual manipulation of the collective, anomaly in society • John proctor: the tragic hero a morally flawed character who acts as the moral compass of the story • Reverend hale: compare him to Parris to show the inconsistencies in human behaviour • Tituba the other in society an anomaly Allegory: Arthur miller's didactic purpose in commenting on the red scare/ McCarthyism through the story of Salem witchcraft. Motif: an ongoing symbol or representation in the play. The motif of the window, the light and the dark imagery all allow for the miller to convey significant ideas. Dramatic irony: the characters don’t know something that the audience does e.g. the reason that Abigale was fired from maid service. Authorial intrusion: Arthur miller inserts himself into the story to provide his perception of the actions and behaviours of the characters. He conveys the background info that we need to understand their motivations. Stages directions: reflect in the inner motivation/ perspectives of the characters and their true thoughts and actions.

Significant themes Individual vs society Conformity Tragic heroism Religious and political oppression Deceit

Manipulation...