The Crucible-Introductory Activities PDF

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The Crucible When Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was first staged in 1953, it was widely acclaimed as a metaphor for the recklessness of Joseph McCarthy and his spurious crusade against communism. In its 1996 screen adaptation (scripted by Miller), the tone has been adjusted somewhat and plays as a warning against the dangers of political and religious extremism of all kinds. After a group of young women is accused of witchcraft in the Puritan community of Salem, Mass. in 1692, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) is held in suspicion of practicing magic. Abigail in turn levels charges against John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen). Abigail has a private grudge against the Proctors; while working as their servant, she had an affair with John, and when John ended the relationship and returned to his wife, Abigail was fired. Now the Reverend Parris (Bruce Davison) is hearing accusations and counter-accusations of misdeeds from all sides of the community in the wake of Abigail's charges, so he brings in Judge Danforth (Paul Scofield) to determine who is guilty or innocent.

BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM 1. What societies can you think of where there is or has been political or religious oppression that we know of? Describe two examples where this has been the case. There has been political and religious oppression to the Jews in Nazi Germany and there have also been many instances of political and religious conflict in Asia and Africa including; the Chinese Civil War - where the Chinese public was fighting the government and the Rwandan Genocide – which was a mass slaughter of three ethnic groups in East Africa. 2. When Mary Warren is faced with being outcast from the other teenage girls if she continues to tell the truth, she bows under their pressure and condemns John Proctor to death. Can you think of a situation in which you have felt similar pressure from your peers to think or act in a particular fashion? Describe and explain your actions. I have felt peer pressure during my junior years in high school, when I was very gullible and shy. Some of my friends did not like another one of my classmates and they were acting really nasty to her – backstabbing her and talking about her behind her back. I was convinced that everything they said was true and I needed to do the same to ‘fit-in’ with the group. However, I realised that she was a nice person and did not deserve to be treated so badly and decided to befriend her instead. I was not going to do the same thing as everyone else just so I could ‘fit-in’ anymore. 3. Part of the popularity of The Crucible has to be its exploration of witchcraft. Why do you think people are so fascinated with this subject matter? What other texts can you think of that have this as a basis? (They can be films, books, plays, poetry.) I think that witchcraft is a fascination to many because witches are supernatural beings who are mysterious and no one knows if they really exist. Many people also curious about the things witches do – are they like witches in cartoons, with pointy hats and broomsticks? Or are they like normal people with supernatural powers? Other texts that explore witchcraft are: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, The Witches by Roald Dahl and The Bewitched Book by Herbie J. Pilato. 4. Arthur Miller comments on the popularity of the story with young people. Why do you think this might be so? Young people are probably more interested in The Crucible because the concept of the supernatural is bewildering to them and they are curious about what happens to witches. Young people usually enjoy watching movies with a supernatural theme as it is something out-of-the-ordinary and this usually intrigues the minds of young people.

5. Miller says the film is ‘full of human relations.’ The Crucible is a very passionate story. Why do people enjoy watching passionate characters? What things might they be passionate about in the Play? People enjoy watching passionate characters they can sometimes be very amusing to watch but their character can also be exaggerated. Passionate characters usually make the audience either love them or hate them. These characters are usually the driving force of the success for a movie. In the Play the characters are probably passionate about trying to wipe out the existence of witchcraft and strictly obeying ‘God’s’ commandments.

Tasks after watching the film: choose eight of the following. Answers must be detailed and substantial- 200 words each approx. 1. Explain Abigail’s actions from her point of view. In The Crucible, Abigail is an eighteen year-old housekeeper for John and Elizabeth Proctor. While Elizabeth Proctor was sick, Abigail and John had an affair, but after Elizabeth recovered, she found out about the affair. John regretted having the affair with Abigail and tried to reconcile with his wife. However, Elizabeth was cold towards him. During all of this, Abigail still had feelings for John, but John did not want to have anything to do with her as she was still a child and he was trying to make up to his wife. Abigail was probably feeling very sad and defeated that she could not have what she wanted. Therefore she tried to use all sorts of methods to try to get John’s attention: including witchcraft and near the end of the movie, she tried to kill his wife by accusing her as a witch - she said that Elizabeth Proctor sent her spirit to her and stabbed her. Abigail was trying to eliminate the competition. She was probably thinking, “If I eliminate the competition, John would be mine.” This is probably the reason why she acted like she did. Abigail, after all, was still a child and had not become an adult yet, which justifies her immature, irrational actions. Abigail was also guilty of controlling the girls; she was a good actor and was able convince the jury that people were innocent of witchcraft were witches. This is also understandable as she did not want to be blamed for anything that she did. She was still young and it is understandable that she wanted to get away with the things she did.

2. Improvise a conversation between Abigail and Mary Warren following the scene in which Mary denounces John Proctor. What might both girls be feeling and saying at this time? They may or may not be truthful with each other. Abigail must have been furious when Mary spoke out against the girls – saying that they were lying and they saw no spirits – and she must have also become quite sad and anxious that John would be retained by the court for questioning as a result of Mary denouncing him. The conversation I imagine they would have after Mary denounces John Proctor goes like this: Abigail: [while grabbing Mary by the collar of her shawl or dress] Mary, you stupid, little, brat! Why would you do something so evil? Mary: [Scared, shivering and crying] I’m really sorry Abigail. I didn’t want to do it, John forced me to. Abigail: [slapping Mary with widened eyes] You insolent little brat! You wanted me dead didn’t you? Well you don’t know what is coming. Mary: [scared to death by Abigail] I really am truly sorry Abigail. Please don’t hurt me, I promise not to tell anyone anything. [Abigail storms off furiously after giving Mary a few beatings] Abigail must have already started devising a plan to help John escape – which she thought would win his heart – then running away somewhere where John would not be killed and she would not be condemned so that they could be together. On the other hand, Mary was probably terrified and worried about what Abigail might do to her to get revenge for what she said during the court hearing and then denouncing the man she loved.

3. Imagine you are Elizabeth Proctor. Picture yourself in the scene where you stand in front of Danforth in the courtroom to answer his questions about the relationship between your husband and Abigail. What might you be considering at this point? It is likely that you will be thinking back over your relationship with your husband and ahead to what may happen in the future, dependent on your answer. You may be calm inside, or feeling panicky. Present your thoughts in the form of a monologue. “To your knowledge, has John Proctor committed the crime of lechery? Answer my question! Is your husband an adulterer?” [A look inside Elizabeth’s mind at this moment.] Danforth just asked if John had committed adultery. What should I say, what should I do? This situation is extremely uncomfortable, it feels as if I am about to faint. The pressure on me is immense. I can’t lie, but I also can’t ruin my husband. Adultery is a sin, we all know that. What will happen to John if I say that he is an adulterer? What will happen to him if I say he isn’t? If I say that John is innocent of the crime of adultery, I would be going against our great God, the Lord, our Heavenly Father and committing a terrible sin. I have never lied before in my life. Is it worth committing a sin to save my John’s ‘Good name’? But if I say that John really did commit adultery with Abigail when I was sick, then he would be condemned by the public. Which is more worth it? His fate lies in my hands. I have decided. I can risk going to hell because of this lie. I’m going to say it, I’m going to say that he did not commit adultery. I couldn’t bear to see John suffering from the snarls and curses of the public. Therefore, it is the right thing to do. As his wife I have an obligation to be responsible for his wellbeing.

4. Hale is a man who arrives in Salem ready to do combat with the forces of evil but whose attitude and opinions change during the course of events. What impression of him do we gain from the film? Reverend John Hale is considered an expert in witchcraft; he was trained and thought to be the best witch-hunter around. He was initially called to examine and give a diagnosis of Betty – Parris’ daughter who was pretending to be possessed by the devil. When he first arrives, Hale seems like a second Danforth who just wanted to be rid of anyone that was considered ‘bad’ or a ‘witch’. He preaches to Betty about repenting and confessing to become a ‘God-fearing girl’. Even though his intentions were good – killing all the witches – he had already signed 17 death warrants to people that were most likely innocent. However, Hale totally changed after he went to see the Proctor’s to get a better idea of what kind of people they were. He realised that he may not be the best witch hunter after all and the people that were killed were probably innocent. Hale later tries to compensate for the lives that were lost by counselling those that were accused of witchcraft to confess so that they would not be hanged. It can be seen, that Hale was once a cocky man who thought that he was the best witchhunter in the world and he had great ability to hunt witches. However, Hale experiences a complete character turn-around. Hale becomes a man who feels that the blood of many people is on his hands and he must atone his wrong judgements in the past by counselling people in the present to confess about working with the ‘devil’ so that they would not be hanged. Hale is, ultimately, a good man who feels guilty for the bloodshed of so many people and he tries to change the fate of people who are thought to be witches..

5. Should the young girls be forgiven, or are they largely guilty? Do you think teenagers should be held to adult law? The young girls should be forgiven as they are still in the stages of growing up. It is perfectly normal for girls in the teenage to young adult years to be quite selfish and only think about what they like or what would benefit them. The girls are still young and they just wanted to break-free from the strict, over-controlling society to have a night of fun. Teenagers should not be held to adult law as is it unfair for them. Why should teenagers be held to adult law when they do not have the same rights as adults? Teenagers need consent from their parent or guardian before doing basic things that adults are allowed to do on an everyday basis. There are also age restraints for teenagers under a certain age to do some things adults can freely do. For example, teenagers are not allowed to vote, are not allowed to drive until they reach a certain age, not allowed to watch certain movies until they reach a certain age, etc. Teenagers are bottles full of hormones that are about to burst at any moment. They should be allowed the right to enjoy their teenage years. Therefore, these hormone-filled creatures, which usually act without thinking of the consequences beforehand, should not be held to adult law as the law does treat them as adults.

6. Who are the only ‘good’ characters in the film? What motivates them to behave in this exceptional way? The only good main character in the film is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor is an extremely devoted Christian who is loyal to her husband – John Proctor. Even though she has lost the love and respect she once had for her husband she never cheated on him. Like her husband cheated on her, leading to his fall from grace. When Elizabeth found out about the affair that John had with Abigail, their house keeper, she fired her and did not do anything more to Abigail. She shows the goodness of Elizabeth Proctor. Even though her husband committed a terrible sin with her housekeeper, she stayed calm and did not act irrationally – eg. trying to get revenge on Abigail by either making her miserable or making her life a living hell for what she did to her husband. Elizabeth is also said to have never committed any sins or told any lies. The first one she told was the lie in court where she was trying to protect her husband from losing his ‘good name’ in the town. However, this lie results in her husband being sentenced to death. It is easy to see that Elizabeth Proctor is a character is full of goodness and kindness. She is proven to be a selfless, loyal, devoted Christian woman that understands social situations, which makes her a character that shines of goodness.

7. Describe and discuss other ‘witch hunts’ in history. Compare them to those in The Crucible. There have been a staggering amount of witch hunts in history, killing at least fortythousand people altogether. The main population of people killed for sorcery were women, with the ratio of women to men at about 80 per cent to 20 per cent. The witch hunts occurred in many different countries all over the world, but the witch-hunts were mainly carried out in Central Europe in the medieval times and around Africa and India in modern times. There were also a few witch-trials in Salem, America – which is where the crucible is set. Medieval England and Germany are the most popular countries that had ‘witch hunts’ in Europe. In Europe and Germany, sorcery was a punishable crime and people who were thought to be practising witch craft were tortured then killed or killed straight-away. Witches were usually burned alive or hanged. There was one test that was carried out in Medieval England to prove whether a person was a witch or not. The alleged witches were thrown into a deep lake with a heavy rock attached to their leg and if they sank they were witches, if they floated, they were innocent. There are also some other tests that did not necessarily mean certain death such as the needle test – where a mole or blemish in the skin was poked with a needle and if the person did not feel the prick, the person would be a witch. However, examiners often used blunt needles so the person would surely get convicted. The witch trials in England were much different from the witch trials in the town of Salem in ‘The Crucible’. In Salem, witch craft was judged on the eye-witnesses, they did not have certain tests to prove whether a person was a witch, judges and witch-hunters relied on what ‘victims’ of the witches told them.

8. Are characters either all good or all bad- is this true of people in your world? Most of the characters in The Crucible are not either all good or all bad, but, there are certain characters who seem to be pure evil or purely good. Abigail, for example, is seen by the audience as an immature young woman who would do anything just so she could get the man she loved. Abigail was even willing to lie, threaten and even indirectly murder people who were in the way of her achieving the man of her dreams. She is portrayed as a hateful person who is very inconsiderate and does not stop to think about the people she hurts. Abigail just thinks of herself and her selfish desires, leading her to act the way she does. Elizabeth Proctor, on the other hand, is also known as ‘Goody Proctor’, a person who is full of goodness. She is a good Christian who follows all of the Ten Commandments. Even though she seems like a plain, boring person who just abides by the rules, Elizabeth Proctor is a good person. She is shown to be the total opposite of Abigail. She is a good, kind person that thinks of others and does not act irrationally. In the real world, people can be partly good and partly bad but the proportion of their goodness to badness will vary. Most people are good but most people also have a ‘bad’ side to them. Other Questions: 9. Suggest alternative ways of dealing with the conflict in Salem.

10. Justify John Proctor or Abigail’s behaviour. She is often condemned, can you argue that she should have been forgiven?

11. Relate the Salem witch hunts to two other examples of mob behaviour. What kind of individual can resist the lure of the mob? 12. "There are no out and out villains in The Crucible - everyone has their own reasons for behaving as they do." Answer with reference to several characters. 13. If you were a character in Salem, how would you find an alternative to the outcomes of the play?

14. Is John a hero or a villain?...