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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND – THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS OF 1692

In order to understand how reasonable people could allow themselves to take part in the miscarriage of justice that the Salem witch trials represent,

we need to consider the kind of society the Puritans created in Salem Village.

Theocracy by Consent

Massachusetts was different from the other colonies in that it was a theocracy (a commonwealth dominated by theology).

Their system of governance was founded on and designed to preserve their religious principles.

New Jerusalem

The Puritans believed they were God’s chosen people on an errand in the wilderness

(literally believed they were establishing a New Jerusalem).

The Puritans feared the wilderness: originally they tried to convert the Natives in the area,

but when they resisted the Puritans decided the Natives were agents of the Devil who needed to be destroyed.

Feuding Factions

Although witchcraft charges were common at the time, no other community experienced such widespread panic and terror.

There were feuding factions within the community who used the terror to further their own causes.

Instability in the Village

Friction among the residents and political instability of the village (under siege by the Natives) give us the motives of the adults.

But what about the children? The presence of Tituba among the girls, society’s oppression, religious belief and fear of prosecution,

a sense of impending doom from Native raids and the political instability (mixed with the rivalries of the village)

all combined to produce the social paranoia that fueled the witch hunts.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2 – THE RED SCARE AND MCCARTHYISM IN THE 1950’S

After WW2, Americans realized the Soviet Union was a powerful and potentially dangerous adversary.

This view was seemingly confirmed by the news of Soviet nuclear capability.

Riding the wave of popular opinion, Senator McCarthy created a stir and rose to national prominence

by announcing to the media that he had information proving that high ranking officers

and executives in the U.S. State Department and in the military were communists.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2 – THE RED SCARE AND MCCARTHYISM IN THE 1950’S

His unsupported allegations gave rise to congressional investigations.

In all walks of life (film and television, business, education, government) innocent people were unjustly persecuted for their views.

Many were fired from their jobs simply for being suspected of being a communist!

Although McCarthy had a few years of celebrity, he was eventually proved to be a fraud.

The “Red Scare” ended, but not before many people had their lives, families and careers destroyed.

INTRODUCTION- origin of the term “scapegoat”

Leviticus 16:20-22

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.

22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

Definitions:

Scapegoat: A person, group, or thing that bears the blame for the mistakes or crimes of others.

Witch-hunt: An attempt to find and publicly punish people, usually whose opinions are considered to be subversive and dangerous.

ACT 1- THE GIRLS ARE ACCUSED

The rumour that Betty is the victim of witchcraft is running rampant in Salem, and a crowd has gathered in Parris’s parlor.

Parris has sent for Reverend John Hale of Beverly, an expert on witchcraft, to determine whether Betty is indeed bewitched.

Abigail denies that she and the girls engaged in witchcraft to Rev. Parris but then coaches the girls about what to say publicly.

ACT 1 – JOHN PROCTOR ARRIVES

In Puritan Salem, young women such as Abigail, Mary, and Mercy are largely powerless until they get married.

Proctor, in his first appearance, is presented as a quick-witted, sharp-tongued man with a strong independent streak.

These traits would seem to make him a good person to question the motives of those who cry witchcraft.

His guilt over his affair with Abigail makes him guilty of the hypocrisy that he accuses others of and weakens his resolve at key times.

During his disagreement with Rev. Parris we see that any time one argues with the church they are accused of “doing the Devil’s work”.

ACT 1 – REVEREND HALE

Reverend Hale is an intellectual man, and he has studied witchcraft extensively. He arrives at Parris’s home with a heavy load of books.

Townsfolk immediately begin questioning him about various behaviours their spouses or neighbours have been showing to see if there is an evil influence at work.

Upon questioning Abigail, Tituba gets accused which leads to a snowball effect.

Once there is a confession (and forgiveness) the others quickly begin adding their parts to get out of any possible punishment.

ACT 2 – PROCTOR HOUSEHOLD

Abigail and her troop have achieved an extremely unusual level of power and authority for young, unmarried girls in a Puritan community.

They can destroy the lives of others with a mere accusation, and even the wealthy and influential are not safe.

Mary Warren is so full of her newfound power that she feels able to defy Proctor’s assumption of authority over her.

ACT 2 – JOHN’S GUILT

Proctor’s sense of guilt begins to eat away at him.

He knows that he can bring down Abigail and end her reign of terror,

but he fears for his good name if his hidden sin of adultery is revealed.

ACT 2 – JOHN’S DILEMMA

Proctor’s intense dilemma over whether to expose his own sin to bring down Abigail is complicated by Hale’s decision

to visit everyone whose name is even remotely associated with the accusations of witchcraft.

ACT 2 – HALE’S CRISIS

Hale, meanwhile, is undergoing an internal crisis.

He clearly enjoyed being called to Salem because it made him feel like an expert.

His pleasure in the trials comes from his privileged position of authority

with respect to defining the guilty and the innocent.

However, his surprise at hearing of Rebecca’s arrest and

the warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest reveals that

Hale is no longer in control of the proceedings.

ACT 3 – SAVING THE WIVES

The desperate attempt by Giles, Proctor, and Francis to save their respective wives

exposes the extent to which the trials have become about specific individuals.

Danforth and Hathorne do not want to admit publicly that they were deceived

by a bunch of young girls, while Parris does not want the trials to end as a fraud.

the judge and the deputy governor react to Proctor’s claims by accusing him of trying to undermine the court.

ACT 3 - DEALING WITH PROCTOR In order to dispose of

Proctor’s threat, Danforth and Hathorne exercise their power to invade his privacy.

Although Proctor has not yet been formally accused of witchcraft,

Danforth and Hathorne, like Hale earlier, question him about his Christian morals

as though he were already on trial.

They hope to find in his character even the slightest deviation

from Christian doctrine because they would then be able to cast him as an enemy of religion.

ACT 3 – WHO IS TRULY INNOCENT?

Much of Act III has to do with determining who will define innocence and guilt.

Proctor makes one desperate bid for this by finally overcoming his desire to protect his good name, exposing his own secret sin.

He hopes to replace his wife’s alleged guilt with his own guilt and bring down Abigail in the process.

Unfortunately, he mistakes the proceedings for an actual search for the guilty,

when, in fact, the proceedings are better described as a power struggle.

ACT 4 – CONFESS AND BE SAVED!

Months have passed, and things are falling apart in Massachusetts,

making Danforth and Hathorne increasingly insecure.

They do not want to, and ultimately cannot, admit that they made a mistake

in signing the death warrants of the nineteen convicted,

so they hope for confessions from the remaining prisoners

to insulate them from accusations of mistaken verdicts.

ACT 4 – THE COURT’S REPUTATION

Clearly, the most important issue for the officials of the court is the preservation of

their reputations and the integrity of the court. As a theocratic institution, the

court represents divine, as well as secular, justice.

To admit to twelve mistaken hangings would be to question divine justice and

the very foundations of the state and of human life.

ACT 4 – LEAVE ME MY NAME!

Proctor fixates on his name and on how it will be destroyed if he signs the confession.

Proctor’s desire to preserve his good name earlier keeps him from testifying

against Abigail, leading to disastrous consequences.

His goodness and honesty, lost during his affair with Abigail, are recovered.

KEY FACTS OF THE PLAY

FULL TITLE  ·  The Crucible

AUTHOR  · Arthur Miller

TYPE OF WORK  · Play

GENRE  · Tragedy, allegory

TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN  · America, early 1950s

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION  ·  1953

NARRATOR  · third-person narrator who fills in the background for the characters.

CLIMAX  · John Proctor tells the Salem court that he committed adultery with Abigail Williams.

PROTAGONIST  · John Proctor

ANTAGONIST  · Abigail Williams

MORE KEY FACTS SETTING (TIME)  ·  1692 SETTING (PLACE) · Salem,

a small town in colonial Massachusetts

POINT OF VIEW ·  The Crucible is a play, so the audience and reader are entirely outside the action.

FALLING ACTION · The events from John Proctor’s attempt to expose Abigail in Act IV to his decision to die rather than confess at the end of Act IV.

TENSE · Present

TONE  · Serious and tragic—the language is almost biblical.

THEMES  · Intolerance; hysteria; reputation

MOTIFS  · Empowerment; accusation, confession, legal proceedings in general

SYMBOLS  very few examples of symbolism beyond typical witchcraft symbols (rats, toads, and bats), the entire play is meant to be symbolic, with its witch trials standing in for the anti-Communist “witch-hunts” of the 1950s.

IT’S TEST TIME!!!