Marissa Caguioa

Janna Storer
English 3 Honors American Literature Block 5
September 24, 2019
Socratic Circle Reflection on The Crucible
In this Socratic seminar, I would rate my individual performance as a five out of ten. I
believe my participation was sufficient as I responded to each question except for the last
question about catharsis. However, the quality of my contributions was substandard. I did not
bring up any new points, but rather summarized the thoughts of my peers mainly because my
points were the same or similar to my peers’ contributions. In order to improve upon my
performance, I need to allow myself more time to think about the topics on a deeper level. In
addition, I should attempt to reach a full understanding of each question so that I may be able to
participate in the entire discussion.
As a group, I would rate our collective performance as a seven out of ten. My inner circle
did well in using textual evidence to support their arguments; this helped to validate and
strengthen their claims because they had specific details to support them. However, we may have
been too fixated on the text that it impinged on fluid dialogue in the circle. I specifically have
this opinion because there were some arguments that I wished to speak more about, but I was too
concerned on finding textual evidence to support my argument that I never got to express my
thoughts. In order to improve upon this aspect as a group, we should all feel more comfortable
expressing our opinions freely so we can explore the depth of each argument. My outer circle
could also make certain improvements. My group members could have participated more and
given specific feedback. Because I did not see much participation, I could not give any feedback
other than that they should speak up and express their opinion. When I was receiving feedback, it
would have helped to have more specific details on the improvements I needed to make. This
would have possibly stopped me from repeating my peers’ arguments.
In The Crucible, Miller demonstrates the human tendency to stray from the truth when
people need to protect others, when people need to protect themselves and their reputation, and
when they wish to avoid just punishment. Various characters in the book lied to protect others.
For example, Elizabeth lied to the judge that her husband committed lechery in effort to protect
his good name. The characters also lied to protect their own reputation. John Proctor continued
to lie about his affair with Abigail in order to protect the reputation of his name. Lastly, the
reader can observe that people have a tendency to lie in order to avoid punishment. Abigail was
persistent in telling her lies in order that she would not be punished for participating in witchcraft
in attempt to kill Goody Proctor.
I have observed this truth in various areas of life and in the world. During the Holocaust
I learned that certain German families would lie to the Nazi Police about hiding Jews,
demonstrating lying in order to protect other. In the past, I have lied to my peers so that they do
not think differently of me. I have also learned through the bible, Peter denied Jesus three times
in order to avoid punishment and ridicule from the Roman soldiers and citizens. These three
connections additionally demonstrate the truths and reasons behind human tendency to lie to
protect others, to protect their reputation, and to avoid punishment.