The Crucible

By Arthur Miller

STUDY GUIDE
CONTENTS:
The Puritans & their Beliefs
The Puritans of Salem
Arthur Miller
Themes, Motifs, Symbols
Major Characters
Scene-by-Scene
Quotations
Activities
McCarthyism Introduction
 WHO WERE THE PURITANS?

T he Puritans were English Reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to "purify"
the Church of England from its "Catholic" practices, maintaining that the Church of England was only partially
reformed.
Puritans by definition were dissatisfied with practices associated with the Catholic Church, which they despised. They
advocated greater purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety.

The Puritans in North America

Some Puritans left for New England, particularly in the years after 1630, supporting the founding of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony and other settlements among the north-eastern colonies. The large-scale Puritan
immigration to New England ceased by 1641, with around 21,000 having moved across the Atlantic.

Religious Beliefs
Puritans adopted a covenant theology, which is based on the premise that mankind had entered into an agreement
with God. Thus, when God created Adam and Eve, he promised them eternal life in return for perfect obedience.
After the fall of man, human nature was corrupted by original sin, each person inevitably violated God's law as
expressed in the Ten Commandments. As sinners, every person deserved damnation.
Puritans shared with other Calvinists a belief in double predestination, that some people (the elect) were destined by
God to receive grace and salvation while others were destined for Hell. No one, however, could merit salvation.
Beliefs, Rules and Customs
The state/government should protect and promote religion, which in turn should influence politics and social life.
Church attendance was mandatory: 3 hour sermons every Wednesday and Sunday.
Certain holidays were outlawed when Puritans came to power. In 1647, Parliament outlawed the celebration
of Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide because they were considered to be based on ancient pagan festivals.
People needed to be kept busy worshipping and working: idle hands are the devil’s playground.
Simplicity was essential in every aspect of life, hence the plainness of their clothing, architecture, furniture, etc.
Those who did not follow God's laws would be harshly punished:
hanging, public whippings, cutting off ears, boring holes in tongues,
stockades, etc.
Puritans were opposed to Sunday sport or recreation because these
distracted from religious observance of the Sabbath: the day of
rest.
Many forms of leisure and entertainment were completely
forbidden on moral grounds. E.g. Puritans were opposed to blood
sports such as bear-baiting and cockfighting because they involved
unnecessary injury to God's creatures. For similar reasons, they also
opposed boxing.
The only music allowed at all was the unaccompanied singing of hymns—the folk songs of the period glorified
human love and nature, and were therefore against God.

Folk dancing that did not involve close contact between men and
women was considered appropriate.
Toys, especially dolls, were forbidden as they were considered a
frivolous waste of time.

Education for children was limited to religious doctrine and the

Bible.

Puritans condemned the sexualisation of the theatre and its

associations with depravity and prostitution.
Puritans were not opposed to drinking alcohol in moderation but drunkenness was punished.
Spouses were disciplined if they did not perform their sexual marital duties, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 7 and
other biblical passages. Women and men could file for divorce based on this issue alone.
Puritans publicly punished sexual relations outside marriage but those who engaged in homosexual behaviour
were seen as especially sinful, with some executed.
Based on Biblical portrayals of Adam and Eve, Puritans believed that marriage was rooted in procreation, love, and,
most importantly, salvation. Husbands were the spiritual heads of the household, while women were to
demonstrate religious piety and obedience under male authority. The female
relationship to her husband and to God was marked by submissiveness and
humility.

Like most Christians in the Middle Ages and early modern period, Puritans
were highly superstitious and believed in the active existence of
the devil and demons as evil forces that could possess and cause harm.
Witches were considered to be in league with the devil. "Unexplained
phenomena such as the death of livestock, human disease, and hideous fits
suffered by young and old" might all be blamed on the agency of the devil.
Puritans in America believed they were bringing God to the wilderness,
which was seen as Satan’s last bastion, so they felt their colonies were
actively involved in the final apocalyptic struggle between good and evil.

PURITAN LIFE IN SALEM IN 1692

 Salem was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which was under British control.
 Poor communication and the wilderness at its borders isolated Salem and affected attitudes.
 Strong beliefs in the devil and witchcraft were amplified to a new level due to the isolation of the colony.
 Salem was physically divided: Salem Village and Salem Town. Most of the accused people lived near Ipswich
Road which separated these two areas. Most of the accusers, however, lived near Salem Village.
 Salem Village = mainly poor farmers; Salem Town = mostly wealthy merchants.
 The jealousy and tension between these two areas was a driving force in the awful events of 1692.
 Displaced people due to “King William’s War” created a strain on resources and aggravated existing rivalries.
 Reverend Samuel Parris, Salem Village's first ordained minister (1689), was disliked because of his rigid ways
and greedy nature. Such quarrelling was seen as the work of the Devil.
 THE PLAYWRIGHT: ARTHUR MILLER

A rthur Miller (1915-2005) was a famous American playwright, essayist,

screenplay writer, and a major figure in the twentieth-century American theatre.
Among his most popular plays are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman
(1949), The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge (1955, revised 1956). It has
been said that Arthur Miller’s dramas “reveal the deepest psychological dramas lived
out behind the façade of ordinariness.”

Miller spent a great deal of time researching the events of 1692 in Salem Village,
Massachusetts, and claimed that his play was historically accurate. However, this is
only partly true. In 1953, the year the play debuted, Miller wrote, "The Crucible is
taken from history. No character is in the play who did not take a similar role in Salem, 1692.” In fact, Miller made
both deliberate changes and incidental mistakes. For example, Abigail Williams' age was increased from 11 or 12 to
17, probably to add credence to the fictional backstory of Proctor's affair with Abigail. John Proctor himself was 60
years old in 1692, but is portrayed as much younger in the play, for the same reason.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

THEMES: fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary text

Intolerance
The Crucible is set in a theocratic society – where the church and the state/government are one – and the religion is
a strict, austere form of Protestantism known as Puritanism. Because of the theocratic nature of the society, moral
laws and state laws are one and the same: sin and the status of an individual’s soul are matters of public concern.
There is no room for deviation from social norms, since any individual whose private life doesn’t conform to the
established moral laws represents a threat, not only to the public good, but also to the rule of God and true religion.
In Salem, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the devil; dissent is not merely unlawful, it is associated
with satanic activity. As Danforth says in Act III, “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it.”
The witch trials are the ultimate expression of intolerance (and hanging witches is the ultimate means of restoring
the community’s purity); the trials brand all social deviants with the taint of devil-worship and thus necessitate their
elimination from the community.

Hysteria
Another critical theme in The Crucible is the role that fear-generated hysteria can play in tearing apart a community.
Hysteria replaces logic and enables people to believe that their neighbours, whom they have considered upstanding
people, are committing absurd and unbelievable crimes — communing with the devil, killing babies, and so on.
In The Crucible, the townsfolk accept and become active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious
piety but also because it gives them a chance to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held grudges. The
most obvious example is Abigail, who uses the situation to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft and have her sent
to jail. But others thrive on the hysteria as well: Reverend Parris strengthens his position within the village, albeit
temporarily, by making scapegoats of people like Proctor who question his authority. The wealthy, ambitious
Thomas Putnam gains revenge on Francis Nurse when Rebecca, Francis’s virtuous wife, is convicted of the
supernatural murders of Ann Putnam’s babies. In the end, hysteria can thrive only because people benefit from it. It
suspends the rules of daily life and allows the acting out of every dark desire and hateful urge under the cover of
righteousness.

Reputation
Reputation is tremendously important in theocratic Salem, where public and private moralities are one and the
same. In an environment where reputation plays such an important role, the fear of guilt by association becomes
particularly pernicious. Focused on maintaining public reputation, the townsfolk of Salem must fear that the sins of
their friends and associates will taint their names. Various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their
respective reputations. As the play begins, Rev. Parris fears that Abigail’s increasingly questionable actions, and the
hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughter’s coma, will threaten his reputation and force him from the pulpit.
Meanwhile, the protagonist, John Proctor, also seeks to keep his good name from being tarnished. Early in the play,
he has a chance to put a stop to the girls’ accusations, but his desire to preserve his reputation keeps him from
testifying against Abigail. At the end of the play, however, Proctor’s desire to keep his good name leads him to make
the heroic choice not to make a false confession and to go to his death without signing his name to an untrue
statement. “I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” he cries to Danforth in Act IV. By refusing to relinquish
his name, he redeems himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity.

Power
The girls of Salem Village begin the play on the lowest rung of their society: not only are they females in a male-
dominated society, but they are also unmarried. Only the Barbadian slave, Tituba has less power and status. Having
observed how Tituba saved herself when accused of witchcraft, it is Abigail who is the first to sense that there is a
way they can gain power and then use it to avoid punishment for their “sinful” behaviour. The other girls follow suit
and the audience then observes how their newly-won power is abused.

Some historians have observed that there were many religious zealots in Salem during this period – possibly
represented through the character of Reverend Parris. It has been claimed that this was a time when religious
leaders had become afraid that their civil powers were under threat, their religious power was in decline, and
matters of worldly gain ($$) were taking precedence over moral and spiritual values. With their power under threat,
they seized upon witchcraft hysteria as a means by which they might regain some of the influence and power they
had lost.

Appearance versus Reality

On the surface, the inhabitants of Salem Village appear to be pious and community-minded. Events, however, reveal
the emotions, tensions, conflicts and resentments that have been largely hidden. Just as Salem Village’s community
is exposed by the hysteria that strikes it, so, too, are many of the characters.
 John Proctor appears to be a strong man and devoted to his family, yet he is a sinner. His reputation may be
good but in reality he is an adulterer. He may also appear to be courageous at the end, however, the reality is
that earlier on, when his courage was most needed, he failed his family and his community.
 Abigail Williams tries to appear as innocent; she speaks politely and seems virtuous; however, when
confronted, she drops this mask. In reality, she is far from innocent; she is a master of deflection; she is the other
woman in a case of adultery; she still wishes to steal Proctor away from Elizabeth. It eventually comes as no
surprise to the audience when she is exposed as a sinner. In the end, her name is blackened, though she escapes
unharmed from accusations.
 Elizabeth Proctor appears to the court as a liar; the “poppet” suggests she has harmed Abigail by
supernatural means. It is true that she has lied to protect her husband but Abigail has made Elizabeth appear
guilty of witchcraft.
 Mary Warren, at one point, appears to be courageous enough to publicly stand up for the truth. In reality,
she is more frightened of Abigail than she is of Proctor, so she actually helps to ensure that Proctor will be found
guilty.
 The Supernatural appears to the Puritans as the only explanation for the strange events and the girls’
behaviour. In reality, it was probably a combination of mass hysteria and manipulation.
 The Judges may wish to appear to be doing God’s work but increasing numbers of people in Salem, along
with Reverend Hale, see the reality of their judgements. They refuse to admit any kind of error or misjudgement
because they fear for their reputations. Thus, the reality is that many of the accused are innocent.
  Goody Putnam appears to be a devout Christian woman but the reality is that she requested that Tituba
conjure the spirits of her deceased children. Her desperation and grief cause her to abandon her Puritanical
beliefs in favour of heathen ones, even if only temporarily.

MOTIFS: recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that develop and inform the major themes
Empowerment
The witch trials empower several characters in
the play who are previously marginalised in
Salem society. In general, females occupy the
lowest rung of male-dominated Salem and
have few options in life. They work as servants
for townsmen until they are old enough to be
married off and have children of their own. In
addition to being thus restricted, Abigail is also
slave to John Proctor’s sexual whims—he
strips away her innocence when he commits
adultery with her, and he arouses her spiteful
jealousy when he terminates their affair.
Because the Puritans’ greatest fear is the
defiance of God, Abigail’s accusations of witchcraft and devil-worship immediately command the attention of the
court. By aligning herself, in the eyes of others, with God’s will, she gains power over society, as do the other girls in
her pack, and their word becomes virtually unassailable. Tituba, whose status is lower than that of anyone else in the
play by virtue of the fact that she is black, manages similarly to deflect blame from herself by accusing others.

Legal Proceedings
The witch trials are central to the action of The Crucible, and dramatic accusations and confessions fill the play even
beyond the confines of the courtroom. In the first Act, even before the hysteria begins, we see Parris accuse Abigail
of dishonouring him, and he then makes a series of accusations against his parishioners. Giles Corey and Proctor
respond in kind, and Putnam soon joins in, creating a chorus of indictments even before Hale arrives. The entire
witch trial system thrives on accusations, the only way that witches can be identified, and confessions, which provide
the proof of the justice of the court proceedings. Proctor attempts to break this cycle with a confession of his own,
when he admits to the affair with Abigail, but this confession is trumped by the accusation of witchcraft against him,
which in turn demands a confession if he is to avoid hanging. Proctor’s courageous decision, at the close of the play,
to die rather than confess to a sin that he did not commit, finally breaks the cycle. The court collapses shortly
afterward, undone by the refusal of its victims to propagate lies. Note: all of those convicted were later pardoned.

The Witch-hunt
The Crucible highlights the human tendency to ‘witch-hunt’, a
trait particularly associated with America. Miller's play was
inspired by a particular time in history, a time when, once
again, the court system was failing to safeguard the system of
justice. In the 1950s it was the House of Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) that was allowed to proceed in its witch-
hunt for communists. Not only were the accused in Salem
essentially condemned before they went to trial, those who
decided to save themselves by admitting to witchcraft were
ostracised by society. Similarly, those thought to be
communists were blacklisted. It seems that people as a group can be caught up in the moment and act in an
irrational manner.
The events in Salem are a solemn reminder of what can happen when suspend our critical thinking and allow
ourselves to be carried along with the crowd.

SYMBOLS: objects, characters, figures, or colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts
The Crucible
The title itself is symbolic in nature. Literally, a crucible is “a ceramic or metal
container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to
very high temperatures.” This is often associated with the purification of a
substance. Used more figuratively, it can refer to “a situation of severe trial,
or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something
new.” In a sense, the end of the play depicts the “purification” of John
Proctor’s reputation; he has restored his credibility, risen above his sinfulness
and redeemed himself. In another sense, the play clearly depicts a “severe
trial” for a number of individuals, as well as the whole community of Salem
Village.

The Witch Trials and McCarthyism

As a play anchored in real events, there is little symbolism within The Crucible, but, in its entirety, the play can be
seen as a parable, or at least symbolic of the paranoia about communism that pervaded America in the 1950s.
Several parallels exist between the House Un-American Activities Committee’s rooting out of suspected communists
during this time and the seventeenth-century witch-hunt that Miller depicts in The
Crucible, including the narrow-mindedness, excessive zeal, and disregard for the
individuals that characterise the government’s effort to stamp out a perceived social
threat. Further, as with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were
encouraged to confess their crimes and to “name names,” identifying others
sympathetic to their radical cause. Some have criticised Miller for oversimplifying
matters, in that while there were (as far as we know) no actual witches in Salem, there
were certainly Communists in 1950s America. However, one can argue that Miller’s
concern in The Crucible is not whether the accused actually are witches, but rather with
the unwillingness of the court officials to believe that they are not. In light of
McCarthyist excesses that harmed many innocents, this parallel was felt strongly in
Miller’s own time.

Symbolic Qualities of the Characters

ü John Proctor, an Everyman, represents the common experience of joy, pain and sorrow, trial,
disappointment, weakness and remorse, and a surprising inner strength.
ü Abigail can be seen to represent the Selfishness of Youth. She seeks to hold the limelight irrespective of the
cost to those around her; she triumphs even though she is undeserving.
ü Abigail and the girls represent Lost Youth. That is, they have lost their hope for success, power and personal
happiness.
ü Abigail and Mary Warren represent Disconnected Youth in that they desire happiness and success in a
society which does not value them.
ü Abigail can also be seen as the Temptress – the Whore – she can lure a man away from his family and
threatens to undermine the institution of marriage which is the cornerstone of traditional society.
 ü Elizabeth Proctor fits the profile for the Faithful Wife, the cornerstone of a family. She shows surprising
strength and courage but her reward for sacrifice is loss, disappointment and loneliness.
ü The Putnams represent Materialists, those who grasp at material things and money. They shun traditional
moral values in order to achieve their ambitions.
ü The Proctors, Nurses and Coreys represent Ordinary People who are hardworking and well-intentioned but
ultimately succumb to the dreams and greed of the New Elite.

MAJOR CHARACTERS
John Proctor
In a sense, The Crucible has the structure of a classical tragedy, with John Proctor as the
play’s tragic hero. Honest, upright, and blunt, Proctor is a good man, though he is far
from perfect. His secret, fatal flaw is his lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair (that
ended 7 months before the play begins), and created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife,
Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch hysteria in motion. Once the trials begin, Proctor
realises that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his
adultery. Such an admission would ruin his good name, and Proctor is, above all, a
proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. He eventually makes an attempt, through Mary Warren’s
testimony, to name Abigail as a fraud without revealing crucial details. When this attempt fails, he finally bursts out
with a confession, calling Abigail a “whore” and proclaiming his guilt publicly. Only then does he realise that it is too
late, that matters have gone too far, and that not even the truth can break the powerful frenzy that he has allowed
Abigail to whip up. Proctor’s confession succeeds only in leading to his arrest and conviction as a witch, and though
he lambastes the court and its proceedings, he is also aware of his terrible role in allowing this hysteria to grow
unchecked.

Proctor redeems himself and provides a final denunciation of the witch trials in his final act. Offered the opportunity
to make a public confession of his guilt and to live, he almost relents, even signing a written confession. His immense
pride and fear of public opinion compelled him to withhold his adultery from the court, but by the end of the play he
is more concerned with his personal integrity than his public reputation. He still wants to save his name, but for
personal and religious, rather than public, reasons. Proctor’s refusal to provide a false confession is a true religious
and personal stand. Such a confession would mean abandoning and dishonouring his fellow prisoners, who are brave
enough to die as testimony to the truth. Perhaps more relevantly, a false admission would also dishonour him,
staining not just his public reputation, but also his soul. By refusing to give up his personal integrity, Proctor implicitly
proclaims his belief that such integrity will bring him to heaven. He goes to the gallows redeemed for his earlier sins.
As Elizabeth says to end the play, responding to Hale’s plea that she convince Proctor to publicly confess: “He have
his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!”

Abigail Williams
Of the major characters, Abigail is the least complex. As the villain, more so than Parris
or Judge Danforth, she tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and
eventually sends nineteen innocent people to their deaths. Throughout the hysteria,
Abigail’s motivations never seem more complex than simple jealousy and a desire to
have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. The language of the play is almost biblical, and
Abigail seems like a biblical character; Jezebel-like, she is driven only by her desire for
John and a lust for power. Nevertheless, to some extent, her actions are
understandable.

Abigail is an orphan and an unmarried girl; she thus occupies a low rung in the Puritan Salem social hierarchy (the
only people below her are the slaves, like Tituba, and social outcasts). For young girls in Salem, the minister and the
other male adults are God’s earthly representatives. The trials, then, in which the girls are allowed to act as though
they have a direct connection to God, empower the previously powerless Abigail. Once shunned and scorned by the
respectable townsfolk who had heard rumours of her affair with John Proctor, Abigail now finds that she has power
and influence, and she takes full advantage of it. A mere accusation from one of Abigail’s girls is enough to
incarcerate and convict even the most well-respected inhabitant of Salem. Once reproached her for her adultery, she
seizes the opportunity to falsely accuse those who judged her of the worst sin of all: devil-worship.

Reverend Hale
John Hale, the intellectual, naïve witch-hunter, enters the play in Act I when Parris
summons him to examine his daughter, Betty. In an extended commentary on Hale in
Act I, Miller describes him as “a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual. This is a
beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft, he has felt the
pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for.”
Hale enters in a flurry of activity, carrying large books and projecting an air of great
knowledge. In the early going, he is the force behind the witch trials, probing for
confessions and encouraging people to testify. Over the course of the play, however,
he experiences a transformation, one more remarkable than that of any other character. Listening to John Proctor
and Mary Warren, he becomes convinced that they, not Abigail, are telling the truth. In the climactic scene in the
court in Act III, he throws his support behind those opposing the trials. In tragic fashion, his about-face comes too
late. Having misused his influence, he is now powerless alongside Danforth and the theocracy, which has no interest
in seeing its proceedings exposed as a sham.

The failure of Hale’s attempts to expose the truth leaves the once-confident Hale a broken man. As his belief in the
proceedings falters, so does his faith in the law and the evidence he used to reach his conclusions. In Act IV, it is he
who counsels the accused witches to lie, to confess their supposed sins in order to save themselves. This change of
heart and despair gains for Hale some audience sympathy but not respect, since he lacks the moral fibre of Rebecca
Nurse or, as it turns out, John Proctor. Although Hale recognises the evil of the witch trials, his response is not
defiance but surrender. He insists that survival is the highest good, even if it means accommodating oneself to
injustice —something that the truly heroic characters can never accept.

Elizabeth Proctor
Goodwife Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of John Proctor, is a devout Christian who appears
initially as a cold, emotionless woman. She has been described as the “moral compass”
and conscience of the play. At one point, she states to Reverend Hale, “I cannot think
the Devil may own a woman’s soul, Mr. Hale, when she keeps an upright way, as I have. I
am a good woman, I know it; and if you believe I may do only good work in the world, and
yet be secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you, sir, I do not believe it.” Despite his
unfaithfulness, she remains extremely loyal to John; “My husband is a good and
righteous man. He is never drunk as some are, or wastin' his time at the shovelboard,
but always his work.” Scrupulously honest, it is ironic that the only time Elizabeth lies – to protect John when he is
about to be put on trial – she is caught out, and John pays the price for her uncharacteristic and desperate
dishonesty.

It is likely that Elizabeth believed she had the perfect Puritan life until she found out that her husband not only lusted
after Abigail, their 17 year old servant, but has acted upon his lustfulness. Elizabeth dismisses Abigail but this does
not end Abigail’s infatuation with John; she later accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. However, through this ordeal,
Elizabeth and John begin to rediscover their love for each other; John vigorously defends his wife, and she then
struggles to rescue him from execution after he admits to his affair in order to expose Abigail’s motives for her lies.
The final words of the play are left to Elizabeth when she says of her husband, “He have his goodness now. God
forbid I take it from him!” It is Elizabeth’s own integrity that ultimately influenced John into this decision, so, rather
than encouraging John to lie in order to save himself, she accepts his decision to put his “goodness” and good name
first.

ACTIVITIES: SCENE-BY-SCENE ANALYSIS

ACT 1
Betty’s bedroom in Parris’s house, Spring 1692
 Parris fears his daughter Betty is the victim of witchcraft; Abigail, his niece,
establishes her dominance over the other girls who ‘danced’. Pages 17-21
 Thomas and Ann Putnam enter to put more pressure on Parris. Pages 21-25
 Abigail, Mercy, Mary and Betty talk privately. Pages 25-27
 Abigail and John Proctor talk privately, revealing their relationship. Pages 27-30
 Rebecca Nurse is at the centre of the conflicting group. Pages 30-37
 Reverend Hale arrives to begin the inquisition. Pages 37-44
 Accusations begin. Pages 44-50

a. What do you think has really happened to Betty?

b. How does Proctor give Abigail mixed signals about his feelings for her?
c. Why does Abigail accuse Tituba?
d. Why does Hale believe Abigail rather than Tituba?
e. How does he lead Tituba into naming names?
f. Who has healthy children and who has not? Why is this important?
g. Why does Parris leap to the conclusion that his frustrations and lack of respect in the village are the devil’s
work?
h. Explain the significance of the difference between the Putnams’ wealth and that of other citizens.
i. What makes Abigail and the girls ‘snap’?
j. Why are they so rapidly credited with telling the truth?

ACT 2
The Proctors’ living-room, eight days later, in the evening
 John and Elizabeth discuss Abigail, the trials, and their own relationship. Pages 51-55
 Mary Warren returns from court with her ‘poppet’. Pages 55-59
 John and Elizabeth argue. Pages 59-61
 Reverend Hale arrives. Pages 61-67
 Corey and Nurse interrupt with cruel reality; Hale has a testing moment. Pages 67-68
 Elizabeth is arrested on ‘poppet’ evidence. Pages 68-72
 Proctor confronts Hale, then Mary Warren. Pages 72-77

a. Is Elizabeth as Abigail described her to Reverend Parris in Act 1?

b. What evidence is there that John and Elizabeth love each other?
c. How has being constantly exposed to the emotionally heated environment of court affected Mary’s
psychological state?
d. Do you think that community respect and a good
reputation would normally be sufficient protection for
someone against malicious personal accusations?
e. Is Elizabeth right to believe that Abigail still ‘has an
arrow in’ John? (p61)
f. How does Hale think he’s helping the Proctors? Why
does John resent him?
g. How does Elizabeth’s violent call to have Abigail ‘ripped
out of the world’ affect the listeners? (p71)
h. Why does Proctor call Hale ‘Pontius Pilate’? (p72)

ACT 3
The Vestry/Courtroom antechamber, a sunny day, a week later
 The initial struggle for the voice of reason to be heard. Pages 77-80
 John Proctor and Mary Warren enter. Pages 80-86
 Giles Corey presents his deposition against Putnam. Pages 86-89
 Mary Warren presents her deposition. Pages 89-96
 Proctor seeks to discredit Abigail’s testimony, but Danforth remains
sympathetic to the girls. Pages 96-101
 Abigail seizes an opportunity. Pages 101-105

a. In what sense is this Act the most futile and harrowing?

b. What is the irony in Proctor’s advice to Mary to be brave?
c. Why is Danforth so keen to get Mary’s confession?
d. What does Proctor mean when he claims that Lucifer’s ‘filthy face’ is both his face and Danforth’s? (p105)
e. Why is Giles Cory expelled from court? Why won’t Danforth hear his evidence?
f. How does Parris nullify Proctor’s testament? How is Giles’s disposition turned against him?
g. Why does Proctor confess lechery? Why don’t Danforth and Hathorne believe him?
h. How is Elizabeth’s testimony used against Proctor? Why is this an unfair test of her word against John’s?
i. How does Abigail turn the court against Mary Warren?
j. Why does Hale denounce the proceedings? Why does his denunciation fail sway the judges?

ACT 4
The Autumn/Fall, Salem jail three months later (moonlight to dawn)
A cheery conversation in a cell between Herrick, Tituba and Sarah Good. Pages 107-108
Danforth arrives. Pages 108-112
Hale’s conflict with Danforth. Pages 113-114
Elizabeth is pressured to persuade Proctor to confess. Pages 114-116
John and Elizabeth meet. Pages 117-119
Proctor’s temptation, confession and death. Pages 119-126

a. What is the effect of Sarah Good’s and Tituba’s talk about ‘flying south’? Why does Miller include it?
b. How has Parris changed? Why doesn’t the news that Abigail and Mercy have left town affect the court?
c. Why has Hale returned? How has he changed?
d. Why does Danforth allow Elizabeth to speak to John Proctor? How has she changed toward her husband?
e. How and why does Giles die? Why wasn’t he hanged?
f. Why does Proctor confess? Why will he not name names?
g. What is John thinking of when he admits to having seen the Devil in his own life?
h. Why does John Proctor choose to hang? What does he thereby accomplish?
 i. What is the difference is between ‘what others say’ and what an individual signs their name to? (p.124)
j. What is the symbolism in the final tableau onstage, with ‘the new sun…pouring in upon (Elizabeth’s) face’?

QUOTATIONS IN CONTEXT
QUOTATION CONTEXT SIGNIFICANCE
Who said it? What we learn about the character/theme?

“I will come to you in the black of some terrible EXAMPLE: This quote demonstrates Abigail’s
night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will aggressive and potentially violent nature. Her
Abigail
shudder you … I can make you wish you had threats establish her as a powerful force who
threatens the
maintains her dominance through clever
never seen the sun go down!” (Abigail) other girls.
manipulation and inciting hysteria among the
Act 1, pp. 26-27
other girls. It could also imply her parents’ violent
deaths have been detrimental to her sense of
morality, as her exposure to ‘reddish works’ may
enhance her capacity for evil. From this point,
the audience is positioned to see her as a
deceitful and calculating character; she could
arguably be seen as the catalyst for the resulting
trials.

“The Salem tragedy ….. developed from a Miller draws our

paradox. It is a paradox in which we still live….” attention to the
(Arthur Miller) ongoing
significance of
the Salem witch
trials.
Act 1, p.16

“I never knew what pretence Salem was, I never

knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these
p.30
Christian women and their covenanted men.”

“Wherefore is everybody suing everybody else.

Think on it now, it’s a deep thing and dark as a
p.36
pit.”

“You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have

good reason to think before I charge fraud on
p.55
Abigail, and I will think on it.………………… I should
have roared you down when first you told me
your suspicion. But I wilted and like a good
Christian, I confessed….”

“It’s strange work for a Christian girl to hang old

women.”
p.58

“Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress

may be accounted small.”
p.65

“Believe me Mr Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be

tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole
p.67
green world from burning.”

“We are what we always were in Salem, but now

the little crazy children are jangling the keys of
p.72
the kingdom and common vengeance writes the
law!”

“All innocent and Christian people are happy for

the courts in Salem! These people are gloomy for
p.85
it.”

“This is a sharp time, now, a precise time - we live

no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed
p.85
itself with good and befuddled the world. Now,
by God's grace, the shining sun is up, and them
that fear not light will surely praise it.”

“No uncorrupted man may fear this court, Mr

Hale! None!”
p.88

“Your Honour, you seemed to believe them, and I

– It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then
p.96
the world cried spirits…”

“This way unconfessed and claiming innocence,

doubts are multiplied, many honest people will
p.112
weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in
their tears.”

“A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of

Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and
p.105
yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring
men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as
you quail now when you know in all your black
hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind
especially, and we will burn, we will burn
together!”

"'It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice.

Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no
p.115
principle, however glorious, may justify the
taking of it. It may well be God damns a liar less
than he that throws his life away for pride.'"
 “Because it is my name ………… I have given you
my soul; leave me my name.”
p.124

“He has his goodness now. God forbid I take it

from him!” p.126

MORE QUOTATION ANALYSIS

 Who said it?  Where can it be found in the play?  What is its significance?

1. ‘I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense
Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!
And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever
sin it is, you love me yet!’ (Abigail Williams)

EXAMPLE: Abigail Williams utters these words in an Act I

conversation with John Proctor, revealing to the audience their past
affair. For Proctor, we quickly realise, their relationship belongs to the
past — so, while he may still be attracted to her, he is desperately
trying to put his mistake behind him. Abigail, on the other hand, has
no such sense of closure, as this quote makes clear. As she begs him
to come back to her, her anger overflows, and we see the roots of
what becomes her targeted, destructive path through Salem. First, there is her jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor and her
fantasy that if she could only dispose of Elizabeth, John would be hers. But second, and perhaps more importantly,
we see in her words a fierce loathing of the entire town—“I never knew what pretence Salem was, I never knew the
lying lessons. . . .” Abigail hates Salem, particularly the hypocrisy of its inhabitants, and she seems determined to
make them pay.

2. ‘I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw
him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn
with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!’ (Abigail Williams)

EXAMPLE: This outburst from Abigail comes at the end of Act I, after the slave-girl Tituba has shocked everyone to
their core by confessing to witchcraft. Abigail has spent the first act worrying desperately about the possibility of
being punished for having cast charms with her friends in the forest. Tituba’s confession, however, offers an example
of a way out, and Abigail takes it. She “confesses” to consorting with the Devil, which, according to the theology of
Salem, means that she is redeemed and free from guilt. Then, as the next step in absolving herself of sin, she
accuses others of being witches, thus shifting the burden of shame from her shoulders to those she names. Seeing
Abigail’s success, the other girls follow suit, and with this pattern of hysterical, self-serving accusations, the witch
trials get underway.

3. ‘You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no
road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed
itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God’s grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light
will surely praise it.’ (Deputy Governor Danforth)

EXAMPLE: This statement, given by Danforth in Act III, aptly sums up the attitude of the authorities toward the witch
trials. In his own right, Danforth is an honourable man, but, like everyone else in Salem, he sees the world in black
and white. Everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil. The court and government of
Massachusetts, being divinely sanctioned, necessarily belong to God. Thus, anyone who opposes the court’s
activities cannot be an honest opponent. In a theocracy, one cannot have honest disagreements because God is
infallible. Since the court is conducting the witch trials, anyone who questions the trials, such as Proctor or Giles
Corey, is the court’s enemy. From there, the simplistic and warped logic is clear: the court does God’s work, and so
an enemy of the court must, necessarily, be a servant of the Devil.

4. ‘A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what
she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God
help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance.’ (John Proctor)

EXAMPLE: This quotation is taken from Act III, when Proctor finally breaks down and confesses his affair with Abigail,
after trying, in vain, to expose her as a fraud without revealing their liaison. Proctor knows that the witch trials
constitute nothing more than a “whore’s vengeance” — Abigail’s revenge on him for ending their affair — but he
shies away from making that knowledge public because it would lead to his disgrace. This scene, in the Salem
courtroom, marks the climax of the play, in which Proctor’s concern for justice outstrips his concern for his
reputation. This re-prioritisation of values enables him to do what is necessary. But he finds to his horror that his
actions come too late: instead of Abigail and the witch trials being exposed as a sham, Proctor is called a liar and
then accused of witchcraft by the court. His attempt at honesty backfires and destroys him.

5. ‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I
am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul;
leave me my name!’ (John Proctor)

EXAMPLE: Proctor utters these lines at the end of the play, in Act IV, when he is wrestling with his conscience over
whether to confess to witchcraft and thereby save himself from the gallows. The judges and Hale have almost
convinced him to do so, but the last stumbling block is his signature on the confession, which he cannot bring himself
to give. In part, this unwillingness reflects his desire not to dishonour his fellow prisoners: he would not be able to
live with himself knowing that other innocents died while he quaked at death’s door and fled. More importantly, it
illustrates his obsession with his good name. Reputation is tremendously important in Salem, where public and
private morality are one and the same. Early in the play, Proctor’s desire to preserve his good name keeps him from
testifying against Abigail. Now, however, he has come to a true understanding of what a good reputation means and
what course of action it necessitates—namely, that he tell the truth, not lie to save himself. “I have given you my
soul; leave me my name!”; this defence of his name enables him to muster the courage to die, heroically, with his
goodness intact.

6. ‘I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in the Barbados to serve the Lord.’ (Reverend Parris)

EXAMPLE: Miller’s view on Reverend Parris is that ‘there is very little to be said for him’.
He’s materialistic, self-absorbed and driven by selfish fears. His conversation with Abigail in Act I highlights this:
“They will ruin me, my enemies will bring it out, a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit, My ministry’s at
stake …” (emphasis added). His subsequent actions, and inaction, demonstrate that he is willing to do only what he
feels will benefit himself. He feeds the frenzy rather than face up to the truth about his divided and dysfunctional
“flock”.

7. ‘I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy
law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith,
blood flowed up.’ (Reverend Hale)

EXAMPLE: Hale is an interesting paradox: he is an intelligent person with a conscience who, despite reversing his
ideas completely, cannot discard what he knows to be flawed religious principles. He wants to believe in both law
and theocracy. In Act IV, as the plays end, all he can bring himself to finally do is to get the very victims who he
condemned to lie (and incriminate others) to save their own lives.

8. ‘I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth!’ (John Proctor)

EXAMPLE: Proctor is shocked by Mary’s betrayal and worn down emotionally by Danforth’s superstitious injustice.
He claims that they are both failing in their duty. By saying this Proctor demonstrates his insight and honesty in
discussing the truth of the situation, and Danforth does not, as he does not want to see it.

9. ‘You think it God’s work you should never lose a child, not grandchild either, and I bury all but one? There are
wheels in this village, and fires within fires!’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

10. ‘There are hurtful, vengeful spirits layin’ hands on these children.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

11. ‘This society will not be a bag to swing around your head, Mr Putnam.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

12. ‘My name is good in the village! ... Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

13. ‘Witchery’s a hangin’ error…We must tell the truth, Abby!’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

14. ‘I never said my wife were a witch…I only said she were reading books!’ (?)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

15. ‘Tituba knows how to speak to the dead…’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

16. ‘…if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

17. ‘A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

18. ‘No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

19. ‘We are here, Your Honour, precisely to discover what no one has ever seen.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

20. ‘This man is killing his neighbours for their land!’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

21. ‘Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

22. ‘What others say and what I sign to is not the same…Because I lie and sign myself to lies.’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
23. ‘Let you fear nothing! Another judgement waits us all!’ (?)

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Questions on the Theme of Power:

1. Who has power at the beginning?  Who does not?  How is this shown?  How does this change? 
Why?
2. How exactly does Abigail gain power? I.e. she is deceptive but in which ways?
3. What does Abigail do with her newfound power? I.e. is it just used to save herself?
4. Reverend Parris is arguably the most powerful man in Salem at the beginning. What is the source of his
power? How is his reputation linked to his power? How does he use his influence in the course of the trials
and at the end to protect his reputation?
5. Reverend Hale arrives in Salem with the power of the church and courts behind him. How does he use his
power? Why does he seem to have no power over anyone at the end of the play?
6. Danforth’s authority gives him the most power in Salem during the trials. His power extends to that of life
over death. Does he use his power wisely and fairly? Why may he choose not to use his power to suspend
the witch trials when he is given evidence that Abigail is lying?
7. Thomas Putnam is from a very well-known and long established family in Salem. How does he use his
reputation and accompanying power?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTORY NOTES: McCARTHYISM

BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS
ü Communism/Socialism grew rapidly in countries where there were many poor workers and farmers.
ü During the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s, the Nazis saw Communism as a threat to their own political agenda.
ü Communists were therefore included amongst those sent to the Nazi
concentration camps.
ü Many in democratic countries sympathised with the philosophy of
equality and the sharing of wealth.
ü In reality, life in a communist state meant repressive government with
few personal freedoms.
ü The US Communist Party helped to organise labour unions and was
opposed to fascism (e.g. Nazism).
ü This helped it gain a membership of about 75,000 members by 1940-
1941.
ü Therefore, there were actually many tens of thousands of American Communists by WW2.

DURING WW2: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”

 The USA was actually allied with the Soviet Union – the world’s largest communist state at that time.
 As allies with a common enemy, nobody in the USA particularly feared Communism during this period.
 After WW 2, the Soviet Union (USSR) expanded its territory, and fears of Communism
began to grow.
 Nuclear weapon development only served to increase anxieties on both sides.

AFTER WW2: THE “RED SCARE”

 ü By the 1940s and 1950s the USA was overwhelmed with fear of the threat of Communism.
ü It appeared to be spreading throughout Eastern Europe and Asia.
ü This was the beginning of the COLD WAR which didn’t end until 1989/90.
ü The Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb in 1949, much
earlier than many analysts expected.
ü Of course, the USA already had such weapons, and had
shown that it had the willingness to use them!
ü The USA had used atom bombs twice in August of 1945.
This triggered the beginning of the Arms Race.
ü It can be argued that both sides had good reason to fear
the other.

ADDING TO U.S. FEARS IN 1949: China

 Mao Zedong's Communists gained complete control of mainland China despite heavy American financial
support of the opposing Kuomintang army.
 And then, in 1950, after only 5 years of peace, there was yet another war.
 The Korean War began in 1950: the democratic “Free World” (the U.S.A, the U.N., and South Korean forces)
fought against Communists from North Korea and China.
TENSIONS CONTINUED TO ESCALATE
American fears of the “Red Menace” grow due to:
ü The Bay of Pigs
ü Cuban Missile Crisis
ü The Space Race
ü The Arms Race
ü Espionage
ü The Iron Curtain
ü The “Domino Effect”
ü M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction)

WHO WAS SENATOR JOSEPH McCARTHY?

 From Wisconsin
 Served in WW2 as a U.S. Marine
 Selected to the U.S. Senate in 1946.

McCARTHY’S 1950 SPEECH

ü On the 9th Feb. 1950, Sen. Joe McCarthy
claimed to have a list of known communist
loyalists working in the State Department "in
my hand”.
ü He was, in effect, claiming communists had
infiltrated even the highest levels of the U.S.
government.

HOUSE of UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES

COMMITTEE (H.U.A.C.)
 While the H.U.A.C. had been formed in 1938 to work against Communism, McCarthy’s accusations
heightened the political tensions and fears of traitorous Americans in positions of influence.
 McCarthy, his committee and supporters convinced many Americans that the world was poised on the
precipice of an apocalyptic Communist takeover.

THERE WERE ENEMIES WITHOUT AND WITHIN

ü Every American knew where its external enemies could be found.
 ü McCarthy convinced many people that there was also a massive internal threat: from fellow Americans who
would spread Communism.
ü World War III seemed a real possibility.
ü Schools rehearsed “Duck and cover!”
ü There were those who wanted to launch a nuclear strike first!

H.U.A.C. & HOLLYWOOD

 H.U.A.C. forced screenwriters, directors, actors and other film industry professionals to testify about their
known, or suspected, membership in the Communist Party.
 H.U.A.C. asked: “Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party of the United
States?"
 Hollywood’s film industry was seen as particularly influential amongst younger Americans and full of
Communist sympathisers.
 The “Hollywood Ten” - among the first film industry witnesses subpoenaed by the Committee was a group
of ten who decided not to cooperate.
 Some of McCarthy’s loudest and most strident critics worked in Hollywood, too.
 One of these critics was Arthur Miller whose play, “The Crucible” (1953), had already drawn attention to
Miller’s criticisms of these H.U.A.C. “witch hunts” 3 years earlier. Arthur Miller was named by another
suspect.

THE H.U.A.C. THEN FORCED MILLER TO APPEAR AND DEFEND HIMSELF.

ü When Miller attended the hearing, he gave the committee a detailed account of his political activities.
ü However, he left out the fact that he was a Communist Party member.
ü Echoing John Proctor, Miller refused to name others, saying,
"I could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him.”
ü As a result, a judge found Miller guilty of contempt of Congress in May 1957.
ü Miller was fined $500, sentenced to 30 days in prison, blacklisted, and disallowed a U.S. passport.
ü The sentence was later overturned.

REPERCUSSIONS
 The Hollywood 10 received 6 month to 1
year sentences of imprisonment for
contempt of Congress.
 They were also blacklisted from working in
the film industry in Hollywood for life.
 Over 300 Hollywood professionals were
convicted during the McCarthy hearings.
 Such bans were lifted in the ’60s.
 However, criticism of Senator McCarthy’s
H.U.A.C. was growing.
 Arthur Miller’s witch hunt metaphor did not seem so over-blown anymore.

BANNED BOOKS
ü McCarthy also examined writers for signs of Communist influence.
ü The U.S. State Department ordered its overseas librarians to remove these
books from their shelves.
ü Like the Nazis in the 1930s, some US libraries actually burned the newly
forbidden books.
ü Burning books, artwork, films, etc. because they contain ‘dangerous’ ideas.

THE ARMY VS. McCARTHY HEARINGS

  McCarthy’s committee turned its attention to the case of a U.S. Army dentist who had been promoted to the
rank of Major despite having refused to answer questions in an Army loyalty review.
 McCarthy's handling of this investigation, including a series of insults directed at a Brigadier General, led to
the Army-McCarthy hearings.

McCARTHY IN THE PUBLIC EYE

ü HUAC’s aggressive investigation of the U.S. Army produced newspaper headlines that alarmed the American
public with warnings of a dangerous spy ring operating among U.S. Army researchers.
ü Nothing came of this new investigation but fears had increased.
ü As McCarthy’s influence had grown, the media had increased its scrutiny of McCarthy and his methods.
ü The Army and McCarthy traded charges for 36 days before a nationwide television audience.
ü While the official outcome of the hearings was inconclusive, this exposure to the American public resulted in
a sharp decline in respect for Senator Joe McCarthy.

MANY H.U.A.C. TARGETS: COMMUNISTS AND HOMOSEXUALS, TOO.

 McCarthy’s committee did not just pursue suspected communists, they also targeted homosexuals.
 The hunt for "sexual perverts", who were presumed to be subversive by nature, resulted in many thousands
of U.S. citizens being harassed and denied employment.
McCARTHY’S FALL
ü After the Army hearings, McCarthy’s position as a prominent force in the
anti-communism movement was essentially ended.
ü The Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22, making
him one of the few senators ever to be disciplined in this fashion.
ü His reputation was in ruins and he was widely condemned for having used
the hearings to further his own career and fame, no matter the cost to
others.
ü By the time of his death (2.5.1957, aged 47), McCarthy had been discredited.
ü The official cause of death was acute hepatitis exacerbated by his alcoholism.

WAS IT ALL JUST ANOTHER “WITCH HUNT”?

 (noun) “an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion,
dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.” (Random House Dictionary)
 (noun) “a rigorous campaign to round up or expose dissenters on the pretext of safeguarding the welfare of
the public.” (Collins English Dictionary)

VICTIMS OF McCARTHYISM
 The number imprisoned reached the hundreds, and some ten or twelve thousand lost their jobs.
 Some of those who were imprisoned, or lost their jobs, did have some connection with the Communist
Party.
 For most historians, the threat they posed and the nature of the communist affiliations were tenuous.

COMPARING McCARTHYISM AND THE CRUCIBLE:

ü In his play, Miller directs us to consider how fear can blind us, leaving us open to manipulation.
ü We are also able to see that there are always some who will take advantage of such situations.
ü Miller’s play focuses heavily on the fact that, once accused, a person has little chance of exoneration, given
the irrational and circular reasoning of both the courts and the public.

PARALLELS BETWEEN McCARTHYISM AND THE SALEM WITCH-HUNTS

The USA in the 1950s  Salem Village in 1692


 Existential threat of the ‘Red Menace’
Fear of an apocalyptic World War 3
External threat of Communism
Stress of the Cold War
Internal divisions = evidence of internal threats
Accusations from the accused
Some sought to exploit the situation
H.U.A.C. = judges = ‘experts’
Defendants have the burden of proof
Lack of evidence
Mass hysteria
Pardons came too late for some
 Existential threat of Satan/the Devil
 Fear of Armageddon (good vs. evil)
 External threat of Native Americans
 Stress of providing for refugees
 Internal conflicts = the Devil’s work!
 Accusations from the accused

Some sought to exploit the situation

The judges from Boston = ‘experts’

Defendants have the burden of proof

‘Spectral Evidence’

 Mass hysteria
Pardons came too late for some