Seminar prompts: Crucible 1. Why, according to Miller, did the Salem witch hunt happen?

What is the core flaw that leads to the deaths of 2 ! people and two dogs? "here selfishness and a want for a better reputation in many of the #udges and townspeople in the trial. $athorne, %anforth, the girls, and many others are all afraid that others will #udge them and that they will lose their reputation if they do not act as the rest of the group acts. "hus, many of these people follow the group&s opinions and condemn innocent citi'ens to die. "here is a (ery strong group mentality 2. What lessons might Miller want us to ta)e away from this play? *n a crisis, you cannot trust humans to do the right thing, because many will #ust go with what the crowd does. $owe(er, what the group does as a whole may not be the correct or effecti(e thing to do. +. What societal flaws ,negati(e trends in society and go(ernance- does Miller attac) in this play? $e attac)s the corruption in the go(ernment. $e brings out the fact that many go(ernment officials operate in the position only for money and reputation, not because they are effecti(e leaders or good citi'ens. .or e/ample, 0arris, who obtains a fairly high position in the community as the minister, continuously tal)s about himself and e(en puts emphasis on some of the e/tra firewood he gains or should get. 1. The Crucible begins with rumors that the town is plagued by witches2 soon this rumor spreads. .ear escalates and the dominant class responds by (iolently confronting and destroying the supposed witches, through trials and subse3uent e/ecutions. Who is most responsible for the outcome of the 1692 witch hunts4the common people who start and spread the rumors, or the ruling class who reacts to the rumors with e/treme measures and who refuses ,when e(idence begins to suggest that the rumors are false- to admit to mista)es in #udgment? 5. What effect does societal repression ha(e in Miller&s The Crucible? What is Miller perhaps implying here? Societal repression leads to tension and hate within the social classes. "he witch trials allowed the social classes to stand on e3ual ground and each accuse the other of wrongdoings. Miller is implying that social repression can lead to incorrect accusations between social classes because citi'ens of the lower classes belie(e that this will increase their standing, and citi'ens of the higher classes belie(e that this will (erify their standing. 6. What effect does (engeance ha(e in Miller&s The Crucible? What is Miller perhaps implying here? 7engeance plays a large role in increasing the tension between the citi'ens that then leads to the accusations. 8ecause many of the citi'ens had suppressed disputes in the past, they will try to sabotage that person at any chance possible. "he witch trials pro(ided a chance for the citi'ens to accuse each other on little to no e(idence, and allows them to get 9e(en: from the past disputes. Miller is implying that humans are e(en willing to )ill fellow citi'ens if (engeance between two people is strong enough. ;. Specifically, what responsibilities does Miller suggest we must fulfill as acti(e, responsible members of a community?

Miller belie(es that humans should put morals before all other thoughts such as reputation, ego, money. $e belie(es that people should spea) their minds and not limit their thoughts to the ideas of the group. "his would allow the community to florish because all ideas are shared and all options are put out for assessment. <. *s 0roctor&s final decision bra(e and heroic or senseless and (ain? $e refuses to confess to a crime he did not commit, but he orphans his children and he widows his wife. Why?

=. $ow about the >udges? ?re they (illains or are they trapped within their societal roles? "hey are (illains. "heir decision would be (alued no matter what it was because of their high social standings, and they had the potential to turn the trials around and sa(e many innocent people. "heir societal roles do not force them to confide to a certain decision. .or e/ample, $ale does not follow the decisions of rest of the #udges, and he is not shamed or under(alued throughout the trials. *n fact, %anforth is almost distraught when $ale lea(es the court after 0roctor is forced to hang. 1 . What about the girls? ?re they entirely guilty, entirely innocent, or are we supposed to ha(e mi/ed feeling about them and their actions? * belie(e that we are supposed to ha(e a mi/ed feeling about some of the girls. Many of the younger girls were threatened by ?bigail&s presence and the entire situation, and thus followed what the others were doing in a herd mentality. "hus, although they are guilty, they cannot be entirely to blame because of their youth and incapability to ma)e decisions. .or e/ample, it was clear in the beginning of the court session that Mary Warren did not understand the situation and wished to lea(e, until her life was on the line from ?bigail&s accusations. ?bigail, howe(er, is almost entirely guilty. She )new the benefits she would recei(e if the trials went through, she had a plan, and she was willing to put e(erything on the line to see that the other people died. 11. "he 0uritans were, we could reasonably argue, repressed. Witches, the puritans belie(ed, )new curses and spells4they had secret knowledge. What might witchcraft ,aside from witchcraft itself4e(il, magic, and the de(il- represent to these repressed 0uritans4or to readers of The Crucible? What might witchcraft connote? What broad metaphor might we see witchcraft as?

12. %oes the potential for witch hunts still e/ist in modern society? $ow and where? 8e careful how you define witch hunts4wars and genocides are not witch hunts. * feel li)e they cannot e/ist because we ha(e a fairly open community where people are allowed to spea) their thoughts and where we ha(e a social mentality that it is o)ay to spea) your thoughts. "hus, all the bad decisions would be filtered out by the good decisions and the situation would turn out o)ay. ?lso, people are not able to accuse others on such little e(idence in our society and random accusations such as those in the witch hunts would not wor) out. 1+. @ead the following passage and answer the 3uestion below: in 1=52, Miller&s friend, Alia Ba'an appeared before the $ouse CnD?merican ?cti(ities Committee ,at the time in(estigating communist acti(ities in ?merica- and, under fear of being blac)listed from $ollywood, named eight men who had been members of the Communist 0arty. ?fter his friend&s testimony, Miller tra(eled to

Salem, Massachusetts to research the witch trials of 16=2. The Crucible, an allegorical play in which Miller li)ened the $ouse CnD?merican ?cti(ities Committee&s hunt for communists to the witch hunt in Salem, opened on 8roadway in 1=5+. *n 1=56, the $ouse CnD?merican ?cti(ities Committee subpoenaed Miller himself to appear before the committee. 8efore appearing, Miller as)ed the committee not to as) him to name names, to which the chairman agreed. ?t the hearing, Miller ga(e the committee a detailed account of his political acti(ities. "he committee then as)ed him to re(eal to the names of friends and colleagues who had parta)en in communist acti(ities. Miller refused to comply, saying E* could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him.E ?s a result, a #udge found Miller guilty of contempt of Congress in May of 1=5;. *n 1=5<, his con(iction was o(erturned by the court of appeals ,passage adapted from wi)ipedia entry-. $ow does this passage affect our understanding of The Crucible? 11. $ow might ha(ing read this play affect you in the future? What insight into human nature, group psychology, guilt, sin, hypocrisy, or anything else ha(e you gained from reading The Crucible? * ha(e learned that many humans will easily follow the a herd mentality and that in times of crisis, humans tend to put themsel(es before others. *t has changed the way * consider my decisions and * now loo) more at the effects of what * do. 15. Fenerally, during the course of a narrati(e, good characters tra(el through a character arc. "his means that they change in some substantial way. Consider $aleGs final lines in the play and see if you can identify the fundamental change $ale has e/perienced. *tGs a big change, and itGs implicit, not e/plicit. $ale: Woman, plead with himH He starts to rush out the door, and then goes back to her. WomanH *t is pride, it is (anity. She avoids his eyes, and moves to the window. He drops to his knees. 8e his helperHDDWhat profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Fo to him, ta)e his shame awayH $ale becomes desperate and turns towards begging in order to try to sa(e the situation rather than using logic as he did before. $e becomes substantially wea)ened and completely ta)es the side of the (ictims, rather than acting as a #udge and considering both sides as he did before as a #udge.