Introduction to The Crucible

Introduction to The Crucible Arthur Miller, The Salem Witch Trials, and Joseph McCarthy

Anticipation Guide • Right is right; wrong is wrong • You have the responsibility to inform authorities about the questionable behaviors of your neighbors • You are judged by your associations. • You, as a member of society, have the obligation to obey the law.

Arthur Miller • b. New York City, Oct. 17, 1915 • Miller began writing plays while a student at the University of Michigan

Background of author • His father, Isidore Miller, was a ladies-wear manufacturer and shopkeeper who was ruined in the depression. The sudden change in fortune had a strong influence on Miller • To study journalism he entered the University of Michigan in 1934, where he won awards for playwriting

AM and MM • Miller married the actress Marilyn Monroe in 1956; they divorced in 1961.

Knowledge Assessment – What do you already know? • The Salem Witch Trials • Witchcraft in the 16th and 17th Centuries • Puritan Religion and Beliefs • Joseph McCarthy • Communism and HUAC • The Red Scare

Puritanism • Daily life was governed by the Church • Music, dancing, celebration of holidays such as Christmas and Easter, were absolutely forbidden,as they supposedly had roots in Paganism • 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. • Toys and especially dolls were also forbidden, and were considered a frivolous waste of time. • The only schooling for children was in religious doctrine and the Bible and all the villagers were expected to go to the meeting house for three-hour sermons every Wednesday and Sunday.

Life in 17th Century New England • The supernatural was part of everyday life • strong belief that Satan was present and active on Earth. • This concept emerged in Europe around the fifteenth century and spread to North America when it was colonized. • Witchcraft was then used by peasants, who invoked particular charms for farming and agriculture. • Over time, the idea of white magic transformed into dark magic and became associated with demons and evil spirits. • From 1560 to 1670, witchcraft persecutions became common as superstitions became associated with the devil • Men and women in Salem believed that all the misfortunes were attributed to the work of the devil; when things like infant death, crop failures or friction among the congregation occurred, the supernatural was blamed. • Fear

Salem Witch Trials of 1692 • Series of hearings and prosecutions regarding witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts “And now Nineteen persons having been hang'd, and one pressed to death, and Eight more condemned, in all Twenty and Eight, of which above a third part were Members of some of the Churches of N. England, and more than half of them of a good Conversation in general, and not one clear'd; about Fifty having confest themselves to be Witches, of which not one Executed; above an Hundred and Fifty in Prison, and Two Hundred more accused; the Special Commision of Oyer and Terminer comes to a period. — Robert Calef

Trial Process • Accusation • Interrogation • Encouraged to confess • Superior Court • Summon witnesses before a grand jury • Execution or imprisonment • Convicted witches were excommunicated from their churches and none were given proper burial. • Thrown into shallow graves

How to Spot a Witch In 8 simple steps!

1. Make a witch cake • What's a witch cake, you ask? You take the urine of the people who are thought to be under the spell of the witch in question, mix it with rye meal and make a little patty. Then you feed the patty to a dog. Because some of the powers the witch used to cast a spell on the afflicted people were in their urine, when the dog eats the cake, it will hurt the witch and she'll cry out in agony

2. Weigh them against a stack of Bibles • If the suspected witch is heavier or lighter than the stack of Bibles, then clearly she's guilty of evil-doing. If the scales balance out, she's in the clear. You can imagine that a perfect balance doesn't happen often.

3. Check for moles, birthmarks, scars, or extra nipples - they're marks of the Devil. • That's a sure sign right there, but if you need even more proof, try pricking the Devil's Mark with a blade. If it doesn't bleed or hurt when it's pricked, you've definitely got a witch on your hands. During the Salem Witch Trials, some unscrupulous witch-hunters actually used knives with retractable blades, so of course when they appeared to puncture the Mark, nothing happened.

4. Observe them talking to themselves • During the Witch Trials, one accused woman, Sarah Good, was partially damned based on the fact that she was sometimes seen muttering to herself, and sometimes this even happened when she was leaving people's houses. Her accusers knew she was casting spells on people, even though Sarah claimed she was just reciting the commandments or a particular psalm. Her claims weren't enough to save her, because she was hanged on July 19, 1692.

5. See if they can say the Lord’s Prayer • If they don't, they're guilty. If they do, they're guilty too. George Burroughs, the only minister to be executed during the Trials, ran across this problem. He was standing at the gallows to be executed when he recited the Lord's Prayer to prove his innocence - it was believed that a witch (or warlock, in this case) would be unable to utter the holy words. People were momentarily convinced that the jury had wronged him until a minister named Cotton Mather told the crowd that the Devil allowed George Burroughs to say that prayer to make it seem as if he was innocent. Ahhh, of course. With Satan himself apparently working right through him, Burroughs' fate was sealed and he was hanged moments later.

6. Observe the number of pets she has • A woman who has pets - or says hello to the neighbor's cat - is surely using that animal as a familiar. In fact, if a fly or a rat entered a woman's cell while she was awaiting trial, it was assumed that the witch had used her powers to summon a familiar to do her bidding.

7. Ask if they’ve had dreams about Native Americans • Sarah Osborne, one of the original three to be accused on March 1, denied all witchcraft accusations that were thrown her way. Her downfall was when she admitted she had recurring dreams that an Indian would seize her by the hair and drag her out of her house. Apparently that was enough to convince the village she was likely casting spells on them. However, Osborne ended up dying while being held captive and never stood trial for her "crimes."

8. Check to see how many times she has been married • At least a couple of the women tried for witchcraft were married two or more times and were accused of killing their former husbands ("bewitching" them to death) or evilly seducing them.

You’re Accused! • It's the spring of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. You've just been accused by "an afflicted girl" of being a witch. The reason for the accusation against you might have been any from a long list of possibilities. Perhaps you're reclusive, talk to yourself, or exhibit some other form of eccentric behavior. Perhaps you were involved in a previous dispute with the family of the afflicted girl. Perhaps you don't go to church, or go to the wrong church, or sided with the wrong faction in recent congregational strife within the Salem Village Church. Perhaps you speak French or are suspected with having aided the Wabanakis in the recent Indian wars. Or perhaps you expressed support for a recently accused witch or--worse yet--accused the accusers of lying. Whatever the reason, you're in big trouble now. What do you do? • (A) Flee Salem(B) Accuse someone else(C) Quick! Get Pregnant(D) Confess, even though you are innocent(E) Plead innocent and stand for trial(F) Refuse to stand for trial and face the consequences

Options • Flee– only available to those with money and influence • Accuse someone else – you can’t be a witch if you are one of the afflicted. This led to many people accusing friends, neighbors, and family members • Quick! Get pregnant – they did not execute pregnant women; however, you will be executed eventually • Admit to witchcraft – escape execution, but your name will be forever ruined and associated with wrongdoing • Deny accusations - face trial and likely execution • Refuse to answer questions – pressed to death

Why Accuse? • Fear • Personal vendettas • Shift the spotlight • Conformity

Mass Hysteria • The episode is one of the nation's most notorious cases of mass hysteria, and has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a cautionary tale • dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations and lapses in due process

What is an allegory? • a literary device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts • Similar to an extended metaphor • George Orwell – Animal Farm: The pigs stand for political figures of the Russian Revolution. • Edgar Allan Poe – The Masque of the Red Death: an allegory for how no one can evade death

What does “crucible” mean? • a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat • a severe test • a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development

Vocabulary • abomination, conjured, contention, deference, innate, licentious, manifestation, paradox, prodigious, vindictive • Definition, part of speech, ORIGINAL sentence using context clues

Introduction to The Crucible