English crucible notes

COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCES:
 The Crucible heavily incorporates the experience of Mass Hysteria in which people
exaggerate a potential societal threat. For example, the fear of the citizens of Salem being
witches and dealing with the Devil.
 Another collective experience within the novel is Mob Psychology in which people lose their
individuality, and their perspectives and beliefs are conformed to the collective.
 A collective experience
 within the crucible can include the overarching Puritanism beliefs. The Theocracy of Salem
had given certain people power and therefore manipulating the justice system of the
community.
 False accusations
 Abigail accuses Sarah Good, the first ‘witch’
o “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!”
 
 
INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES:
 Miller shows in crucible the concept of individuality and 'going against the crowd' is heavily
suppressed by the theocratic court. For example, Mary Warren and Betty gave into the
prolonged pressure and they flipped their alibis/accusations, showing how they lost
individuality and went with the crowd. On the other hand Giles Corey and Proctor stood out
and went against the theocratical oppression holding on to individuality.
 You can either go against your morals to save your life, or go with your morals and risk your
life.
 Proctor’s obsession with his reputation
o “How can I live without my name, I have given my soul; leave my name”
 Though he is ashamed of committing adultery, he does not want any other
mishap in life that can disrepute his good name, for it is the only truth left in
his life. These lines prove that Proctor strives hard to secure his good name.
 
Duality (an instance of opposition or contrast between two concepts or two aspects of
something; a dualism.):
 Abigail shows duality in her personality. She is two-faced - manipulative and innocent
 “And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the
other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will
bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.”
Lack of honesty
 Lack of honesty > flawed society
 Confess or lie?
 Abigail and the girls accusations of innocent people
 Elizabeth: “My husband is a good and righteous man”(Miller 115). Elizabeth unknowingly
states that Proctor is a good man and didn’t do anything and she doesn’t realise that he
already confessed.
 Mary Warren: when she gets accused, she accused Procter
 Procter have affair
  
Discrimination and persecution - individual and collective
 The persecution of Elizabeth Proctor
 Discrimination against those accused as witches

Human qualities and emotions

NOTE*The people of Salem give power to fear, Church, the devil, and the
governments - as they all control some aspect of the town's collective experiences. 

Parris –

Paranoia - 

 “He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went” - Never fully

trusting the people in Salem, constantly letting fear control his thoughts about
the town.  
 “BEND THESE STIFF NECKS TO ME” PG. 20 METAPHOR - WANTING TO
KEEP REPUTATION WANTING TO ENSURE HE IS NOT DISMISSED 

Self-preservation -  

 “You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me.” - In amongst all this
hysteria, all Parris cares about is his own life.
 “[In a sweat]: Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie be spread
in open court.” - The stage directions indicate his nervous nature, regarding
the scene
 “bEND THESE STIFF NECKS TO ME” PG. 20 mETPAHOR - WANTING TO
KEEP REP, INTEGREATES HIMSELF WITH THOSE WHO HAVE POWER.
WANTS TO BE PART OF THE KEWl KIDS 

Selfish -

  “They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house.” - lacks
consideration for the accusation of witchcraft, but is more worried about how
this will damage his position of power. 

Victim complex - 

 “This man is blackening my name.” - numerous examples show how Parris

sees himself as the victim, everyone always wrongs him. He will never
deserve it. 

Money hungry - 

 “I had to show my frost-bitten hands like some beggar.” - simile, complaining

about the limit of money he has, talking down on this treatment especially
because of his position in power. 

 “You will confess yourself of I will take you out and whip you to your death,
Tituba!” pg.46 - Exclamatory language - With his corrupted power, he convicts
 Paris-
individuals of guilty verdict no matter what evidence is provided. He will use
someone innocent as a scapegoat to save his own reputation. 

Proctor –

Morally righteous 

 “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever touch you again” pg. 29 - violent imagery
- extreme guilt towards his wife, however his sense of pride is more important
than redeeming himself, hence why he wants to sweep it under the rug. 
 “Because it speaks deceit and I am honest!” He is honest! P61
 “The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.” He’s broken his moral
code making him feel guilty and judged.

Tragic hero 

 His fatal flaw is his infidelity

 “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as
a kind of fraud” p27

Abbigail –

Deceitful - “A strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for

dissembling” p18 (stage direction) able to hide the truth, manipulative

Aggressive - “Smashes her across the face” pg.26 - Violent stage directions - will go
to violent means to maintain her reputation and hold her facade of innocence. 

Persuasive/manipulative -  

Vengeful “She wants me dead.” p59 :(

Rebecca Nurse –

“The general opinion of her character was so high” p31, characterises her as
someone who is respected and fair. 

Elizabeth –

Honest Woman

 Honest woman somtimtes “in her life, sir, ShE HAvE NeVeR lIeD” pg. 98 High
modality - human quantities of deviating from beliefs and values when faced
with fear, loss of honour and reputation 
Cold quality 

 Is often viewed/described as cold hearted because shes very reserved “She is

a cold, snivelling woman” p30

Danforth- 

Self-preservation 

 “Postponement speaks a floundering on my part” p113 - cares more about

reputation than justice
 “No, no, I accept no despoitions” pg.81 - resolute tone - He reflects the
McCarthy era, and his corruption of power

Hale- 

Ignorant 

 “Some secret blasphemy that stinks to heaven!” pg.73 - metaphor - 

Mary Warren-

“She is seventeen, a subservient, naive, lonely girl” - descriptive stage directions

Emotions - 
Fear: leads to extreme actions that aren’t necessarily thought out with common
sense, rather the fear that controls them influences these actions. 

 People are fearful of witchcraft, ruining their reputations. This causes them to
forget logic and have a narrow perspective regarding evidence. 
 Dramatic tension re-emphasises this fear to the characters 

"There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects
and ancient friendships. I have seen too many frightful proofs in court - the Devil is
alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!" -
Hale demonstrates the collective mindset of fear, not necessarily fearful of being
accused but fearful of witchcraft in his community. 

What causes fear;

 Abigail and the group of girls spark fear in the town after being accused of
engaging in sacrilegious activities while playing in the forest: fear of being in
trouble
 people in Salem are convinced that the Devil has arrived and must be driven from
his conspirators: fear of the devil 
 fear leads to a rapid series of accusations against various members of the
community: fear of being accused 
 Innocent people are labelled witches and forced to confess or suffer death: fear
of death or ruining their reputation
Hysteria: community-wide fear, that causes the town of Salem to lack logic in
thinking and acting to justify their actions. 

 The lack of “hard evidence” to justify the accusations 

 The fact the town is believing an unmarried woman, and her accusations of
witchcraft. 
 EXAMPLE: 
o aggressively asking Mary to faint, the dramatic tension/moment creates
Mary Warrens's hysteria 
o Taking Elizabeth away, all the men who have had their wives taken are
beginning to get flustered and hysteric, shown in their aggressive
actions.
o “The towns gone wild…is they scream and howl and fall to the floor -
the person’s clapped in the jail for bewitchin’ them. 

Superstition:

 The devil is an invisible threat, but through the play the audience sees the
threats through characters who are the accusers 

religion:
In the crucible, religion is an important, recurring theme that is continuously
involved with the story. Salem is ruled by a theocracy, meaning every decision is
supposed to be considered by a religious point of view. This can lead to a toxic
society which becomes bias and even selfish, because religion is used for
reputation and authority. This corrupt relationship with religion is evident in the
Crucible, where Danforth states that “a person is either with this court or he must
be counted against it,” referring to the fact that the court and government of
Massachusetts belong to God, and anyone opposing them must be with the devil.
This theme of religion is seen in many other stories, and even today, where
countries use strict religious laws to control the people they govern. The people
are scared of what may happen if they go against religion, and this fear is often
taken advantage of by the government, for their own benefit.
Non-tolerance:
 Set in a theocratic society à church and state are one à religion is strict, and
society is intolerant of any other beliefs à only God
 Intolerant of any deviation from social norms such as committing adultery à if
one doesn’t conform to society’s expectations, they will be considered a threat
to society or are considered to be under the Devil’s spell.
 E.g. John Proctor doesn’t save the day for Sabbath and can’t recite the 10
commandments; his last child wasn’t baptised à leads Reverend Hale to think
that Proctor isn’t a man of God and there may be an evil presence in his life.
“Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small” à
the visual imagery of a fortress suggests that John Proctor’s unreligious
behaviour would be the reason why the community would fall apart à also
shows that he is a valued individual in this community.
  The collective is intolerant of any error or inconsistency in the town’s religious
behaviour.
 E.g. Danforth sees everything in black and white and is intolerant in any other
opinion. “You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he
must be against it, there be no road between…” à shows his intolerance with
other people’s opinions.
 
Hysteria:

 Hysteria is a critical theme in The Crucible because it has the ability of tearing
a whole community apart, making them accuse each other of devil-worship
and witchcraft
 Hysteria can convince people that their neighbours who they’ve known for
their whole life are committing heinous crimes.
 Hysteria can thrive only because people benefit from it, when people stop
benefiting from it, it dies down
 
Quotes:

The quote by Reverend hale “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court—the
Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing
finger points!”, reveals how the hysteria of the Puritan society permeates Salem's
legal system