HSC Common Module: The Crucible HSC Common Module: The Crucible

• Is Elizabeth a static character? Why or why not?

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HSC: Common Module (Texts
and Human Experiences)
Lesson 4: The Crucible (ii)

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Introduction

Last week we covered the context of The Crucible and the representation of human
experiences in the play, with a particular focus on Act I. In this lesson, we will revise
some of the core preoccupations from last week's analysis of Act I and then move on
to analysing Act II while continuing our evaluation of human experiences and the
dramaturgic and literary techniques Miller uses to convey them.

Revision

Before each lesson, we will begin with a short revision designed to boil down the key
human experience that will be applicable to the essay. Students should pay special
These Delta books are yours to keep and use throughout Year 12, but please look
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after them carefully as they take a substantial amount of time, resources and effort
the essay draft.
to prepare. Owing to this, lost or damaged books will incur a compulsory $110
replacement fee.
How are concerns of hysteria and deception evinced in Miller's play?
(Three marks, must include three quotes from Act I)
All course material at Delta is strictly for our students' use only. This is protected
and enforced both through the copyright act and the conditions of your enrolment.

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HSC Common Module: The Crucible

Human experiences introduced in Act I

Before we commence our textual analysis, let's quickly revisit the human
experienced introduced in Act I.

Discuss how a contemporary audience might react to the play's exploration of Restrictions & rebellion
the fear of the unknown.
• Miller uses setting to show Salem as a Puritan society where indulgence is
(two marks, two quotes from Act I)
forbidden and only bare necessities are used. There is complete restriction on
'vain enjoyment' and everyone is under constant scrutiny and judgement.

• There is a clear distinction between 'inside' and 'outside' representing the

lack of freedom and the need for characters to escape so they can indulge
their desires. Refer to last week's analysis of the symbolism of the girls
dancing in the forest and Abigail and Proctor's affair.

Fear of the unknown

• Miller presents multiple approaches to dealing with fear of the unknown.

Parris's reaction is one of immediate denial, while Mrs Putnam creates
rumours and fear-mongers with logical fallacies presented as fact. Rebecca
tries to find a logical explanation.

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HSC Common Module: The Crucible

In forming paragraphs based on the analysis provided above~' we remember

Hysteria
those key questions:
• There were repeated references in Act I to what people "saw" and what
people "say", giving insight into the spread of rumours. As the events unfold,
- What is this human experience being represented?
we see how rumours of witchcraft become belief in witchcraft and hysteria
- What insight does it grant into context?
takes hold by building upon irrational fear.
- How does it influence the outlook of the responder?
• Abigail and Betty's accusations show how the vicious cycle of hysteria is
perpetuated from one person to the next.
Each of the above elements must be represented across a paragraph to ensure
sufficient consideration of the relationship between composers, the world, their
Reputation
texts, and the audiences who engage with them.
• Parris is presented as an insecure character, overly concerned with his
reputation and preoccupied by the views of others. We also see how Abigail
Now let's move on to Act II and see how the above experiences are further
successfully defends her own reputation by attacking the reputation of
developed. The events of Act I provide the foundations on which we will now
others.
explore the building hysteria in Salem, Proctor's married life and Abigail's ultimate
motivation.
Transgression & guilt
• Act I provides a brief introduction to the thematic focus on Proctor's intense
Act II synopsis
guilt and internal conflict. We see the difficult situation created by his strong
beliefs as being irreconcilable with his sin. Act II is set in the Proctor's household. Proctor and Elizabeth have a casual
conversation although tension is apparent. There is both emotional and physical
Power distance between the couple since Proctor's affair. Elizabeth reveals that Mary has
• Abigail uses her power over the girls to intimidate them and save her
gone to Salem at which Proctor gets angry and demands to know why she was
reputation and avoid punishment. We also see Parris's attempts to reassert
allowed to go despite his forbidding it. Elizabeth answers that Mary is "an official of
his power and authority as a minister and his abuse of this power to gain
the court" and proceeds to explain how Abigail is leading the other girls in accusing
material benefits. villagers of witchcraft in court. Proctor is shocked and disbelieving.

Intolerance He tells Elizabeth that Abigail told him there was never any witchcraft to blame for
• The society of Salem is predicated on the Manichean view that everyone is
Betty's illness. On hearing that her husband was again alone with Abigail, Elizabeth
either good or evil. There can be no dissent or disagreement. As Parris says,
loses trust in him, but urges Proctor to tell the authorities what he knows to stop the
"there is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell." This establishes
witch trials. Proctor is reluctant and they fight. He claims Elizabeth hasn't forgiven
the foundations upon which the witchcraft hysteria will take hold.

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him while she claims that Proctor hasn't been able to move on from the affair and
that he needs to forgive himself. Questions to consider upon analysis

Textual issues
Mary arrives back from Salem and Proctor confronts her angrily for going to Salem.
Mary appears ill and unsettled. She presents a handmade doll as a gift to Elizabeth • How does Miller use theatrical techniques and dramaturgic devices to create
and reveals that 39 women are now arrested and Mrs Osburn is sentenced to hang. and sustain tension?
Elizabeth and Proctor are shocked. Proctor forbids Mary from going to Salem again
• Note the different types of irony Miller employs - situational, dramatic and
but she says she must and reminds him to treat her with respect now that she is a
verbal. What is the effect of this?
court official. Proctor grows angry at this and threatens to whip Mary who quickly
reveals that she saved Elizabeth's life in court by refuting an accusation against her. Themes - human experiences

• How does Miller show that the hysteria has taken hold and grown since Act
Elizabeth tells Proctor that Abigail is trying to take her place and will accuse her
I?
again until she is arrested. Proctor prepares to confront Abigail. Hale arrives and
questions the Proctors' about their devotion to religion to better understand why • How is the distance between Proctor and his wife portrayed? Who is the
Elizabeth was accused. He is concerned by Proctor's lack of church attendance and bigger contributor to this?
his inadequate memory of the Commandments. Proctor tells Hale that Abigail and
• How do we see Proctor's guilt manifest?
the girls are lying, causing him to doubt their testimonies.

• Why does Proctor seem reluctant to go to court and expose Abigail?

Giles Corey and Francis Nurse arrive and reveal that their wives have been arrested.
Cheever and Herrick arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest. Cheever spots the • What developments do we see in the characters of Proctor, Mary and Hale?

doll that Mary gave Elizabeth and finds a pin in the its stomach, which he links to an
• How does Miller reveal the lure of power in Salem?
earlier attack on Abigail by Elizabeth's spirit. Proctor refuses to let his wife leave
and gets Mary to tell the truth about the doll. The authorities are not convinced and
Proctor tears up the arrest warrant but Elizabeth acquiesces to go with them.

Left alone, Proctor tells Mary that she must testify in court with him in Elizabeth's
defense and expose Abigail as a liar. Mary is terrified that Abigail will tum on her.
Proctor feels a sense of relief that the burden of hiding his sin will soon be lifted.

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Textual analysis 'I. It also creates a sense of being trapped or weighed down; as Proctor and
Elizabeth are after his affair. The 'long' room signifies the distance between
The common room of Proctor's house, eight days later. them, both physical and emotional. Notice Proctor's carefulness around
Elizabeth. Here, he secretly salts her stew. Later, he compliments her on the
At the right is a door opening on the fields outside. A fireplace is at the left, and seasoning. This shows the delicate peace between the two and how carefully
behind it a stairway leading upstairs. It is the low, dark, and rather long living Proctor works to keep any disagreement out of their relationship.
room of the time. As the curtain rises, the room is empty. From above, Elizabeth is
PROCTOR: Are you well today?
heard softly singing to the children. Presently the door opens and John Proctor
enters, carrying his gun. He glances about the room as he comes toward the
ELIZABETH: I am. She brings the plate to the table, and, indicating the food: It is a
fireplace, then halts for an instant as he hears her singing. He continues on to the
rabbit.
fireplace, leans the gun against the wall as he swings a pot out of the fire and smells
it. Then he lifts out the ladle and tastes. He is not quite pleased. He reaches to a
PROCTOR, going to the table: Oh, is it! In Jonathan's trap?
cupboard, takes a pinch of salt, and drops it into the pot. As he is tasting again, her
footsteps are heard on the stair. He swings the pot into the fireplace and goes to a
ELIZABETH: No, she walked into the house this afternoon; I found her sittin' in
basin and washes his hands and face. Elizabeth enters.
the corner like she come to visit.

• Note the time passage between acts, with a gap of 8 days between the end of PROCTOR: Oh, that's a good sign walkin' in.
Act 1 and the start of Act 2. This deliberate temporal omission draws
emphasis to what may have happened in that time unaccounted for. As we ELIZABETH: Pray God. It hurt my heart to strip her, poor rabbit. She sits and
learn through this act, much has changed in Salem behind the scenes, watches him taste it.
representative of how rumours and suspicion often breed insidiously in the
background before their consequences come to light. Entering with the gun, PROCTOR: It's well seasoned.
Miller foregrounds the tensions and physical confrontation that are to come
in this act. Indeed, in an Act centred almost wholly on the consequences of ELIZABETH, blushing with pleasure: I took great care. She's tender?
interpersonal interaction, Miller heightens our awareness to tension from the
very opening moments. This tense opening is quickly subdued however, as PROCTOR: Aye. He eats. She watches him. I think we'll see green fields soon. It's
Proctor approaches the cooking pot and resumes an appearance of warm as blood beneath the clods.
domesticity.
• Again, Miller uses setting meticulously. The room is "low, dark", establishing ELIZABETH: That's well.
a claustrophobic atmosphere to continue the theme of restrictions from Act

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Proctor following his affair. The stage directions simply but effectively use
• Continuing from the introduction to the scene, Miller subtly makes us aware physical separation to reinforce the emotional separation between husband
of the acute tension between husband and wife through their seemingly and wife. While each silently "watches" the other and show signs of wanting
mundane conversation. While at first glance they seem an ordinary Puritan to mend their relationship, they aren't sure where to start.
household, discussing health, dinner and crops, the conversation is • Pathetic fallacy suggests that there is hope their love can be rekindled.

unbalanced with Proctor largely contributing the questions and Proctor mentions the beauty of Spring, which symbolises new growth and
observations. Elizabeth answers with trite, non-committal responses, albeit renewal, and flowers, in particular the emphasis on the growth of purple
amicably. The one piece of information Elizabeth contributes is thus lilacs which were considered a symbol of first love.
immediately emphasised. The "poor rabbit" that she takes unaware "sittin in
the corner" is symbolic of Elizabeth herself, who is about to be cornered by ELIZABETH: Mary Warren's there today.

Abigail's machinations.
PROCTOR: Why'd you let her? You heard me forbid her to go to Salem any more!
PROCTOR: It's winter in here yet. On Sunday let you come with me, and we'll
walk the farm together; I never see such a load of flowers on the earth. With good ELIZABETH: I couldn't stop her.

feeling he goes and looks up at the sky through the open doorway. Lilacs have a purple
smell. Lilac is the smell of nightfall, I think. Massachusetts is a beauty in the PROCTOR, holding back a full condemnation of her: It is a fault, it is a fault,
spring! Elizabeth-you're the mistress here, not Mary Warren.

ELIZABETH: Aye, it is ELIZABETH: She frightened all my strength away.

There is a pause. She is watching him from the table as he stands there absorbing the PROCTOR: How may that mouse frighten you, Elizabeth? You-
night. It is as though she would speak but cannot. Instead, now, she takes up his plate
and glass and fork and goes with them to the basin. Her back is turned to him. He ELIZABETH: It is a mouse no more. I forbid her go, and she raises up her chin like
turns to her and watches her. A sense of their separation, rises. the daughter of a prince and says to me, "I must go to Salem, Goody Proctor; I am
an official of the court!
• While Proctor continues to speak at length of the beauties of his natural
Massachusetts landscape, his wife responds with curt, impersonal remarks - • Elizabeth's characterisation is one of a practical yet resigned woman, who
signifying a subtle breakdown in their communication. knows when to step down. In this exchange about Mary, her matter of fact
• Here, "winter'' functions as a double entendre. It is both a reflection of the tone as she describes her powerlessness captures her understanding of the
scarcity of the house's bare house and the coldness between Elizabeth and situation's nuances. Unlike her husband who is quick to anger, Elizabeth

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calmly explains that the metaphorical "mouse", with its connotations of

meekness, has ascended to the "daughter of a prince". Again, small animals PROCTOR, quietly, struggling with his thought: Aye, they must, they must. It is a

are used to symbolise subjugation and lack of power. Once at the mercy of wonder they do believe her.

her elders, Mary's role as an accuser of witches has elevated her to a status
similar to royalty in Salem. Mary Warren has been given a new sense of her ELIZABETH: I would go to Salem now, John-let you go tonight.

own power through the value placed on her testimony in court.

PROCTOR: I'll think on it.

ELIZABETH: The Deputy Governor promise hangin' if they'll not confess, John. The
• The extent of the hysteria so far begins to be revealed to us as an audience -
town's gone wild, I think. She speak of Abigail, and I thought she were a saint, to
as responders we take on the role of John Proctor, receiving this startling
hear her. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the
information for the first time. The witch trials have allowed Abigail to rise to
crowd will part like the sea for Israel. And folks are brought before them, and if
a level of power and prestige comparable to Moses from the Bible. The
they scream and howl and fall to the floor-the person's clapped in the jail for
biblical allusion shows that the people have forgotten Abigail's questionable
bewitchin' them.
reputation and now consider her an instrument of God. Elizabeth also
explains that the town is taking judicial action based upon the accusations of
PROCTOR, wide-eyed: Oh, it is a black mischief.
witchcraft made by Abigail and Betty. The stakes of such controversy are
introduced - hanging. It is here that Miller initially addresses the
ELIZABETH: I think you must go to Salem, John. He turns to her. I think so. You
relationship between justice and retribution - an important dichotomy in any
must tell them it is a fraud.
political system. Much of the controversy that arises from the Salem witch
trials - aside from the absurdity of any accusations made - is the
PROCTOR, thinking beyond this: Aye, it is, it is surely.
disproportionate punishments attributed to those convicted. What we begin
to see is a great imbalance between the authoritative judiciary and their
ELIZABETH: Let you go to Ezekiel Cheever-he knows you well. And tell him what
subjects.
she said to you last week in her uncle's house. She said it had naught to do with
• Already, before we are even exposed to the court proceedings first hand,
witchcraft, did she not?
Elizabeth speaks of the baselessness of these convictions. The reactions of
the court's attendees are treated as sufficient evidence for the presence and
PROCTOR, in thought: Aye, she did, she did. Now a pause.
practice of witchcraft.
• Elizabeth prompts Proctor to expose Abigail as a fraud but his hesitation is
ELIZABETH, quietly, fearing to anger him by prodding: God forbid you keep that from
clear. He mimics and repeats what Elizabeth says ("she did, she did") rather
the court, John. I think they must be told.
than giving an organic reply, betraying a sense of inaction and passivity, but

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also distraction. It seems Proctor is trapped by his own guilt over the affair.
His anticlimactic "I'll think on it" in response to Elizabeth's repeated urging • Elizabeth proves to know her husband better than he knows himself,

betrays his reluctance. - Proctor is quickly elevated from an impartial third accurately surmising that the reason for his reluctance is his guilt over

party, to an invested participant in the political and judicial systems of Abigail. Again we see Proctor's guilt come into play as he immediately gets

Salem. Miller locates an otherwise bipartisan individual within a hostile and defensive. His exclamatory plea to "Spare me!" reveals his deep sense of

fragmented political landscape, challenging his own perception of integrity in victimisation. He hyperbolically claims he has had to "tiptoe" since the affair

the process. As we can see, the political system poses a threat to the ended. His analogy of Elizabeth's justice freezing beer illustrates her cold

impartiality of the individual - to maintain ambivalence within a fractious demeanour towards him. The relationship between the guilty and the

political realm is becoming increasingly difficult for Proctor; an experience innocent is a prevailing idea throughout The Crucible, with Proctor's guilt

perhaps shared by Miller in his hostile post-war context. here overwhelming his capacity for reason and level-headedness, his
behaviour ascending to a state of panic as he fears the diminishment of his

ELIZABETH, with a smile, to keep her dignity: John, if it were not Abigail that you own integrity.
must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not. • The imagery of judgements and courts foreshadows the impending events
and also convey Proctor's sense of being incessantly judged wherever he goes,

PROCTOR: Now look you- whether inside or outside his house. He "cannot speak" is "doubted" and
"every moment judged". As Elizabeth astutely points out, the seemingly

ELIZABETH: I see what I see, John. omniscient judge that Proctor is attacked by is none other than himself, a
projection of his internal guilt.

PROCTOR: Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin'. Learn charity, Exercise:

woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I have How does Elizabeth and John's personal relationship reflect the political state

not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting of Salem at present? How does this reveal something about an enduring

funeral marches round your heart. I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment human experience of guilt and its influence on the individual?

judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house!

ELIZABETH: I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges
you. I never thought you but a good man, John-with a smile- only somewhat
bewildered.
PROCTOR, laughing bitterly: Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!

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gifting of an anti-Christian object is highly suspicious, and Miller foregrounds

the tensions that will emerge between the pair later in the play.
• The platitude with which Mary receives Elizabeth's thanks is strangely eerie
and has the sense of an apology or a goodbye. In addition, the "decayed voice"
make her manner seem almost lifeless, evoking a sense of immediate, sinister
danger and impending misfortune.

MARY WARREN: I am sick, I am sick, Mr. Proctor. Pray, pray, hurt me not. Her
strangeness throws him off, and her evident pallor and weakness. He frees her. My PROCTOR: Mary. She halts. Is it true? There be fourteen women arrested?

insides are all shuddery; I am in the proceedings all day, sir.

MARY WARREN: No, sir. There be thirty-nine now-She suddenly breaks off and

PROCTOR, with draining anger-his curiosity is draining it: And what of these sobs and sits down, exhausted.

proceedings here? When will you proceed to keep this house, as you are paid nine
pound a year to do-and my wife not wholly well? ELIZABETH: Why, she's weepin' ! What ails you, child?

As though to compensate, Mary Warren goes to Elizabeth with a small rag doll. MARY WARREN: Goody Osburn-will hang! There is a shocked pause, while she

sobs.

MARY WARREN: I made a gift for you today, Goody Proctor. I had to sit long hours
in a chair, and passed the time with sewing. MARY WARREN: I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she

come into the court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in

ELIZABETH, perplexed, looking at the doll: Why, thank you, it's a fair poppet. ditches, and so very old and poor. But then-then she sit there, denying and
denying, and I feel a misty coldness climbin' up my back, and the skin on my skull

MARY WARREN, with a trembling, decayed voice: We must all love each other now begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air; and
'
Goody Proctor. then-entranced-I hear a voice, a screamin' voice, and it were my voice-and all at
once I remember everything she done to me!

• Mary's seemingly ill health is most likely due to the stress and guilt she is
subject to having seen the repercussions of her accusations playing out before PROCTOR: But the proof, the proof!

her in court. It may well be her conscience that is "shuddery" an affliction that
does not seem to spread to the other girls. The 'poppet' is the only overtly MARY WARREN, with greater impatience with him: I told you the proof. It's hard

occult symbol in the play and is associated with folk magic and spell-casting, proof, hard as rock, the judges said.

immediately alerting the audience to its significance later on in the act. Her

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PROCTOR-he pauses an instant, then: You will not go to court again, Mary Warren. has become corrupted by the impulsive whims of its accusers. Justice is
undermined by the court's validation of whim as solid evidence. Such a

MARY WARREN: I must tell you, sir, I will be gone every day now. I am amazed you miscarriage of justice is vindicated by the utter fear of diabolism held by the

do not see what weighty work we do. population.

• At Proctor's insistence for "the proof, the proof" she grows "impatient" and

PROCTOR: What work you do! It's strange work for a Christian girl to hang old defers to the cliche used by the judges. The proof is "hard as rock" after all,

women! what more is there to contend? This evinces that Warren is incapable of
reflecting on the process herself - cementing her character as naive and

• Similar to Abigail in Act I, it is apparent that Mary is caught up in the easily led and showing the ease with which building hysteria can cause people

excitement and prestige that comes with handing out accusations. Her to abandon their own thought processes for the ease of the 'collective

melodramatic descriptions are overly detailed and rambling. Her lofty tone conscious'. Proctor's use of antithesis to contrast the "girl" and "old woman"

in "weighty work" reveals an increased sense of self-respect and authority. highlights the imbalance of power, status and ability between the accused

• This warped and somewhat backward judicial process is one of the most and the accusers.

confronting aspects of the Salem witch trials - wherein one is automatically • We see an interesting subversion of power in this context - Proctor, the

assumed guilty with their punishment lessened dependent upon their humble farmer, exhibited far more discerning abilities than the judges and

cooperation and confession. It is a system that assumes one is guilty until intellectuals who have attended college and studied the judicial system at

proven innocent - a notion antithetical to the 'presumption of innocence' length. In contrasting the sensible farmer Proctor with the irrational judges,

otherwise practiced throughout modern America (although not a right Miller undermines the assumed authority and ability of our political systems.

expressly upheld in the Constitution). This presumption of guilt accompanies • We read much irony into Mary Warren's lines, who believes wholeheartedly

the social atmosphere developing in post- war America during the in the justifications for her work despite, and even because of, there

composition of this play. Although measures were taken so as not to imprison controversial consequences. Miller intentionally juxtaposes Warren with the

the innocent, an accusation nonetheless likely resulted in one losing their job Proctors as examples of ignorance versus scepticism. Warren operates on an

and social respectability. In this sense, it was almost as if there was no unquestioned belief in the supernatural and the necessity to rid such forces

presumption of innocence - to be accused as a Communist, was in most from the world, whereas the Proctors question the validity of such a

people's eyes, equivalent to being convicted as a Communist. supernatural realm. From a post-war perspective, we can see how Warren's

• The accusation against Goody Osburn is a conflicting one, and one that ignorance contributes to the unrestrained pursuit of misguided justice.

speaks to the ignorance and unreliable nature of accusations made in such an • In his last exclamatory utterance, Proctor exposes the irony and hypocrisy

anti- intellectual environment. - Mary Warren's accusation is not grounded inherent to a Calvinistic tradition that preaches the Ten Commandments -

in evidence but intuition. Furthermore, they are feelings not founded in a among which one is 'thou shalt not kill' - while simultaneously hanging

history of observations, but from spontaneous sensation. The judicial process those viewed to be in contradiction to those commandments. Through the

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character of Mary Warren, Miller exposes how fear can undermine and doing so, Miller delivers his message more effectively - as our horror and

corrupt moral conviction. condemnation of the Salemite witch trials is significantly enhanced
considering our newfound emotional investment in the scenario.

MARY WARREN, pointing at Elizabeth: I saved her life today! • Again we see Mary's greatly inflated sense of self-importance and the
inversion of power in Salem. Ironically, she asserts that she is a "woman"

Silence. His whip comes down. while the stage directions describe a "stamp of her foot". Her gestures are
still childish, revealing the ludicrous of letting teenagers dictate affairs of life

ELIZABETH, softly: I am accused? and death.

MARY WARREN, quaking: Somewhat mentioned. But I said I never see no sign you PROCTOR, without conviction: They dismissed it. You heard her say-

ever sent your spirit out to hurt no one, and seeing I do live so closely with you, they
dismissed it. ELIZABETH : And what of tomorrow? She will cry me out until they take me!

ELIZABETH: Who accused me? PROCTOR: Sit you down.

MARY WARREN: I am bound by law, I cannot tell it. To Proctor: I only hope you'll ELIZABETH: It is her dearest hope, John, I know it. There be thousand names; why

not be so sarcastical no more. Four judges and the King's deputy sat to dinner does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name-I am no

with us but an hour ago. I -I would have you speak civilly to me, from this out. Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half-witted. She'd
dare not call out such a farmer's wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks

PROCTOR, in horror, muttering in disgust at her: Go to bed. to take my place, John.

MARY WARREN, with a stamp of her foot: I'll not be ordered to bed no more, Mr. PROCTOR: She cannot think it! He knows it is true.

Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman, however single!

• Again, Elizabeth grasps the reality and gravity of the situation much faster
• Miller now reveals that Proctor's wife was mentioned in the court, and in
than Proctor, who is struggling with accepting what is Abigail is capable of
doing so he elevates the stakes of the play - implicating a familiar character
and the part that he may have played in it. Elizabeth's rhetorical "And what
in the hysterical events of the time. Whereas previously as an audience our
of tomorrow?" immediately puts the stakes in perspective: each day is now
ignorance prevented us from forming any attachment to the figures of Goody
fraught with danger and they are working against time. Elizabeth's
Osburn and Good, now that a character with which we have developed pathos
comparison of herself to the other accused women, Good and Osburn,
for is under threat our emotional investment in the play is heightened. In

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juxtaposes their vastly differing statuses in society and shows that the • Proctor's repeated rhetorical questioning of himself as 'base' again

accusations of witchcraft are spreading now to people from all walks of life reinforces that he is his own harshest critic. He continues to defend his

even those with upstanding reputations. This provides further proof, if it was previous actions and trivialise the affair with the analogy of a stallion and

needed, that there are agendas pointing these accusations rather than the mare. This reveals that in his eyes it was nothing further than lust. Note his

Devil. reference to how Elizabeth's "spirit twists" which has echoes of the spectral
evidence used to accuse others throughout the play. It seems Proctor is
venting his bitterness about the witchcraft hoax on his wife and
PROCTOR, turning on her, rifle in hand: I will curse her hotter than the oldest cinder
subconsciously suggesting that she may have played a role in the affair and
in hell. But pray, begrudge me not my anger!
consequently Abigail's catastrophic pursuit of vengeance.
• The antithesis of deceit and honesty raises again the paradox of the moral
ELIZABETH: Your anger! I only ask you-
man who has committed a sin, capturing Proctor's internal conflict.
Elizabeth's ultimatum makes it clear that until he faces up to the
PROCTOR : Woman, am I so base? Do you truly think me base?
consequences of his affair and exposes what he knows of Abigail, their
relationship will never be mended. The arrow motif appears again in this
ELIZABETH: I never called you base.
act, symbolising that Proctor hasn't fully resolved his business with Abigail;
the guilt remains 'lodged' in his heart.
PROCTOR: Then how do you charge me with such a promise? The promise that a
• In following John Proctor's character development, we begin to see how the
stallion gives a mare I gave that girl!
culture of paranoia is contributing to his own emotional decline. He espouses
a defensive persona, antagonistic in his attitudes and behaviours. Guilt has
ELIZABETH: Then why do you anger with me when I bid you break it?
transformed Proctor from a sensible and well-respected individual, to an
irrational and impulsive contributor to Salem's hysteria.
PROCTOR: Because it speaks deceit, and I am honest! But I'll plead no more! I
see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never
Exercise:
tear it free!
How does The Crucible expose the complexity of human attitudes and
behaviours?
ELIZABETH, crying out: You'll tear it free-when you come to know that I will be
your only wife, or no wife at all! She has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and
you know it well!

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HALE: This is a strange time, Mister. No man may longer doubt the powers of the
dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much
evidence now to deny it. You will agree, sir?

• The Proctors' domestic dispute is interrupted by the entrance of Reverend

Hale. Hale's developing characterisation here is one of the most intriguing in
the play - as from these stage directions Miller gives us an early indication
into his changing nature. There is no longer an air of confidence. Instead he
is "drawn a little" and there is "guilt" in his manner. A profoundly reasonable

Quite suddenly, as though from the air, a figure appears in the doorway. They start and fair man at heart, the spiralling hysteria in Salem is making Hale uneasy.

slightly. It is Mr. Hale. He is different now-drawn a little, and there is a quality of His acknowledgement that he finds it "hard to draw a clear opinion" shows his

deference, even of guilt, about his manner now. reliance on facts and evidence rather than rumour. The one quality that
distinguishes Hale from the others in Salem is his benefit of the doubt.

HALE: I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance I find it hard to Perhaps most importantly, he is "a stranger here", which may be what affords

draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court. And so this him to be able to avoid getting sucked into the hysteria, highlighting the

afternoon, and now tonight, I go from house to house- I come now from Rebecca dangers of an intricately interdependent community.

Nurse's house and- • Nonetheless, Hale is still steadfast in his conviction regarding the presence of
witchcraft in Salem. He maintains that there is 'too much evidence now to
ELIZABETH, shocked: Rebecca's charged! deny it'. - It is important to consider that this opinion is coming from a voice
of authority within the community - he is a celebrated intellectual, and
HALE: God forbid such a one be charged. She is however-mentioned somewhat. therefore his appraisal contributes to the widespread validity of the court's
proceedings.
ELIZABETH, with an attempt at a laugh: You will never believe, I hope, that
HALE: Mr. Proctor, your house is not a church; your theology must tell you that.
Rebecca trafficked with the Devil.

PROCTOR: It does, sir, it does; and it tells me that a minister may pray to God
HALE: Woman, it is possible.
without he have golden candlesticks upon the altar.

PROCTOR, taken aback: Surely you cannot think so.

HALE: What golden candlesticks?

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PROCTOR: Since we built the church there were pewter candlesticks upon the altar; ELIZABETH, delicately: Adultery, John.

Francis Nurse made them, y'know, and a sweeter hand never touched the metal. But
Parris came, and for twenty week he preach nothin' but golden candlesticks until PROCTOR, as though a secret arrow had pained his heart: Aye. Trying to grin it

he had them. I labor the earth from dawn of day to blink of night, and I tell you true, away-to Hale: You see, sir, between the two of us we do know them all. Hale only

when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at his elbows- it hurt my looks at Proctor, deep in his attempt to define this man. Proctor grows more uneasy. I

prayer... think it be a small fault.

• Here, the golden candlesticks are a symbol of material wealth and luxury. HALE: Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small.

Proctor voices his dissatisfaction with Parris' materialistic mindset. He sees He rises; he seems worried now. He paces a little, in deep thought.

his obsession with money and material wealth to be antithetical to and a

distraction from their established Christian values. - Parris' corruption of • Here, Miller employs dramatic irony. The one commandment that Proctor

Christian doctrine as motivated by self-interest sees the destabilising of forgets in the one he has failed to incorporate into his life. This reveals the

Salem, contributing to the paranoia that perpetuates an atmosphere of extent of his psychological repression of the affair. The motif of the arrow

hysteria. - Proctor openly confesses to his breaking of the social contract, recurs again. The memory of his sin has lodged in his heart like a physical

however justifies his decision upon principled grounds. Here Miller displays arrow that continues to cause him pain, and will continue to do so until he is

the restrictive nature of a political theocracy that requires the individual to able to remove it.

adapt their internal values in response to the authoritative social body. • Hale's metaphorical comparison of theology to a fortress is a useful one for
our essays, as it accentuates not only the Puritan belief in the security

PROCTOR, counting on his fingers: Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy provided by religious devotion, but also serves as Hale's justification for his

neighbor's goods, nor make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the harsh interrogations. For the people of Salem, the matter of witchcraft is a

name of the Lord in vain; thou shalt have no other gods before me. With some matter that concerns the possibility of their eternal damnation. As discussed

hesitation: Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Pause. Then: by Miller earlier in his commentary, this fear of diabolism raises the stakes to

Thou shalt honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not bear false witness. He is a point in which hysteria seems justified - stakes communicated through the

stuck. He counts back on his fingers, knowing one is missing. Thou shalt not make unto metaphor of the fortress. Hale's warning mimics the rhetoric of many

thee any graven image. American politicians and public figures in the post-war period, who warned
incessantly of the fear of invasion or infiltration. To them, one crack in the

HALE: You have said that twice, sir. fortress of America's civil security, no matter how small, could see the spread
of Communist philosophies that might lead to revolution. Ultimately, the

PROCTOR, lost: Aye. He is flailing for it.

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metaphor captures the disproportionate level of importance placed on • Giles' mocking tone is clear. The ridiculousness of the "marvelous and

sustaining civil decorum. supernatural" evidence is blindingly obvious, as is the agenda behind it. Yet,
the people of Salem have become blind to any explanation other than the

FRANCIS: My wife is the very brick and mortar of the church, Mr. Hale-indicating Devil's work in their monomania.

Giles-and Martha Corey, there cannot be a woman closer yet to God than
Martha. Consolidation:
In The Crucible, what does the monomania pertain to?

HALE: How is Rebecca charged, Mr. Nurse?

FRANCIS, with a mocking, half-hearted laugh: For murder, she's charged! Mockingly
quoting the warrant: "For the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody
Putnam's babies." What am I to do, Mr. Hale?

HALE, turns from Francis, deeply troubled, then: Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca
Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning.
Let you rest upon the justice of
the court; the court will send her home, I know it.

FRANCIS: You cannot mean she will be tried in court! • The "whole green world" has connotations of purity and freshness, which
Rebecca represents. Metaphorically the "brick and mortar" of Salem, her
HALE, pleading: Nurse, though our hearts break, we cannot flinch; these are new arrest symbolises the shaking and foreseeable collapse of the society's
times, sir. There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old foundations and is a sign that the hysteria has reached catastrophic levels.
respects and ancient friendships. I have seen too many frightful proofs in court- • The juxtaposition of "such a woman" (as Hale referred to her earlier) to
the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the likening her to the fallen Devil reveals the suspension of common sense. Hale
accusing finger points! PROCTOR, angered: How may such a woman murder is in 'great pain', not only because of what is happening around him but also
children? because his views and beliefs are crumbling within him.
• The synecdoche of the "accusing finger" aptly captures how Salem is blindly
HALE, in great pain: Man, remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God following the accusations, without scrutinising the reliability or character of
thought him beautiful in Heaven. the accuser. This reinforces that when people are victims to fear they look for
an easy answer, which the girls have provided for them.

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Hale, struck by the proof, is silent.

Enter Ezekiel Cheever. A shocked silence.

CHEEVER: 'Tis hard proof! To Hale: I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I

GILES: It's a pity, Ezekiel, that an honest tailor might have gone to Heaven must have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle's stuck. I tell you true,

burn in Hell. You'll burn for this, do you know it? Proctor, I never warranted to see such proof of Hell, and I bid you obstruct me not,
for I-
CHEEVER: You know yourself I must do as I'm told. You surely know that, Giles.
And I'd as lief you'd not be sending me to Hell. I like not the sound of it, I tell
• Again we see the same pattern in the witchcraft accusations: polysyndeton,
you; I like not the sound of it. He fears Proctor, but starts to reach inside his coat.
rambling and disjointed sentences, pathopoeia and hyperbolic imagery.
Now believe me, Proctor, how heavy be the law, all its tonnage I do carry on my
The stage direction of silence from Hale speaks volumes, not saying
back tonight. He takes out a warrant. I have a warrant for your wife.
anything in this case is amountable to acceptance of the other's guilt.

• It is ironic that Cheever does not want to be told that he is going "to Hell" as
HALE: Proctor, if she is innocent, the court-
this is exactly what is happening to the accused that he is arresting on
instruction of the court. He "like not the sound of it", yet is blind to the
suffering of others. This betrays a lack of empathy and a human tendency to PROCTOR: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent,

turn a blind eye when they are not directly affected by something. or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as
clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem-vengeance is walking
Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are

CHEEVER, wide-eyed, trembling: The girl, the Williams girl, Abigail Williams, sir. jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This

She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris's house tonight, and without word nor warnin' warrant's vengeance! I'11 not give my wife to vengeance!

she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull
would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of ELIZABETH: I'll go, John-

her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin' of her how she come to be so
stabbed, she-to Proctor now-testify it were your wife's familiar spirit pushed it in. PROCTOR: You will not go!

PROCTOR: Why, she done it herself! To Hale: I hope you're not takin' this for proof, HERRICK: I have nine men outside. You cannot keep her. The law binds me, John, I

Mister! cannot budge.

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PROCTOR, to Hale, ready to break him: Will you see her taken? the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, thus likening Hale's acceptance of
Elizabeth's arrest to the biggest betrayal in the history of Christianity.

HALE: Proctor, the court is just-

HALE: Proctor, I cannot think God be provoked so grandly by such a petty cause.

PROCTOR: Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this! The jails are packed-our greatest judges sit in Salem now-and hangin's promised.
Man, we must look to cause proportionate. Were there murder done, perhaps, and

• True to her character, Elizabeth acquiesces and puts her trust in Proctor. never brought to light? Abomination? Some secret blasphemy that stinks to

Proctor's impassioned monologue brings to light many of the play's issues. Heaven? Think on cause, man, and let you help me to discover it. For there's your

He uses rhetorical questions and biblical allusions to broach the 'elephant way, believe it, there is your only way, when such confusion strikes upon the

in the room': who has established the reliability of the accusers? "The little world. He goes to Giles and Francis. Let you counsel among yourselves; think on your

crazy children" are teenage girls who previously had no power in Salem. They village and what may have drawn from heaven such thundering wrath upon you all. I

are now ''iangling the keys of the kingdom" and provoking widespread chaos to shall pray God open up our eyes. Hale goes out.

further their own agendas. Proctor speaks of the imbalance characterising the
hysterical affair of the Salem witch trials. He observes that those with the • Hale's description of Salem as hiding some festering infection, a recurring

most political or social power are unaffected by the interrogation processes motif, resonates with Proctor as it brings to light the state of his own heart.

carried out by the Court - their word is taken as truth without hesitation. His use of synecdoche of "open up our eyes" foreshadows a greater

Such is the nature of an autocratic or hierarchical political institution - 'awakening' of Salem to its own hypocrisy and the exposure of people's sins

Miller reveals that those with more social and political privilege are and agendas.

inevitably unaffected by the forces impacting those below them. Such an

imbalanced political landscape leads to the disenfranchising of the individual MARY WARREN: I cannot charge murder on Abigail.

and the marginalisation of equality and liberty.

• Proctor's use of alliteration of the harsh 'k' sound creates a sharp PROCTOR, moving menacingly toward her: You will tell the court how that poppet

percussive effect, evoking a sense of the discordance of keys being jangled come here and who stuck the needle in.

against each other and achieving a cacophonous effect to mirror the chaos
descending upon Salem. His personification of Abigail's vengeance "walking MARY WARREN: She'll kill me for sayin' that! Proctor continues toward her.

Salem", captures the targeted drive with which she is proceeding and also Abby'll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!

alludes to how it has taken a life of its own in self-perpetuating hysteria.

• Hale's half-hearted reassurance that the "court is just" no longer has the zeal PROCTOR, grasping her by the throat as though he would strangle her: Make your

with defined him on his entrance to the play. It is clear that he is more peace with it! Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense

reassuring himself than Proctor. Proctor calls Hale "Pontius Pilate", known for is ripped away-make your peace! He throws her to the floor, where she sobs, "I

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cannot, I cannot ... " And now, half to himself, staring, and turning to the open door: Core Human Experiences: The ramifications of guilt

Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were,
To this point, we have examined Act I closely. What we will do now is examine that
but naked now. He walks as though toward a great horror, facing the open sky. Aye,
i_dea critically, which will then lead us into constructing some general ideas about
naked! And the wind, God's icy wind, will blow!
the core human experience of everyday existence as represented in the text.

And she is over and over again sobbing, "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot," as
Guilt
THE CURTAIN FALLS
• Some constructive questions to ask in founding your ideas about the
relationship between guilt and the individual are:
• In this aside at the end of Act Two, Proctor views the witch trials as an
o Guilt is something that affects individuals; however, it's usually a
unveiling of the true nature of the people of Salem from beneath the
product of an external society's values. What is this tension between
superficial layer of decorum. So far, Proctor has been burdened by the secret
an individual's scruples and conscious; and the broader
of his affair with Abigail and his guilt surrounding the matter leading him to
values/morality of a given society?
see himself as an immoral person and a hypocrite. He maintains that no
o A German aphorism talks of "Schwere der Schuld" or, the special
supernatural force has come over the people of Salem, but rather the hysteria
heaviness of guilt. Guilt uniquely becomes a source of obsession for the
and malice prevalent in the community is born of their own human fallibility.
individual, a vicious cycle that both demands attention and is
Proctor believes that is humanity, not the Devil, who perpetuates evil in
aggravated by it. How does guilt challenge the individual?
Salem. The same can be said of post-war America - Miller delivers his verdict
o What is the utility of representing guilt in literature for an audience?
in these final lines: the disorder and panic the American landscape now finds
In observing it, does it allow us to experience some of that guilt in a
itself in is not the result of Communist infiltration, but rather is the
constructive way? I.e., does it give us insight into the mental anguish
consequence of America's own internal hostilities.
precipitated by guilt, in order to develop our faculties in processing it?
• His repetition of "peace", culminating in a single word sentence, suggests a
Similarly, by identifying the extent to which guilt is socially mediated,
sense of relief at the impending exposure of this hidden sin. 'Naked' has
does it lessen the influence of a guilt grounded in social mores?
connotations of rebirth, suggesting that Proctor will finally be able to shed
o Or are we simply speaking too narrowly: might guilt simply be an
his sin. His metaphorical comparison of the upcoming revelations to "God's
internal notion, defined by one's own deeply held values, and thus
icy wind" implies that he is prepared to face the harsh elements after being
irresolvable. That even if society 'vindicates' us in our guilt, we remain
sheltered in hiding. The end of this act is similar to Act I, as it ends on
our own worst judges.
someone's cries.

• Similarly, in observing the relationship between guilt and the political

context Miller is reflecting on, The Crucible asks us to question:

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o How guilt might be a tool of domination, fostered within a society as a

means of control.
o How it functions to impede dissidence.
o How it forces silence, due to the individual's reluctance to speak on
their own guilt for fear of social judgement and punishment.

By the end of this portion, students should have sufficient material to write a
paragraph outlining the treatment of either guilt, personal revenge and
transgression and resultant punishment. In this section, we will focus on 'guilt'.

In writing about texts and human experiences, we need to identify a few things, in
sequence:

• What is the enduring human experience represented in the text?

• How is that human experience mediated by the text's context and form?
• What are the implications of that representation for a responder studying it?

As a result, (1) we begin by defining what this core human experience is, (2) we then
look deeply in the text, showing how that human experience is mediated by the
formal decisions (and contextual background) of the composer, and then--
importantly--(3) we tie it back to us as readers, defining how our understanding of
core human experiences are developed by studying this representation.

1. How is guilt manifested in the play? What is Miller trying to say about
this particular idea?
2. What do we learn about ourselves and our society as a result of this
representation?

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Now that we have the direction we wish our argument to take, our job is to collate
effective evidence. Remember, in writing for Year 12, sentences have to be compact
and to the point. Each sentence you write must have a piece of textual evidence
which you explain.

In the following table, identify four quotes, their techniques, and include an
explanation revealing their relevance to a study of an enduring human experience of
the fear of the unknown. In this explanation, you can consider:
a) The implications of guilt for an individual's identity and sense of self.
b) The implications for the responder and how such portrayal develops their
understanding of the world.

Technique Quote Explanation

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When we're assembling our paragraphs, we need to abide by a strong body

paragraph structure: NB: You aren't limited to this length. Three PEEL sentences should be
considered the absolute baseline and, in Year 12 especially, we would be
aiming for at least four pieces of evidence in each of our four paragraphs.
Part Role Example Structure

Topic Answer In The Crucible, Miller's depiction of For the next few exercises we will use the following question:
sentence question/Introduce core [tension in text] reflects a [statement on
human experience human experience}, prompting How does the representation of a core human experience in Act II empower
represented in text. responders to [implication for responder]. the individual to develop their own outlook?

PEEL sentence Explicitly foregrounds a Reflecting the [context}, Miller uses

Write a topic sentence answering that question and introducing Miller's treatment
(Contextual key contextual element [technique} in [quote] to reveal [statement
Overview) of guilt. Your teacher will give feedback.
of the text and how it examining how enduring human
mediates the enduring experiences are mediated by precise
human experience from contextual ones].
the topic sentence.

PEEL sentence Builds on previous Subsequently, [technique} in [quote]

analysis, incorporates reflects [idea].
linking word (similarly,
in contrast).

PEEL sentence Builds on previous Miller also centralizes [idea] through the
Using the same question, write three PEEL sentences corresponding to the
analysis, incorporates use of [technique} in [quote].
structure given above.
linking word (similarly,
in contrast).
Your evidence should draw from the notes above and your own answers to
Ultimately Summarises what the Hence/Ultimately/Thus, through Miller's previous questions, ideas may be repeated so long as an explicit link to the key
sentence responder has portrayal of [idea} the audience develops words of the question is drawn.
understood about greater understanding of [human
enduring nature of experience} precipitating [change in their
human experience. awareness of self/others].

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Finally, write a summative sentence that links back to the question, outlining
specifically an implication for the responder in recognising the play's
treatment of an enduring human experience.

Summary of Act II

The main political focus of this Act is the issue of Justice and Salem's judicial
system. Indeed, Miller introduces us to the nature of the court proceedings
regarding the trial of the townswomen accused for witchcraft. He reveals it to be one
antithetical to contemporary standards of justice, one that exploits the fear of
hanging to force confessions from the alleged. Furthermore, the little evidence
required is typically ill founded and based on spontaneous impulse, rather than
reason and rationality. Beyond this, Act Two also deals with the notion of a 'social
contract' within Salem grounded in religious observation. Indeed, Salem's rigid
theocratic framework requires its citizens to surrender certain personal liberties in
the name of religious protection, however John and Elizabeth Proctor's outspoken
rejection of this tacit contract sees them come under suspicion - isolated and
marginalised within their community. Ultimately, from what we've read of Act Two

Select your strongest sentence and submit for feedback. so far, Miller presents us with a theocratic political system predicated upon the

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