The Crucible

The Crucible

1. The Characters

   • John Proctor:
     • John is recognized in the play as a respected but feared man. John is important in the play as he sees that the girls who are accusing are telling lies. He is mainly the only person who doesn't believe that witchcraft exits.
   • Abigail Williams:
     • Abigail is recognized in the play as a strikingly beautiful girl with endless capacity for dissembling. Abigail is important in the play as she sets herself as a leader and manipulator as she is always telling the other girls (the accusers) what they shall say and do. She shows herself as a leader as the other girls follow exactly what she doses in the play. Abigail also starts a lot of hysteria by accusing people of witchcraft.
   • Reverend John Hale:
     • Hale is recognized in the play as an "expert" of witchcraft and an eager-eyed intellectual. Hale is important in the play as he is trying to root out the Devil in Salem but then comes to realize that he was gullible to believe the accusations made towards witchcraft and that he has caused the deaths of so many innocent people which heightens the hysteria.
   • Reverend Samuel Parris:
     • Parris is recognized in the play as the minister of Salem. Parris is not a very liked person and he feels like he is being persecuted wherever he goes; very little good is to be said about him. Parris is important in the play as he is only worried about his reputation and accuses people of witchcraft if he thinks they are a threat to him or if they have "come to overthrow the court". Parris creates some tension by constantly bringing up witchcraft increasing hysteria.
   • Tituba:
     • Tituba is recognized in the play as a woman of witchcraft and that she lead people to sign over to the Devil. Tituba is important in the play because she was the source for Revered Hale and Reverend Parris about who committed witchcraft heightening the hysteria throughout Salem. Towards the end of the play, Tituba starts to fully believe that she has been taken by the Devil

2. The Setting

   • Location:
     • The Crucible is set in Salem Massachusetts. The town where the hysteria took place was the Old Town Salem.
   • Locations in the Town
     • Act 1:
       • In act 1, the play starts in Reverend Parris' house.
     • Act 2:
       • In act 2, the play moves into the Proctors house.
     • Act 3:
       • In act 3, the play moves in the court room.
     • Act 4:
       • In act 4, the play ends in the jail.
   • How The Setting Changes:
     • At the start of the play (act 1), the setting is quite bright and lively as in the overture says "the morning sunlight streams." but towards the middle of the play (act 2 and 3) it starts to get progressively darker as the hysteria is increasing and people are starting to be hanged for witchcraft. At the end of the play (act 4) the setting is "in darkness" as the amount of hangings has increased and people are left to live in the jail cells.

3. Structure

   • The play starts (act 1) with little to no hysteria as the girls were only just discovered doing, what they think was, witchcraft leading Parris to be very scared of his reputaion being ruined with him asking Abigail "What did you do in that forest?".
   • As the play progresses (act 2 and 3) , the hysteria starts to heightens with Elizabeth being announced in court with accusations against her name for witchcraft - "I am accused?"-Elizabeth [act 2] to Proctor trying to tell the court that the girls have been making everything up and that they "are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!" and that Abigail is an evil person
   • Towards the end on the play (act 4), the hysteria had became so bad that the people of Salem were starting to realize the horrible things they were doing and that they had hanged many people due to lies. Hale was trying to get the court to stop the hangings by telling Danforth that he "must pardon them. They will not budge". What he means by that is that so one will confess to save their lives and Hale doesn't want to feel guilty for hanging innocent people for lies. This increases the hysteria as Hale is now panicking as he knows that many innocent lives are about to be taken.

4. Narratives

   • Key Quotes:
     • Act 1:
       • "I'd not call it sick; the Devil's touch is heavier than sick."-Mrs Putnam
       • "it is a formidable sin to conjure up the dead!"-Parris
     • Act 2:
       • [He turns to her and watches her. A sense of their separation rises] -Stage direction for John Proctor
       • "She wants me dead! I knew all week it come to this!"-Elizabeth
     • Act 3:
       • "They've come to overthrow the court"-Parris
       • "Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie be spread in open court!"-Parris
     • Act 4:
       • "My niece, sir, my niece - I believe she has vanished"-Parris
       • "It is a lie! They are innocent!"-Hale

5. The Essay

   • Extract Analysis:
     • First Paraghraph of your answer:
       • 1. Explain where this extract happens in the novel/play
         • 2. Briefly say what happens in the extract
           • 3. Explain why this is a significant moment in the novel/play
             • 4. Answer the question straight away in a nutshell!
     • For the Rest of your answer:
       • 1. Work your way through the key quotations in the extract IN ORDER
         • 2. Make sure you discuss some quotations from the beginning/middle/end
           • 3. Write in paragraphs, constantly using short quotations and analysis in detail (Your marks will come from how well you analyse)
             • 4. KEEP REPEATING THE KEY WORDS IN THE QUESTION - STICK TO IT!