The Crucible Witch Hunt and the Allegory Connecting
The Crucible Witch Hunt and the Allegory
Connecting to Previous Unit o o o 1600 s Puritans Irony of religious freedom Persecution Theocracy
Profiles of the Accused o o o o o The Weak Women The Poor Healers Pagans Church Attendance Baptism Outcasts/Loners Orphans
Making a Case o o Spectral Evidence “Eye Witness” Accounts Loaded Questions and Interrogations Forced Confessions
How did it start? o o o Girls in village of Salem restricted and bored Oppressive Puritan life West Indian Servant– “conjured” love charms Reverend Parris—wrong place, wrong time Story created to avoid punishment
Why did it happen? o o o Anxiety of God’s Punishment: small pox, Indian attacks, revocation of Charter for Massachusetts Bay Way to confess sin or guilt Oppressed girls avoiding punishment Ideal way to get revenge Tool to satisfy larger motivations Jealousy, Conflict over land, Power
The Consequences o o o o Often found guilty Strappado Swimming Ordeal by Fire Ordeal by Water Thumbscrews Pricking The Rack
Why Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” o o o Experienced Communist hysteria of the era Criticism of Mc. Carthy’s personal mission House Un-American Activities Committee
The Mc. Carthy Hearings o o Accused: actors, writers, media, army Naming names for leniency Political repression in civil arena Resistance to discuss social or political issues
“The Crucible” and Witch Hunts o o Miller’s way of protesting the HUAC Compared Communist hearings to witch hunts of Salem Credibility/Impact of gossip, rumor, fear “Witch Hunt”—any activity where people are looking for a scapegoat or they are using accusations for revenge, personal gain, or attention
Allegory
The Crucible o Salem Witch Trials of 1692 n n n o Used trial documents but fictionalized Combined, created or changed characters Major trial events are relatively accurate Thinly veiled criticism of the House Committee on Un-American Activities
Makings of a Salem Witch Hunt o Salem was a village divided o Salem was repressed o Spark & Ignition
Makings of a Communist Hunt o o o WWII rise of Communist Party in the US Cold War becomes intense after USSR gains atomic power Conservatives in power Truman initiates disloyalty laws House of Un-American Activities Committee reinvigorated n Investigates communist activity n Alger Hiss and Rosenberg Cases n Hollywood Blacklist & The Hollywood Ten n Mc. Carthy and his accusations n Others pressured to name others as communists
Results of both Witch Hunts o Colonial Salem n 20 innocent people were executed n Dozens more were imprisoned n One was stoned to death n Families lost their land livelihood o 1950’s n Hundreds unjustly lost their jobs n 10 were jailed for 6 months to 2 years n 1 was sentenced to 5 years in prison n 2 were executed
Literary Elements to Look For o Themes & Motifs n n o Irony n n o Intolerance & Jealousy Irrationality & Hysteria Reputation The Court Tragic fall Using righteousness for personal gain Tragedy n n John Proctor as tragic hero Finds his moral center as everything crumbles around him
Tragic Hero in Classical Literature o o Potential for greatness but doomed to fail Trapped in a situation where he cannot win Tragic flaw, causing his fall from greatness Even though he is a fallen hero, he still wins a moral victory, and his spirit lives on.
Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Characteristics: Noble Stature and has greatness Tragic Flaw—not Perfect Doomed to make a serious error in judgment Punishment exceeds the crime The fall is not pure loss: awareness, gain self-knowledge, epiphany
Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Eventually… • Fall from great heights or high esteem • Realize they may have made irreversible esteem • Faces and accepts death with honor meet a tragic death THE AUDIENCE IS AFFECTED BY PITY and/or FEAR
Domestic Tragedy o o o Emerges during Shakespearean time Misfortunes of ordinary people The “every man” Impact of fate (personal vs. national) “What is an American? ” American Ideal: Everyone is valued
o o http: //tttc. org/projects/JZarro 2/process 2. ht ml http: //vccslitonline. cc. va. us/tragedy/aristot le. htm
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