The crucible presentation

A PowerPoint presentation of the background and summary of the novel, “The Crucible”.

1. “The Crucible” By: Arthur Miller Presented by Blessed Mosimanyana

2. REVIEW Introduction Arthur Miller’s Biography Context of the play Play’s main characters The plot

3. INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY The presentation will look at the play, “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller. “The Crucible” is based on real people and events which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Twenty people were killed: nineteen were hung for convictions of witchcraft, while one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death beneath the weight of stones for refusing to submit to trials. The play is divided into four acts, which we will explore. Before we start looking at the play itself, it is useful to explore some of the background of Arthur Miller, his work and its historical and social context. It is also necessary to understand the type of society in which the story of “The Crucible” takes place.

4. ARTHUR MILLER

5. ARTHUR MILLER’S BIOGRAPHY Born 1915 in New York. He studied at the University of Michigan where he won awards for plays he had written. In the 1940s, two of his best known plays, “All My Sons” and “Death of Salesman, enjoyed huge success. American Playwright and Writer. He passed away in 2005. In 1953 he wrote The Crucible , which uses the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 to attack the anti-communist “witch hunts” of the 1950s. After the publication of the The Crucible , Miller himself was investigated for possible associations with the communist party. He refused to give information regarding his colleagues and was found guilty of contempt of court. His sentence was later overturned. He passed away in 2005.

6. THE CONTEXT OF THE PLAY THE CRUCIBLE CONSISTS OF THESE MAIN KEYS OF HISTORY: McCarthyism Puritanism Witchcraft

7. MCCARTHYISM McCarthyism is the term used to describe a period of intense suspicion in the United States during the early 1950s. It began when Senator Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, claimed that communists had infiltrated the Department of State. A special House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed to investigate allegations of communism. During this period, people from all walks of life became the subjects of aggressive “witch hunts” often based on inconclusive, questionable evidence. Persons accused of being communists were often denied employment in both the public and private sector. In the film industry alone, over 300 actors, writers, and directors were denied work in the U.S. American writer, Arthur Miller, was one of those alleged to have been “blacklisted.”

8. PURITANISM Puritanism - Christian faith that originated in England during the early 1600s. They split from the Church of England in 1633. Many puritans came to America for a better society! Their radical beliefs flourished in the new world. In order to understand the events of “The Crucible”, it is important to look at exactly what the Puritans of Salem were like. The town of Salem was originally founded by the Pilgrim fathers, Puritans who had left England in order to practice their religion. The Puritans had very strict moral codes, and it is likely that these contributed to the girls’ experimentation in the forest.

9. PURITANISM CONTINUED … THE PURITAN MORAL CODE: Plain clothes must be worn. Wigs, decoration and make up are not allowed. Swearing, gambling and drinking are forbidden, and will be punished. Sundays are a day of rest, with no sport or work allowed. Theatres and other types of entertainment are banned.

10. WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM “ The Crucible” is set at the time of the Salem witch-hunts. These witch-hunts took place in America in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. In his play, Miller uses the events of the time, and many of the people originally involved. Like all Puritans, the residents of Salem believed in witches and in witchcraft. They considered witchcraft both a sin and a crime. Reverend Parris’s daughter and Abigail Williams started having fits of anger, screaming, and hallucination.• A doctor examined the girls and concluded that the only explanation for these bizarre behaviors was witchcraft. By the time court was dismissed, 27 people had been convicted, 19 hanged, and 1 pressed to death.

11. WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM

12. Let’s look at the MAIN CHARACTERS:

13. ABIGAIL WILLIAM She is the niece of Reverend Parris . She is an orphan. An intellectual, resourceful and highly mischievous girl of seventeen. She instigate the witch trials by falsely accusing others of witchcraft. She is infatuated with John Proctor and keen to take Elizabeth’s place She is extremely jealous of Elizabeth Proctor and uses her power in the town to get rid of Elizabeth, as well others who insulted her in the past.

14. JOHN PROCTOR A young, upright, outspoken, successful farmer in Salem. Husband to Elizabeth. He had an affair with Abigail when she was employed in his household. He loves and respect his wife and is repentant of the act of adultery he has committed with Abigail. Judgemental , especially of himself and his adultery Prone to lapses of judgement, but keen to do the right thing. Refuses to admit to witchcraft. The result = He is hanged.

15. ELIZABETH PROCTOR Wife of John Proctor. Calm and gentle, but with a fierce inner strength. Discovers her husband, John, having an affair with Abigail Williams. Loyal to her husband, but finds it hard to forgive his adultery. She is Abigail's main target but is saved from hanging because of her pregnancy. Feels responsible for driving her husband to careless acts of judgment.

16. REVEREND PARRIS Pastor of the church in Salem. The father of Betty and the uncle of Abigail Williams. Reverend Parris is dogmatic in his opinions, intolerant of opposition, and suspicious of those he does not like. His belief in witches and his desire to punish his enemies set in motion the chain of events that leads to the hysteria in Salem.

17. TITUBA The black slave to the Parris ’ household; she is from Barbados. Believed to be practicing witchcraft. She is enlisted by Ruth Putnam and Abigail to cast spells and create charms. When tough times call, she confesses to everyone, and saves herself from severe punishment.

18. DEPUTY GOVERNOR DANFORTH Feels greatly that the girls are honest. Sensitive to presence of the devil, so information is reacted immediately to what is presented.

19. THOMAS PUTNAM A rich, unscrupulous farmer who is out to expand his land holdings by any means. He systematically accuses his neighbors of witchcraft so that he might purchase their lands after they are hanged. He is manipulative, close-minded.

20. MRS. ANN PUTNAM Wife to Thomas Putnam She believes that a witch is responsible for the death of her seven infant children. Her jealousy of Rebecca Nurse leads her to accuse Goody Nurse of being a witch

21. THE GIRLS: Betty Parris - Daughter of Reverend Parris , cousin to Abigail Williams. She is a weak girl who goes along with her cousin as soon as she is threatened. Susanna Walcott - She is initially sent between Parris and Dr. Griggs to determine the cause of Betty's ailment. Friend to Abigail. She also takes part in the trials by falsely accusing others of witchcraft. Mercy Lewis - Servant to the Putnam household and friend to Abigail. She participates in the witch trials by pretending to see spirits and falsely accusing ndividuals of witchcraft. Mary Warren - Servant to the Proctor household. Abigail uses her to effectively accuse Elizabeth. John Proctor takes Mary to the court to confess that the girls are only pretending.

22. Now Lets Go Through tHE PLOT:

23. ACT I

24. Betty lies in bed unresponsive. It is thought that she is the victim of witchcraft. Parris , who is Betty’s father, enters the room and calls Reverend Hale, who is an expert on witchcraft.

25. Parris yells at his niece, Abigail, because he saw her, Betty, Tituba , and the other girls, dancing in the forest the middle of the night. Abigail says that they were not. Thomas Putnam and his wife, Ann, enter the room. Mrs. Putnam says that their daughter, Ruth, is acting just like Betty. Mrs. Putnam had 7 babies that all died during childbirth. She thought that someone used witchcraft to murder them, so she sent Ruth and the other girls to contact the spirits of her dead children.

26. Everyone leaves the room and the girls are alone. Mary Warren confesses that she is scared they will be called witches. Betty sits up in bed and cries for her mother, who is dead. Abigail tells the girls to relax, that she told Parris everything.. Betty argues she didn’t say they drank blood in order to kill John Proctor’s wife Abigail slaps Betty and orders the girls to only day that they danced in the forest and threatens to kill them if they mention anything more..

27. In the parlor, the crowd sings a psalm. At the phrase.. “going up to Jesus”, Betty cover her ears and becomes hysterical. Parris and the Putnam’s rush into the room. Mrs Putnam says that Betty is bewitched and cannot hear the Lord’s name without pain. Reverend Hale arrives and questions Abigail about dancing in the forest. Abigail says the dancing was not related to witchcraft.

28. The Abilgail goes back and says that Tibuta is the one who conjured the devil and that Tubuta made her drink the blood from the kettle. Tituba says Abigail made her do it.

29. Everyone begins to get upset, and Tutuba says that she saw Sarah Good and Goody Osburn with the devil. Abigail and Betty begin to add names to the list Hale calls for the arrest of the accused witches

30. ACT TWO

31. J ohn and Elizabeth sit down for dinner at their house. Marry Warren, their servant, is at the witch trials. Fourteen people are in jail now. When Mary gets home, she gives Elizabeth a gift: a doll that she sewed in court that day. Mary reports that now thirty-nine people stand accused. She says that Elizabeth’s name was mentioned, but that she stood up for her.

32. Hale visits the Proctor home in order to speak with everyone whose name was mentioned in court. Hale asks the Proctors questions about their Christian character. He notes that they do not attend church often. Hale asks John Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor obeys, but forgets the commandment about adultery.

33. Giles and Francis rush into the Proctor house, upset because their wives had been arrested. Just then, Ezekiel Cheever and Herrick, the town marshal, arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Hale is surprised because Elizabeth had not been charged with anything yet. Cheever asks Elizabeth if she owns any dolls. Elizabeth says she hasn’t owned dolls she was a child. Cheever notices the doll that Mary made for Elizabeth earlier that day. He finds a needle inside of it. Cheever explains that Abigail had a fit at Parris ’ house that evening. Parris found a needle in Abigail’s stomach and Abigail had accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. Elizabeth brings down Mary and Mary tells Cheever that she was the one who made the doll and stuck the needle in the stomach of the doll herself.

34. Elizabeth is arrested and led away. Proctor becomes angry and rips up the warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Proctor tells Mary that she has to testify in court. Mary refuses, saying that Abigail will kill her if she does,

35. ACT THREE

36. Court in session. Proctor and Mary enter the room. Mary says that she and the other girls were only pretending to be affected by witchcraft. Parris thinks they all want to overthrow the court. Proctor says he just wants to free his wife, but Cheever tells the judge that Proctor ripped up the warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Danforth questions Proctor about his religious beliefs. Proctor is told not to worry about Elizabeth’s execution because she claims to be pregnant and cannot be hanged until after she delivers.

37. Danforth calls for Abigail and the girls. Abigail denies Mary’s testimony. Mary says again that the girls are only pretending. Hawthorne asks Marry to pretend to faint for them. Mary says she can’t because she does not have “the sense of it” now. Danforth tells Abigail to be truthful. Abigail shivers and the other girls follows suit. They blame Mary of bewitching them with a cold wind. Proctor leaps at Abigail and calls her names. He confesses his affair with her and explains that Elizabeth fired her when she discovered it. Danforth tells Abigail and Proctor to turn their backs and calls for Elizabeth.

38. Danforth asks Elizabeth why she fired Abigail. Elizabeth looks at Proctor for a clue, but Danforth demands that she look only at him. Elizabeth goes on to say that she thought Proctor liked Abigail, so she got angry and fired her. Elizabeth is removed from the room. Proctor cries out that he confessed his sin, but it is too late for Elizabeth to change her story.

39. Hale begs Danforth to reconsider, saying that he always thought Abigail was lying. The girls begin screaming that Mary is sending her spirit at them. Mary pleads with them to stop, but the girls only repeat her words exactly as she says them. Mary begins to scream too. The courtroom becomes hectic.

40. Proctor tries to touch Mary, but she runs away and calls him the devil’s man. She accuses him of partnering with the devil and pressuring her to join him in his even ways Danforth orders Proctor’s arrest even though Hale disagrees. Hale criticizes the proceedings and says he is quitting the court.

41. ACT FOUR

42. As a result of the trials, cows wander loose, crops rot in the fields, and orphans wander without supervision. Hale has returned to Salem. Danforth hopes that Elizabeth can persuade Proctor to confess. Elizabeth agrees to speak to Proctor. In the room alone, Elizabeth tells Proctor that almost one hundred people have confessed to witchcraft. She tells him about Giles being killed by being pressed to death with large stones, even though he never plead guilty or not guilty.

43. Proctor asks Elizabeth if she thinks he should confess. After debating for a while, Proctor agrees to confess . Hathorne and Danforth are happy. When Cheever grabs paper and pen to write the confession, Proctor hesitates to sign. Proctor does not want the confession hung on the church door. He snatches the paper from Danforth and rips the confession into two.

44. Danforth calls for the marshal. Herrick leads the seven prisoners, including Proctor, to the gallows. Hale and Parris plead with Elizabeth to convince Proctor to sign the confession, but she refuses to sway him from doing what he believes is just.

45. The End

46. REFERENCE LIST Boardworks . (2010). The Crucible. Available from Slideshare at https://www.slideshare.net/quintus/the-crucible-5185160 (Accessed 17 August 2020). Frisby , B & Quattro, C. (2012). The Crucible. Available at https://www.haralson.k12.ga.us/Downloads/The%20Crucible%20Level%202%20PowerPoint.pptx (Accessed 17 August 2020). Lukaszek , N & Zach, S. (2013). The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Available from Slideshare at https://www.slideshare.net/DETfreak/the-crucible-by-nick-and-zach (Accessed 17 August 2020). The Crucible Act 1 Characters. (2009). Available from Slideshare at https://www.slideshare.net/CoolTeacher/act-1-characters (Accessed 17 August 2020). The Crucible. (2014). Available from Slideshare at https://www.slideshare.net/rainbow_13/the-crucible-41939272 (Accessed 17 August 2020). Ward, L. (2009). The Crucible. Available from: https://www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/english/The%20Crucible.ppt (Accessed 17 August 2020).