Crucible 5: 68-83

1) Proctor: "If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking in Salem—vengeance is walking in Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!" (77).

This quote perfectly describes what is happening in the plot. None of the characters had the courage to state this truth except for Proctor because he became enraged at the accusation of his wife. He knows that Abigail is desperately trying to frame his wife, so she can be with him. She does this out of vengeance. This is also the cause for many of the other accusations. When a person in Salem wants revenge over another, all they need to do is cry witchcraft to get it. Proctor realizes that the situation is ridiculous, and he seems to be the voice of reason so far. He also brings up the point that certain people will confess anything just to save themselves, but he does not think that confessing should absolve them of their sins. He has no faith in the court to make just decisions, and this is a good judgment because it is being corrupted by the lies of Abigail and false confessions of others.

Will Proctor get into trouble with the court because of all the things he said in defense of his wife in front of Hale and Cheever? Will he be the next one accused?

2) Proctor: "Good. Then her saintliness is done with. We will slide together into our pit; you will tell the court what you know" (80).

Proctor says this in response to Mary telling him that Abigail will ruin him with the story of his adultery. He thinks this would be a good thing if she tells the story because it will make herself look worse. However, as we have seen so far, whoever confesses will suddenly be forgiven of everything they have done, and all the blame will shift to the accused. It would be much wiser for Proctor himself to confess, instead of letting Abigail get away with another sin just because she confessed first. This happened earlier in the play when she confessed to dancing in the woods and all the blame went to Tituba, no one even realized that Abigail sinned too. So far confession leads to immediate forgiveness without penalty. Confessing should not lead to absolution, this is illogical. 

Will Proctor be able to confess after suffering from all the negative affects of confessing to his wife? Will Abigail confess first and get away yet again?

Hw 11/13/08

1) Mary Warren: "-and of all the ten she could not say a single one. She never knew no commandments, and they had her in a fat lie!" (58).

This quote states what the 'proof' is against Sarah Good. Every time she came to the door begging and Mary turned her away, she mumbled something. Mary accused her of muttering curses on her because she always got sick after this happened. The judge asked Sarah Good what she said, and she claimed it was the commandments. When the judge asked her to recite them, she could not say a single one. They use this supposed 'proof' to accuse her of witchcraft. This is very ridiculous. She was just claiming she said the commandments to make herself look good. Just because she was not saying the commandments does not automatically make her a witch, she could have been saying anything. The townspeople seem very eager to accuse anyone they can, even on faulty evidence.

Will the townspeople ever realize what they are doing, or are they too fearful of the Devil to do anything right? Will they just kill everyone accused to make sure the Devil is no longer in the town?

2) Hale: 'Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small" (67).

This quote perfectly describes how all of the citizens in Salem view their religion. If there is even one bad deed committed by a person they are automatically associated with the Devil. They have the wrong ideas about Christianity and they take it too an extreme. 

Is this quote a good piece of advice, or is it just how the townspeople in Salem view their faith?

HW 11/6/2008

1) Hale: "No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her" (38).

This quote is important because it shows that all the citizens trust Hale's judgement. There may be a rivalry between Parris and Hale because they are both reverends, and if one is respected more than another it may lead to competition. This quote also explain how the Devil acts. It says that his marks are obvious. This interpretation of the Devil's action will probablycome back later in the plot

How may this quote and what it states about the Devil affect the plot, or the characters' accusations of others as being witches?

2) Abigail: "Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Bardados songs and tempting me with–" (44).

This quote is Abigail trying to defend herself. She accuses Tituba of everything. She may be lying or telling the truth. Tituba denies all her claim and is shocked that Abigail said the things that she did. Abigail seems to be lying to cover for herself, or cause any other problems she can. She seems evil and crazy.

Is Abigail lying or not? Did she simply to get out of trouble or did she really want someone else to be punished?

Character List

Reverend Hale- feels superior to others, feels he wants to preserve goodness and God

 

Rev. Parris- priest in Salem, does not like children, believes he deserves more money and is under appreciated, tries hard to not make people accuse him a witchcraft

 

Mr. Putnam- daughter is sick, wants help from Hale to cure her, wanted Bayley to be minister

 

Ms. Putnam- daughter is sick, had 7 kids, but they all died at birth, dislikes Rebecca

 

Rebecca Nurse- her family was disagreed over the choice of Bayley as minister, the Putnams don't like her

 

Giles Corey- in a land dispute with Putnam, his wife reads Devilish books, he can't pray because of her reading

 

John Proctor- rebellious farmer who does not believe in witches, had an affair with Abigail but still seems to love his wife

 

Mrs. Proctor- spreading rumors about Abigail because she suspects what happened between her and Mr. Proctor

 

Betty Parris- daughter of Rev. Parris  ten years old, Hale tries to help her, tried to jump out of window, she might be possessed, others believe she can fly,

 

Abigail- danced with other girls as Tituba called upon the dead, drank blood potion to curse Mrs. Proctor for revenge, acts innocent, blames Tituba's, in love with John Proctor, seems evil, obsessed and crazy

 

Tituba-  slave of Parris, loves Betty and God, accused of conjuring the dead, she denies this and blames the white women 

Crucible HW 2

1) Putnam: I never heard you worried so on this society, Mr. Proctor. I do not think I saw you at Sabbath meeting since snow flew.

This quote demonstrates how important religion is to the people of Salem. Putnam then replies to this by saying that he does not go to the meetings because because Reverend Parris no longer mentions God. The other characters in the scene are shocked at this claim. Later Parris says he is the third priest in seven years

What do the citizens think about Parris? Do they respect their priests? Do they think he is worthy of being a priest?

2) Proctor: Your grandfather had a habit of willing land that never belonged to him, if I may say it plain.

This quote shows tension between the citizens. Proctor, Putnam, and Giles have a fight over land disputes. Fights over territory will certainly lead to anger between the characters. They may accuse each other of participating in which-craft to reclaim their land.

How will this quarrel between the major men of the town affect the rest of the plot?

The Crucible HW

Putnam: Don't you understand it, sir? There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark... Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more. (16)

This quote causes Parris to ask Abigail if it was her who was conjuring spirits last night. Abigail then admits that it was Tituba and Ruth, but still denies her,own involvement. This already shows suspicion, accusations, and denial coming into the play.  How will this rumor of a witch affect people's opinions of each other?

2) Abigail: "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. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine" (20)

This quote is Abigail threatening to kill either of the other two girls if they tell about what else happened in the woods that night. The violent language makes her seem even more like a witch. She denies her association witchcraft, but she seems like a witch with the threatening language used in this quote. Will this quote foreshadow what is to come? Will Abigail be forced to kill the other girls to save herself?

The Crucible CW

Characterization

Parris: a serious Puritan who is suspicious of being accused as a witch, has no care for children

"He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side." (3)

Betty Parris: daughter of Rev. Parris 

"His daughter, Betty Parris, aged ten, is lying on the bed, inert" (3)

Tituba: a frightened slave who is new at Parris' house

"... she is also very frightened because her slave sense has warned her that, as always, trouble in this house eventually lands on her back" (8)

Martha Corey: suspected of being a witch

"Martha laid herself down on his chest and 'nearly suffocated him'" (7)

Importance of Background

This play is set during the time of the Salem witch trials, which will influence the actions of all the characters. This will affect the interactions between characters   because they will always be fearful of being suspected as a witch. The characters' religions will also be a major influence. The major influence in the entire community is religion. The community is a theocracy.

In Salem everyone is expected to be to be pious. If someone was not pious then they would be ostracized, and there are constantly two men patrolling the village to look for suspicious activity. Every citizen of the village was to follow the standards of their religion, and attempts at disunity would result in witch accusations.