The Crucible
Student Packet
Pre-Reading & Act 1
DUE:________
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From the Author’s Desk
From the information on the DVD and class lectures, complete the following
questions about Arthur Miller.
1. When did Arthur Miller live?
2. What famous actress was Miller married to (for a time)?
3. What are some of his famous plays?
4. While the play, The Crucible, is about witch trials, what is it really about?
5. What did senator Joseph McCarthy do? How did it impact Miller?
6. How does Miller feel about theatre?
7. Who inspired Miller?
8. Who is the best subject for tragedy?
9. What does Miller hope to establish in terms of “authority”?
10. What are some themes Miller’s works approach?
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Pre-Reading: Please answer the following questions in sentence form.
1. What is the role of authority in a community whether it be religious authority (i.e. the church)
or civil authority (i.e. the courts)? What should the limitations be on authority? What are the
rights of an individual who opposes authority?
2. Are the effects of fear on an individual beneficial or destructive? Explain. Where does fear
come from?
3. Throughout history, civilizations have sought to provide scapegoats for the evil in society.
Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and the McCarthy era in the 1950s are two 20th century
examples. Does knowing that evil has a definite source quell or incite more fear? Is it more or
less terrifying to know where that evil came from?
4. The search for personal identity and knowledge of oneself is a concern of most people.
Under what circumstances does a person usually start this search?
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McCarthyism
The climate of fear and false charges about which Arthur Miller writes in The Crucible reflect
the climate of suspicion he lived through in the 1940s: the period of McCarthyism. The word
McCarthyism came from the name of Joseph R. McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator who made
numerous charges—usually with little evidence—that certain officials and individuals were
communists or cooperated with communists.
McCarthyism developed during the Cold War, an era of great hostility between the
communist and noncommunist nations of the world. In the late 1940s and early 1950s,
communists took over Czechoslavakia and China, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic
bomb, and the Soviet Union equipped the North Korean communist forces that invaded South
Korea. Because of these and other events, many in the United States government deeply
feared communism and began to investigate its influence, sometimes using questionable
methods.
In 1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) investigated claims
that Hollywood was full of those who advocated the overthrow of the United States. Many
writers refused to testify before the committee, and some were blacklisted by the industry and
could no longer work. HUAC expanded its investigations. In the early 1950s, Senator McCarthy
accused so many people of being communists that the whole era became known as the
“McCarthy Era.” His dubious evidence, brutal tactics, and unfair questioning eventually led to
his being discredited, but the fear of being labeled a communist caused some people to name
others as suspects merely to prove their own loyalty.
Called by HUAC in 1956, Arthur Miller refused to name individuals he had seen ten
years earlier at a meeting at which communists were allegedly present. He was convicted of
contempt. The conviction was later overturned. In 1957 the first film of The Crucible was made
in France, because American companies feared to produce it. It took decades for paranoia to
subside, and using techniques of unproven charges, guilt by association, and sensational
accusation in the media is still known as McCarthyism.
Write answers to the questions in the space provided.
1. Why did some Americans fear communism so much?
2. What similarities do you see between the McCarthy era and the time of The Crucible?
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The Crucible: Character Chart and Act 1 Guide
Character study: For each of the following characters, write who s/he is, what relationship to
other characters, any important character or personality traits and any other important
information.
Who is he/she?
Relationship to whom?
Problem? Acts of
courage/cowardice?
Reverend
Samuel
Parris
Betty
Parris
Abigail
Williams
Tituba
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Mrs. Ann
Putnam
Thomas
Putnam
John
Proctor
Elizabeth
Proctor
Mary
Warren
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Giles
Cory
Rebecca
Nurse
Reverend
John
Hale
Deputy
Governor
Danforth
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Study Guide:
Act I
Directions: Please keep track of the following information. Your notes should reflect careful
reading and thoughtful processing. Where appropriate, support your opinions with textual
evidence. Keep these questions out and fill in your answers as we read and not when we
finish. Answers to some of the questions might be found in the exposition sections.
Respond on separate paper!
1. What was Samuel Parris’s attitude toward children?
2. Why do you think Rev. Parris has many enemies?
3. After Parris begins to believe his daughter to be afflicted by witchcraft, what is Thomas
Putnam’s advice to him?
4. What truths come out when the adults leave the girls alone?
5. Explain in detail the relationship of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams.
6. Why does Betty start screaming?
7. As far as you can tell thus far, what is the function of Rebecca Nurse in the play?
8. Why are some people, including John Proctor, inclined to stay away from Sabbath meeting?
9. Why does Hale believe the Devil would strike Rev. Parris’s house?
10. Though Rev. Hale is trying to get Tituba to name her accomplices, who is the first person
to actually mention names?
11. Why isn’t it difficult for Ann Putnam to believe that Goody Osburn is a witch?
12. List the conflicts that are introduced in Act I. Which do you think is the major conflict?
Give reasons for your answers.
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