THE CRUCIBLE REVIEW
Crucible as allegory
Social Climate
The Crucible—1692
The McCarthy hearings—1950s
 Fraught with petty politics
 Fraught with petty politics
and conflicts among
neighbors
and conflicts among
neighbors
Crucible as allegory
Cultural Beliefs
1692
1950s
 Strong belief in God &
 “American Way” = ideal
theocracy. Enemy = devil &
those who participate in
witchcraft = criminals
 --Even more dangerous
because done in secret
 Communism seen as a
great evil, dangerous force;
 Americans who had
espoused communism or
were sympathetic to it =
treasonous
Crucible as allegory
Cultural Fears
1692
1950s
 Knew that people in other
 Knew that some
towns had been convicted
of witchcraft
communist spies had been
convicted
Crucible as allegory
Experts
1692
1950s
 The Church, especially
 U.S. Secret Service
Reverend Hale
Crucible as allegory
Trial Proceedings
1692
1950s
 Relentless questioning;
 Relentless questioning;
 presumption of guilt;
 presumption of guilt;
 acceptance of flimsy
 acceptance of flimsy
evidence;
 stubborn insistence on the
validity & power of
proceedings
evidence;
 stubborn insistence on the
validity & power of
proceedings
Crucible as allegory
Treatment of Victims
1692
1950s
 19 people hanged
 Some lost their jobs
 Several died in jail
 Some had to leave country
 1 pressed to death
 Most lost prestige,
 Others—jail time, loss of
property & prestige
reputation
Crucible experience
John Proctor
experience
theme
 Ordeal of body & mind
 A terrible ordeal can
 Physical torture in jail
sometimes lead to
personal growth
 Mental anguish over
Elizabeth’s imprisonment
 Guilt over affair
 In end, purged of guilt by
resisting temptation to save
himself
 Dies strong—has integrity to
die to save his good name
Crucible Experience
Elizabeth Proctor
Experience
Theme
 Anxiety from time of
 A great test can strengthen




discovery of affair, through
willingness to lie, up to
meeting with John at the end
Emotional trial
She searches with her heart
Accepts personal
responsibility for the past
Ends strong—supports
husband’s choice for personal
integrity
you
Crucible Experience
Reverend
Hale
Experience
Theme
 Conflict between
intellectual knowledge &
his conviction of what is
morally right
 His crucible purges him of
intellectual arrogance
 Scholarly knowledge is not
enough; people need
compassion
Crucible Experience
Rebecca Nurse
Experience
Theme
 Long known as good, holy
 A person can stand firm
 Crucible of separation from
family, imprisonment,
execution does NOT
diminish her strength
 Never falters
 She is precious metal
surviving fire ordeal
against evil
Crucible Experience
Giles Corey
Experience
Theme
 Sometimes cranky, foolish
 Unlikely heroes can
 Ordeal of questioning,
accusation, sentencing
brings out the steel of his
character
 Self sacrifice to provide for
family
emerge through difficult
life situations
Crucible Experience
Salem as a whole
Experience
Theme
 Ordeal of witch hunts
 Societies can change—
 Executions change Salem
 Trials end
 Restitution made
 Theocracy stops
slowly, even reluctantly
perhaps
Crucible Experience
We the audience
Experience
Theme
 Vicariously, we view it &
 It is important not to let
identify with the
character’s experiences
and think about the
outcome
fear lead to unreasoning
panic & mindless
accusation
Theme of Authority & Dissent
 1st, Reverend Parris sole voice of authority in Salem (minister &







graduate of Harvard)
Replaced by Rev. Hale, who derives his authority from books and
learning
These are supplanted by the courts and its officials
Individualists like Proctor & Giles rankle under these layers of
authority
Proctor had long rejected Parris’s preachings
Corey made authority of law work for him as constant plaintiff;
however, being an outlier is dangerous
Dissent = being an anarchist/agent of Satan
Proctor & Corey both have willingness to push back against the
extreme authority of the courts; however, they also suffer greatly
Theme of Reputation
 Reputation dictated your fate
 Witch trials elevated people who normally would
not have held importance (Abigail & girls, Tituba)
to positions of power
 Conversely, they lowered people with good
reputations—Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor
 John Proctor placed into center (landowner, but
adulterer)
 Parris more worried about his reputation than his
daughter.
Theme of Sin & Guilt
 Opportunity for society to publicly proclaim their own
sins & sins of others
 Guilt has been bottled up, now airing of sins & grievances
a relief
 Guilt motivates witch hunt & several main characters
 Proctor haunted by remorse over infidelity
 Hale works to undermine the court that he created as
penance for his sins
Ultimate irony: sins of trial outpace original crime &
there really was no original crime; therefore, abstract
concept of sin was made concrete through
compounding avoidances of guilt
Martyrdom
 Must a martyr be a saint?
 Proctor grapples with this
 Early victims not seen as martyrs because
undesirable members of society
 Rebecca Nurse = martyr b/c has lived an upright
life
 Proctor sees self as borderline, not sinless
 When he recognizes that he does not need to be
perfect , he finds his goodness
Naming of names
 Miller against it, felt it was evil to finger
others to save oneself—puts this idea into
Proctor , Giles
 Proctor would rather die than accuse more
innocent people