Themes in The Crucible 11 CP Conflicts Act 1 Paris vs. Town: reputation with his daughter/niece associated with witchcraft Abigail vs. girls: desire to keep quiet events in the forest Proctor vs. Abigail: affair and romantic relationship Conflicts: Act 1 (con’t) Proctor vs. Town Elders: resents Putnam’s land greed, doesn’t think Parris preaches effectively Putnam vs. Francis Nurse: resents the fact that he owns more land and wants the property for himself. Rebecca Nurse vs. Town: doesn’t think the town elders should look into witchcraft. Hale vs. Rebecca: She doesn’t think demons should be sought Tituba vs. the town: Scapegoat for witchcraft. Act 1 Thematic Motifs Theocracy: what happens when the church tries to regulate behavior by severe punishment? Control: When society is too repressed, it cracks Appearance vs. Reality. Characters appear different on the outside: Paris, looks holy but wants political gain. Abigail looks innocent but is evil. Can’t trust what you see. Act 1 Themes Deflected blame: Pointing the finger at another takes the blame off the guilty. When a person is threatened with violence, he or she will say anything from being harmed, there fore justice is lost. Act 1 Quotes 1. "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit.“ Speaker: Paris Significance: Shows his obsession with his reputation. 2. "There be no blush about my name." Speaker: Abigail Significance: Is not who she appears to be Act 1 Quotes 3. "... I have laid seven babies unbaptized in the earth." Speaker: Anne Putnam Significance: Shows a motive to instigate hysteria, she is bitter 4. "Give me a word, John. A soft word." Speaker: Abigail Significance: Shows her desperate desire for John and motive to capture him. Act 1 Quotes 5. "We vote by name in this society, not by acreage." Speaker: Proctor Significance: Shows he is not willing to be shamed 6. "You are God's instrument put in our hands to discover the devil's agents among us." Speaker: Hale Significance: Manipulation and loss of justice 7. “You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor…” Speaker: Betty Significance: Result of repressed emotions Act 1 Quotes 8. “A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back.” Speaker: Rebecca Nurse Significance: Voice of reason, kids are kids 9. “I am not some preaching farmer with a book under my arm; I am a graduate from Harvard.” Speaker: Paris Significance: Appearances are deceiving, he is insecure 10. “The devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone...” Speaker: Hale Significance: Shows his belief that he has the right to judge others Act 1 Quotes 11. "I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it.“ -Show’s Paris’s obsession with his reputation 12. "And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes?“ -Shows Abigail’s inability to hear “no” from John 13. "She made me do it! She made Betty do it!“ -Example of deflected blame. Act 1 Quotes 14. “You are God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us.” -Shows Hale’s “ability” to find out evil in others 15. “You load one oak of mine and you’ll fight to drag it home!” -Shows Putnam land greed Act 2 Themes The worst judge is oneself: John is tormented by his own guilt of adultery. Proctors are voice of reason. They know who they are and don’t pretend to be otherwise. Hale’s cross examination: It is not for another to decide how “good” you are (McCarthy). Act 2 Themes Vengeance rules Salem, society is broken in the name of blame. The accuser becomes holy. Accusing becomes a form of purification. Way of gaining power. Fear is a powerful tool for manipulation. Act 2 Quotes 1. “I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it.” Speaker: John Proctor Significance: Shows his initial guilt and fear about coming forward 2. “She’ll kill me for sayin’ that! Abby’ll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!” Speaker: Mary Warren Significance: Shows her meager attempt to use fear to control Proctor 3. “I thought sir, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you will permit me.” Speaker: Hale Significance: Show’s Hale’s alleged ability to decide how “holy” the Proctor’s are. 4. “You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed.” Speaker: Elizabeth Significance: Shows Elizabeth as the voice of reason, and her ability to use reason to save herself from Abigail’s attack Act 2 Quotes 5. “I am amazed you do not see what weighty work we do.” Speaker: Mary Warren Significance: Shows Mary gaining “power” as an accuser 6. “The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl.” Speaker: John Proctor Significance: John says this to show he is through with Abigail 7. “I labor the earth from dawn of day to blink of night…when I look to heaven and see my money at his elbows-it hurt my prayer sir.” Speaker: John Proctor Significance: Shows his willingness to show his beliefs 8. “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.” Speaker: Elizabeth Significance: Shows the cost of guilt afflicting Proctor Act 2 Quotes 9. “I never said my wife was a witch, Mr. Hale; I only said she were reading books!” Speaker: Giles Corey Significance: Shows his regret for seeking Hale’s help. 10. “Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem-vengeance is walking Salem…” Speaker: John Proctor Significance: Shows John as voice of reason. Shows how the girls gain power through accusation. Act 3 Themes Hale’s inability to stick up for justice shows that the “religious” are not always the most honest. Hysteria corrodes the fabric of society. The town’s best are thrown in jail The notion that truth is found in the governing powers is NOT necessarily true. Act 3 Themes Love in marriage is a very powerful force. Elizabeth is a pillar of honesty, but caves to protect John. A man’s sinful nature doesn’t discount his heroic attributes. John’s willingness to come forward is heroic Crucible Title Crucible is a melting pot that separates base metals from valuable ones. Separation of the good people from the bad-those with integrity and those without it. John Proctor, though he is condemned, has the greatest integrity McCarthyism Reflection of McCarthyism that Miller encountered which was an abuse of power. Truth is not necessarily found in the judicial system or in the governing powers. Truth is found in an individual (such as Proctor). Theocracy Excessive repression in society (theocracy) leads to rebellion-hysteria tears apart a community. Girls repressed sexuality led to an explosion of hysterical behavior. Peer Pressure Peer pressure is a powerful tool. People easily fall into corrupt behavior by following the crowd. Few take responsibility for their actions when everyone around them is going crazy-known as mob mentality. Proctor You only get one name in life and can never have another. In the end, personal integrity is the most important quality; Proctor dies with his good name and finds his goodness in that fact.