The Crucible: - Themes and Ideas for You to Think About
Please complete this assignment on a separate piece of paper. (Or go to my webpage and open
this as an MS Word document and type it). Read both sides before you begin. Make sure to use
the handout's definitions when answering the questions below.
WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES. PLEASE SKIP A LINE AFTER EACH QUESTION.
THEME A: In his autobiography Timebends playwright Arthur Miller suggests that one of the most
important ideas running through his play The Crucible is “the resistance to tyranny.”
Important Definitions
resistance
1) opposition to somebody or something
2) refusal to accept or comply with someone
3) the ability to refrain from something in spite of being tempted
tyranny
1) Cruelty and injustice in the exercising of power or authority over others
2) Oppressive government by one or more people who exercise absolute power unjustly
citizenship
1) the status of a citizen with rights and duties
2) the duties and responsibilities that come with being a member of a community
1. Describe a specific example of resistance to tyranny (from history, a book, movie, or current
society). Pick an example you understand well but do a little research so you have details to
include. If you integrate quotes or paraphrase text, cite the author or source and page number.
Don’t plagiarize.
A) Describe—with details—the specific example of tyranny and why it reflects the definitions
above.
B) Explain specifically what the group or individual did to resist the tyranny.
C) What do you believe should be the role of a citizen when faced with or living under tyranny?
Example Answer for A & B: Michigan Students’ “Right to Read” Lawsuit
A) In Detroit’s largest school district, three-quarters of 7th grade students are not proficient in
reading and 90% of seniors fail the reading portion of the state test. One of the plaintiffs, an
eight-grader that has been in the district since first grade, reads only at a third grade level and
though state law says students who fail state tests “shall be provided special assistance”, he has
never received any help (Layton 5). In addition to their illiteracy, the students believe the
district’s lack of books, appalling record keeping, and cold, decrepit buildings have unjustly
interfered with their learning.
B) To show their resistance to the district’s injustice, the students, represented by the American
Civil Liberties Union, have filed a first-of-its-kind, class-action lawsuit against the city’s school
administration, hoping a court will force the district to make needed changes.
THEME B: Theatre Scholar Bernard Dukore contends that each character in the play faces “a test
of integrity—each enters a personal crucible.” Gerald Freedman, who directed a 1990 Broadway
production of The Crucible told his cast that the play revolves around the following idea:
Reputation defines a person from the outside. Integrity defines a person from the inside.”
integrity
1) adherence to moral or ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty
2) the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished
reputation
1) the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or public
2) a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing for merit or achievement
crucible
1) a container that can resist the hottest temperatures in which ores, metals, and impurities are
melted; 2) bottom of a furnace; 3) testing circumstances that cause people to change; 4) an ordeal
or severe trial
2. Donald McCabe of Rutgers Business School has been studying academic cheating since 1990. He
surveyed 25,000 high school students and found that a shocking 95% of students said they had
cheated during the course of their education, ranging from copying a classmate’s homework to
plagiarizing a paper.
Last year while Ms. Bech was working lunch duty, an administrator shared this observation:
“I get so depressed walking through the cafeteria at lunch. At nearly every table I see students
copying the work of other students.”
A) When it comes to school work, explain why you think some students cheat?
B) For those who do engage in cheating, how do they separate their actions from their
integrity? Or...do they have a different definition of integrity or value theirs less? EXPLAIN!
(Make sure to consider the definitions of integrity in the box when explaining your answer.)
3. Choose one of the following questions to answer.
A. How does the idea of reputation affect the choices and decisions make at LTHS? Provide a
specific example—either real (feel free to change names) or hypothetical to support your answer.
You might think of an example [change names] where a student’s choice benefitted their
reputation but diminished his or her integrity or vice versa. (Again, make sure you’re using the
definitions in the box above.)
B. What belief is so central to your integrity that you have or would be willing to make a sacrifice?
Explain your answer. (It doesn’t have to a sacrifice like giving up your life. It could even be
something smaller, like giving up some time or an activity or a social event with friends because
doing so would go against the standards or beliefs that define your integrity.)