English 11, Q4e1: Literary analysis of The crucible
The crucible, Act I draft
Choose from Act I one character who is important to the play as a whole. Select from
Act I three quotes that you can explain to show how important the character is. The
quotes may all be said by the character, or they may be said by others. Students
may focus on Abigail and the following three quotes or choose another character and
different quotes. Write at least one page in your journal to explain the three quotes
and how they show the character is important to the play as a whole.
"You clutched my back and sweated like a stallion"
"You [Abigail] beg me to conjure! She beg me to make charm!"
"I saw Sarah Good with the devil...Goody Osborne...Bridget Bishop"
The crucible, Act II draft
Choose from Act II one character who is important to the play as a whole. Select
from Act II three quotes that you can explain to show how important the character is.
The quotes may all be said by the character, or they may be said by others. Students
may focus on Hale and the following three quotes or choose another character and
different quotes. Write at least one page in your journal to explain the three quotes
and how they show the character is important to the play as a whole.
"No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack
upon this village"
"Let you repeat [the Ten Commandments] if you will"
"I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and numerous others that have
confessed to dealing with the Devil. They have confessed it"
The crucible, Act III draft
Choose from Act III one character who is important to the play as a whole. Select
from Act III three quotes that you can explain to show how important the character is.
The quotes may all be said by the character, or they may be said by others. Write at
least one page in your journal to explain the three quotes and how they show the
character is important to the play as a whole. Keep in mind as you choose
characters that the essay following the Act IV draft will ask students to write about
four different characters.
The crucible, Act IV draft
Choose from Act IV one character who is important to the play as a whole. Select
from Act IV three quotes that you can explain to show how important the character
is. The quotes may all be said by the character, or they may be said by others. Write
at least one page in your journal to explain the three quotes and how they show the
character is important to the play as a whole.
Final draft essay grading rubric, due in class Wednesday, 3/26
_____ typed essay of at least 3 typed pages (≥ 750 words) organized in welldeveloped paragraphs, with clear introduction, body, and conclusion, and formal
academic English, mainly free of grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors;
_____ introduction includes thesis, which states an important theme of the reading
as vehicle+tenor, as shown through the explication of twelve quotes focusing on four
characters; conclusion restates thesis and summarizes argument in fresh language;
_____ the essay’s body of evidence supporting thesis explicates at least twelve short
quotes in detail, avoiding long quotes or unexplained passages, and the character
speakers of the passages are identified and explained as symbols which help
convey the theme;
_____ at least one other literary device is identified from each act and how the
device helps convey the theme is explained.
Sample first sentences
Arthur Miller's The crucible, ostensibly set during and focused on the Salem
witch trials, suggests that US society is... The four characters....show different
aspects of this theme. First, _____ represents... Second, _____ can be seen as...
Third, _____ shows..., and fourth, _____ offers an example of how... Together, these
characters...