English 20-1
Drama/Film: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Crucible is a full-length drama that deals with various ideas and human conditions, not the least
of which are the related states of fear of the unknown and mob hysteria—states that are also
substantially explored in Golding's novel Lord of the Flies—and states that are apparent to us in
numberless times and places in the world. One particularly disturbing expression of these states in
concert is explored in the National Film Board documentary The Burning Times by filmmaker
Donna Reed.
By way of introduction to The Crucible, click on the link below to view The Burning Times. The
film takes one hour to view.
http://www.nfb.ca/film/burning_times/
In viewing, note especially such concepts as the following, all of which are relevant not just to
The Crucible, but also to many other literary works and to our daily lives:
• irrational behavior in response to fear, especially fear of the unknown and its most horrific
flowering in the form of mob madness
•
unquestioning loyalty to, and automatic acting upon, doctrinaire conceptions of morality
(doctrinaire =This word, which can be used as a noun or an adjective, refers to the idea of holding
strictly to a particular doctrine (a particular code of beliefs and practices) that may be founded in
religion, philosophy, or other systems. It is usually applied with a negative connotation, suggesting
narrow-mindedness and elitism.)
• self-service (e.g. greed, finger-pointing, lack of compassion, inability or refusal to consider
perspectives other than one's own)
• false confessions extracted under duress  these "confessions" then accepted by others as
"truth"
• the psychological defense mechanism of projection, which often leads to scapegoating
(before viewing The Burning Times, read this Wikipedia article on scapegoating and projection:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapegoating)