The Crucible
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Motifs
Motif means an idea or subject that
keeps coming up.
Trials:
We have the overt trial of the witches
Danforth Presides
The girls have the authority
Punishment= death
Anyone guilty? Not the people charged
Motifs
Trials
We have Parris’s belief he’s on trial
He’s on trial as their pastor
“I am your third preacher in seven years. I do not wish to
be put out like the cat whenever some majority feels the
whim”
Feels it from all sides- including Rebecca’s refusal to get
involved
“I hope you do not mean we go to Satan here”
Idea that it he should be immune. Something outside
causes the problems in his house
“How can it be my house? Why would he choose my
house to strike?”
Is he guilty?
His kids lead the charge (Betty and Abigail)
“He was a widower with no interest in children”
Motifs
Trials
We have Proctor’s personal trials
He’s on trial for his old crimes
“He is a sinner… These people had no ritual for the washing away
of sins”
Elizabeth as judge
She initially acts cold
“The magistrate in your heart judges you”
She frees him by judging herself
“It come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not
forgive yourself”
Proctor as judge
Frees himself when taking death
“I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them that”
“He hath his goodness now, God forbid I take that from him”
Is he guilty?
Of adultery? Yes. Of a greater sin? No
To Danforth: “Now I do think I see some shred of goodness in
John Proctor”
Motifs
Truth
Truth is a paradox
The truth that matters are lies
Abigail of the village, “I never knew what pretense Salem
was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught”
Danforth of Proctors confession: “If it is a lie I will not
accept it”
The truth that is real doesn’t change the society
Proctor’s confession leads to him being accused.
Proctor announces “God knows how black my sins are” but
no one in power listens
The one character always honest, lies
John of Elizabeth: “My wife cannot lie. I have paid much
for it”
Hale of Elizabeth: “It is a natural lie to tell”
Symbolism
Witchcraft=Communism
Mostly appears in Miller’s commentary
“They believed… They held in their steady hands the
candle that would light the world. We have inherited this
belief, and it has helped and hurt us”
“These people had no ritual for the washing away of sins.
It is another trait we inherited from them”
“Ours is a divided empire in which certain ideas and
emotions and actions are of God, and the opposites are
of Lucifer”
“The analogy however seems to falter when one
considers that, while there were no witches then, there
are Communists and capitalists now.”
Only a few explicitly mention Communism- adds to
timelessness
Not an actual script line- keeps it hidden.
Symbolism
Poppet= loss of innocence.
Poppet is a doll: “I have not owned a poppet since
I was a girl”
Poppet made innocently by Mary Warren: “I made
it in court today… I meant no harm by it”
Poppet leads to Elizabeth’s arrest: “What signifies
a needle?”
Poppet leads to Mary Warren’s lie against Proctor:
“You’re the devil’s man”
Symbolism
Name=Value
Putnam does most of the accusing- name
shows he’s one of the richest people in the
town
John Proctor won’t sign his name“Because it is my name! Because I cannot
have another in my life!
Hale = Hail = ice storm- He causes havoc
in the village
Themes
The world is not good or bad
“I hope you do not mean to say we go to Satan
here.” “I wish I knew”
We see a desire to classify everything
Either with this court or against it
Cannot charge a minister with the crime
Too many characters morally ambiguous
Abigail and John commit same initial sin: but John is good
and Abigail is bad
Giles accuses his wife, but later redeems himself not giving
up any other names
Themes
Those in power are not the moral superiors
“ I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor.
Not enough to weave a banner with, but white
enough to keep it from such dogs”
Danforth only understands his own power- not truth of
the situation
Parris cannot control Abigail’s actions even though he’s
her uncle
Proctor is well respected in the village but fails as a good
person.
Themes
Sexual sin more frightening than anything
else
“Our opposites are always robed in sexual sin”
Girl dancing naked is the most frightening part- Parris
doesn’t tell Hale about that.
John Proctor’s adultery only thing that could bring down
witch trials
Abigail is the most evil character- the most driven by sex.
Proctors reach redemption through fulfilling “proper”
sexual role- birth of new kid
Themes
Confession doesn’t change what
happens
“We are what we always were, but naked
now.”
Confessions don’t matter to the court
When Proctor confesses his actual sin, it
doesn’t change him- only the fake confession
makes him ok.
These conflicts already existed- the witch trial
made it ok to accuse neighbors.