| Social Drama | Deals with issues affecting modern society |
| Theocracy | A form of government in which god is the ruling power and his laws are being interpreted by the ecclesiastical (church) authorities |
| Plain Style | A simple direct way of expressing ideas used by the Puritans |
| Crucible | A severe test or trial |
| Who was Arthur Miller? | • He was born in NY in 1915• He studied at the University of Michigan• He has written over 20 plays and 10 other books• He won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award twice• He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1949• He was married to Marilyn Monroe for a short period of time• He adapted his play into a screenplay for the 1996 movie version of The Crucible• He was inspired to write The Crucible because of his interest in the Salem Witch trials and because of the communist hysteria (“Red Scare”) inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s own “witch hunts” in 1953 |
| Puritanism | the principles and practices of the Puritans |
| Puritan | a member of a group of Protestants that arose in the 16th century within the Church of England, demanding the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline: during part of the 17th century the Puritans became a powerful political party |
| Pilgrim | a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion (ONLY the FIRST group) |
| Why did the Puritans come to America? | They wanted religious freedom from the Church of Englando The first group that voyaged over were called the Pilgrims They also came to America to form a more god centered society in a new land |
| What were the beliefs of the Puritans? | o Promoted values of industry, moderation, sobriety, and simplicityo They believed that the soul was a battle ground between god and satano Had very strict standards of behavioro Outlawed activities like dancing, bowling, gambling, or attending playso Believed strongly in education for both sexeso They valued #1 god, #2 hard work, and #3 educationo There was no alcohol or tobacco allowedo Opposite sexes couldn’t be alone togethero Youths couldn’t be outside on Sunday or Saturday nighto Idle hands are the devils workshop |
| Abby Williams | leader of the local girls who accused the townspeople of witchcraft, Reverend Parris’s niece, had an affair with John Proctor while serving in his house |
| Reverend Parris | Salem’s minister, not very well liked, Betty’s father and Abby’s uncle, caught the girls who were in the woods participating in a séance |
| Tituba | only slave in Salem, served the Parris’, from Barbados, led the youth girls in séances in the woods, was thrown in jail because of being in the woods and admitting to witchcraft |
| John Proctor | farmer in Salem, married to Elizabeth, has 3 sons, had an affair with Abby when she was serving in his house, doesn’t like Parris and the way he preaches |
| Elizabeth Proctor | wife of John, has 3 sons, made John kick Abby out after she realized they were having an affair, becomes accused of witchcraft and is thrown in jail |
| Sarah Good | old crazy woman of Salem, not very well liked, when accused of witchcraft she quickly confesses and is put in jail, she shares crazy visions with Tituba in their jail cell |
| Deputy Governor Danforth | on the court for the trials, more humane than Hathorne but still strict in controlling all those opposed |
| Judge Hathorne | ruthless judge who serves on the court of people being accused of witchcraft, thinks that the people who try to defend those accused are trying to challenge the authority of the court |
| Mary Warren | young girl in Salem, part of the group who accused others of witchcraft, serves the Proctors |
| Rebecca Nurse | old woman in Salem, extremely kind and giving, was accused of witchcraft and because she wouldn’t lie and admit to it she was hanged |
| Giles Corey | old farmer in Salem, wife becomes accused of witchcraft and is thrown in jail because he mention her fancy of books, knows the law extremely well because of always being in and out of lawsuits |
| Mercy Lewis | young girl in Salem, part of the group who accused others of witchcraft, servant to the Putnams , ran off with Abby towards the end of the trials |
| Betty Parris | young girl in Salem, daughter of Parris, part of the group who was participating in séances in the woods, after being caught in the woods she and Ruth would not wake up the next morning |
| Susanna Walcott | young girl in Salem, part of the group who accused others of witchcraft |
| Ann Putnam | mother of Ruth, married to Thomas, convinced that her babies all died shortly after birth because of some evil spirit murdering them, sent Ruth to Tituba to call upon the spirits and find out |
| Thomas Putnam | married to Ann, father of Ruth, very wealthy, unlawfully acquires land by slowly expanding where he farms |
| Reverend Hale | man who is called to Salem by Parris to help solve their witchcraft problems, is very well known for defeating the devil in another town, he doesn’t want to call this witchcraft at the start |
| Francis Nurse | married to Rebecca, old man farmer who is very kind, works with Proctor and Corey to try and save their accused wives |
| Ezechiel Cheever | court official, serves warrants of witchcraft |
| Marshal Herrick | court official, brings the accused to jail even though he doesn’t want to (he is just obeying the law) |
| Hopkins | guard of the Salem jail, witnesses Sarah and Tituba’s crazy vision |
Puritanism and The Crucible
March 3, 2020