Lit Crucible

Global statement

As human beings, we are subjected to diverse experiences and interactions which shape our behaviours in compelling situations.

Nutshell sentence

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a tragic drama set during the Salem witch trials, where personal vendettas and mass hysteria lead to a series of false accusations and executions. The play explores the destructive power of paranoia and the consequences of a society driven by fear and religious extremism.

First paragraph theme

Hysteria

Second paragraph theme

Dangers of ideology

Third paragraph theme

Reputation and integrity

Wheels and fires quote lead up

Two interlocking metaphors, underlying tensions and crises in Salem, looking for someone to blame, commenting on state of the village.

Wheels and fires quote

"There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!”

Wheels and fires analysis

• "Wheels within wheels": Suggests unknown, powerful forces at play beneath Salem’s events.

• Implies visible events are driven by deeper, unseen mechanisms.

• Reflects Salem's claustrophobic, gossip-filled atmosphere, where people assume hidden motives.

• Suggests these motives are evil or Satanic in nature.

• Conveys machinery and complexity, indicating multiple layers of manipulation and control.

• "Fires within fires": Enhances the idea of hidden, sinister forces.

• Links these hidden forces to ideas of hell and torment.

• Implies secret causes fuel public problems.

Vengeance in salem quote lead up

Personification and metaphor, the chaotic atmosphere in Salem, Proctor refuses to give up Elizabeth when investigators arrive.

Vengeance in salem quote

"I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!"

Vengance in salem analysis

• Personification of vengeance: Describes vengeance as if it can "walk" through Salem.

• Suggests vengeance has its own power, controlling the town beyond human emotions.

• Implies children's accusations are driven by adults' desire for revenge.

• Accusations are used as a legal way to seize property or settle personal scores.

• Trials are unjust, with accusations based on revenge, not evidence.

• Warns of the dangers of personal vendettas controlling justice, leading to irrationality in Salem.

• Salem as a “kingdom”: Compares Salem to a kingdom, implying supreme power and control.

• Indicates that children like Abigail now hold the power in the community.

• "Jangling the keys of the kingdom": Suggests a reversal of order, where those least fit to lead are in control.

Before the devil quote lead up

Reverend Hale warns that a previously good person can be a witch, Proctor heavily against the suggestion of Rebbecca Nurse being a witch, Hale reminds him.

before the devil quote

"Man, remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven."

before the devil analysis

• Allusion to Lucifer: Hale references Lucifer, an angel who fell from heaven and became the Devil.

• Implies that outward goodness or reputation doesn't guarantee inner purity.

• Rebecca Nurse's reputation: Despite her kind and loving reputation, Hale suggests she could still be a witch.

• Compares Rebecca to Lucifer, who was "beautiful in heaven" before his fall.

• Warning against appearances: Hale warns Proctor not to judge Rebecca's innocence based on her past behavior.

• Suggests that, like God being deceived by Lucifer, Salem's people could be deceived by appearances.

• Reflects the hysteria of the witch trials, where fear and greed often influenced judgments over evidence or reason.

Sharp time quote lead up

Judge Danforth describes new era of “clarity and justice”, metaphor of light to illustrate change.

Sharp time quote

"This is a sharp time, now ... we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God’s grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it."

Sharp time analysis

• Theocracy in Massachusetts: Strict governance by Christian laws, with no tolerance for deviations; misdeeds were harshly punished.

• Metaphor of "the dusky afternoon": Danforth uses this to symbolize a time when evil was mixed with good, and people were "befuddled" or unclear about right and wrong.

• Implies that before the trials, there was a lack of strict regulation and moral clarity.

• Metaphor of "the shining sun": Represents "God’s grace" and the supposed righteousness of the witch trials.

• Danforth believes the trials bring clarity and righteousness to Salem.

• Implies that those who oppose the trials are against God and possibly guilty themselves.

• Suggests that true believers in God would support the trials as a means of bringing divine order.

because it is my name quote lead up

Hyperbole emphasizes significance of Proctor not singing his name, resists to sign false confession, when ask why he wouldn’t he says.

because it is my name quote

"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"

because it is my name analysis

• Importance of Proctor's "name": Proctor values truthfulness, seeing his name as a symbol of his integrity and moral standing.

• Hyperbole in his speech: Exaggerates the importance of his name to emphasize the seriousness of signing a false confession.

• Truthfulness as his creed: Proctor believes in honesty, as seen when he insists his wife would “never tell a lie.”

• Moral dilemma: Signing the confession would not only condemn him but also implicate others like Rebecca Nurse, which he finds morally unacceptable.

• Feeling of shame: Proctor feels unworthy to be in the company of those who refused to lie to save themselves, declaring he is "not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang."

• Repetition of "Because it is my name!": Emphasizes that his name represents his moral integrity, and losing it means losing his sense of self.

• Final stand for integrity: By refusing to sign, Proctor chooses to die rather than live with a lie, preserving his personal integrity and legacy.

Blackening my name quote lead up

Abagail and Proctor fight about affair, Abagail uses idiom to claim Elizabeth is tarnishing her name.

Blackening my name quote

"She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, snivelling woman, and you bend to her!"

Blackening my name analysis

• Meaning of "blackening my name": To spread rumours or lies to ruin someone's reputation.

• Abigail's concern: Right at the play’s start, Abigail’s uncle asks if there are rumours about her. Abigail denies any “blush” around her name, fearing people know about her affair with Proctor.

• Seriousness in Puritan society: In the Puritan colonies, adultery and lechery were severe offenses, making reputation crucial.

• Abigail's accusation: Abigail accuses Elizabeth of intentionally attacking her character by spreading rumours about her affair with Proctor.

• Impact on Abigail: As a young woman, accusations against her moral purity could ruin her standing in the community, which highly valued virginity and moral purity.

• Portraying herself as a victim: Abigail paints herself as a victim of malicious slander, suggesting that Elizabeth's rumours could have serious consequences for both her and Proctor.