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The Crucible

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Empowerment The witch trials empower several characters in ... reputation which all led to the activities of Salem, MA in 1692. The Crucible Themes & Symbols Pride ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Crucible


1
The Crucible
  • Themes Symbols

2
Pride
  • John Proctor wrestles with confessing, because he
    cannot allow his name to be tarnished.
  • He has nothing left but his name to leave his
    sons.
  • 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!

3
Intolerance
  • The witch trials are the ultimate expression of
    intolerance.
  • The Crucible is set in a theocratic society, in
    which the church and the state are one, and the
    religion is a strict, austere form of
    Protestantism known as Puritanism.
  • Sin and the status of an individual's soul are
    matters of public concern.
  • Hanging witches is the ultimate means of
    restoring the community's purity.
  • Danforth a person is either with this court or
    he must be counted against it.

4
Hysteria
  • Hysteria can tear apart a community.
  • Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to
    believe that their neighbors are committing
    incredulous crimes.
  • The townsfolk accept and become active in the
    hysterical climate because it gives them a chance
    to express repressed sentiments and to act on
    long-held grudges.
  • Example Abigail who uses hysteria to attempt to
    rid herself of Elizabeth Proctor.

5
Reputation
  • Reputation is tremendously important in
    theocratic Salem, where public and private
    moralities are one and the same.
  • The fear of guilt by association becomes
    particularly destructive.
  • Focused on maintaining public reputation, the
    townsfolk of Salem fear that the sins of their
    friends will taint their names.
  • Example Reverend Parris fears having talk of
    witchcraft originate in his home, with his
    daughter.

6
Empowerment
  • The witch trials empower several characters in
    the play who are previously marginalized in Salem
    society.
  • The once debased, lower classed woman align
    themselves with what appears to be Gods will.
  • The women and children, as Proctor puts is
    jangle the keys of the Kingdom.

7
Accusations, Confessions, and Legal Proceedings
  • The dramatic accusations and confessions fill the
    play even beyond the confines of the courtroom.
  • A chorus of indictments are heard before Hale
    even arrives. (Putnam Corey, Abigail Parris,
    etc)
  • The entire witch trial system thrives on
    accusations, the only way that witches can be
    identified, and confessions, which provide the
    proof of the justice of the court proceedings.

8
Crucible
  • Definition A place, time, or situation
    characterized by the confluence of powerful
    intellectual, social, economic, or political
    forces.
  • Millers title suggests a convergence of
    conditions that included theocratic power, guilt,
    repression, pride, reputation which all led to
    the activities of Salem, MA in 1692.
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