The Crucible

The word “crucible” has two meanings. The term can either refer to a large (witch’s) cauldron wherein substances boil together, or a challenging test of character (a “trial by fire”). Considering both definitions, how does the title of The Crucible function as a metaphor for the events and developments in Miller’s play?

The Crucible uses the Salem witch trials to closely examine intersecting hierarchies of class, gender, and power in a conservative Puritan community. The least powerful members of society—a slave, a homeless woman, and a sexual deviant—are the first to stand accused, and the accusers themselves are young servant girls (who do not possess a great deal of political power prior to the witch trials). What messages does this play send about obtaining and maintaining power? How do power dynamics fluctuate throughout the play?

The concepts of God, church, and religion mean very different things to characters in The Crucible. Choose at least three different characters and compare and contrast their ideas of God, church, and religion. How do these ideas evolve from the play’s beginning to its end?

In Act II, Scene 2, Judge Danforth proclaims, “This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world” (55). Despite this pronouncement, numerous characters in the play—including Mary Warren, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale—find themselves in a conflicted, in-between space wherein they cannot fully side with the accusers or the accused. Compare and contrast the personal evolutions of these three characters. By the end of the play, have all three definitively chosen a side?

Though Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory for McCarthy’s anti-communist hearings, the play’s exploration of societal tensions, suspicious accusations, and paranoia toward “others” can apply to many other conflicts in American history (including HIV/AIDS in the 1990s). Choose another historical event and compare specific figures, developments, and narratives to The Crucible.

In the second scene of Act I, John Proctor questions the court’s perspective, whereby the accused is always guilty and the accuser always “holy” (55). How does Abigail Williams represent herself as holy? How does she use spectral evidence to develop herself as a holy, unquestionable figure?

At the beginning of the play, both Reverend Hale and Elizabeth Proctor have strong (and conflicting) ideas of religious righteousness. By the end of the play, however, both characters’ perspectives have changed dramatically. Compare the changes that take place in Hale and Elizabeth’s religious ideals. How do their changes overlap? How do they differ from one another?

How do you interpret Elizabeth’s pregnancy as a symbol within the play? Do you think her pregnancy is real or invented? How literally do you interpret John Proctor’s testimonial that his wife cannot lie? Is Elizabeth’s pregnancy symbol of future hope, or is it just a way to buy more time?