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The term "witch hunt" is thrown around whenever people say they are being unfairly accused of something.  The Crucible was actually an allegory for McCarthyism that was happening in the 1950s.

For your response, identify another "Witch Hunt" in history or in the present day and discuss some similarities that it has with The Crucible.

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In the play, Arthur Miller uses different literary devices to help highlight his theme, build tension, and engage the audience.

For your response, identify an example of one of the literary terms we researched at the beginning of the year and explain how it is shown in The Crucible (you can summarize or give a quote).  Then, identify the purpose it serves.

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The Crucible ends with John Proctor marching off to a martyr's death. By refusing to lie and confess to witchcraft, he sacrifices his life in the name of truth. At the end of the play, Proctor has in some way regained his goodness.

The last two lines of the play raise interesting questions. It's interesting that, though this is Proctor's story, Miller doesn't give him the last word. Instead, Reverend Hale and Elizabeth Proctor get the honor. Miller writes:

HALE: Woman, plead with him! […] Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. […] Be his helper! What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!

ELIZABETH: […] He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him! (IV.207-208)

Hale does have a pretty good point. Though the character of Proctor is often lauded for his integrity, is he really helping his family by dying? His wife, sons, and unborn child will have to make it in the world without him. This is none too easy in the harsh Massachusetts wilderness. His choice of death could also be viewed as a form of suicide, which is forbidden for Christians. His death might also be interpreted as inherently selfish... because he's placing his own self-image above the good of his family.

Was Hale right to say that Proctor should lie and save himself?  Or is Elizabeth right to allow Proctor to lose his life for what he believes is right?  Take a stance and discuss in your response.

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Read the document below, then apply these characteristics to John Proctor to determine whether or not he was a tragic hero.

For you post, choose one characteristic of a tragic hero and explain how John Proctor fits that characteristic.

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Use the link below to read about what the term crucible means.

For your response, discuss whether this is an appropriate symbol for what happened during the Salem Witch Trials.

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What's Up with the Title?

Nowhere in this play is there of a mention of the word "crucible." So where exactly did that come from? And what in the world is a crucible, anyway?

It turns out the word has two definitions.

Humans Were Harmed in the Course of These Laboratory Tests

Let's tackle the first definition, shall we? A crucible is a piece of laboratory equipment used to heat chemical compounds to very high temperatures or to melt metal. It's a little container full of violent reactions. Seems like a pretty good metaphor for the violent hysteria that the little village of Salem contained during the witch trials. With all those folks jammed together in a tiny town, there were bound to be some hot tempers.

Yep, Salem became a crucible for many people living there... when they were brought before the religious court and accused falsely of being witches. If an accused person did not confess, she was hanged. If she did confess, she was spared death but marked for life as a person who worshiped the Devil. Classic Catch-22.

Under such conditions, several characters in this play-especially the central characters, John and Elizabeth Proctor-are forced to face their own internal demons, a process that ultimately leads to internal, spiritual transformation.

Trial By Fire

The term crucible can also be used metaphorically, which brings us to our next definition: a test or a trial. Folks use the term crucible to refer to a difficult test.

And there sure are a lot of tests going on in The Crucible. There are the tests to determine who's a witch. Then there are, quite literally, the trials the accused must undergo. And then, as we mentioned above, there are the more internal trials, where folks' deepest, most powerful beliefs are put to the test by their less-than-ideal circumstances.

20th-Century Salem

The title (and the entire play) is also a metaphor for the anti-communist craze of America's Red Scare, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Thanks to the efforts of McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, the whole United States became a "crucible" in which citizens' beliefs about what it meant to be American were deeply tested in the highest halls of government.

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The Crucible What’s Up with the Title? | Shmoop

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Helping you understand What’s Up with the Title? in The Crucible by Arthur Miller - but, in a fun way.

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Is "The Crucible" an appropriate symbol for what happened during the Salem Witch Trials

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Is "The Crucible" an appropriate symbol for what happened during the Salem Witch Trials

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The Crucible is in fact an appropriate symbol for what happened during the Salem Witch Trials. During these trials, Salem figuratively turned into a crucible as the town began falling apart while people spiraled into insanity more and more. The people of Salem were accusing each other of what was considered to be a very serious crime back then, Witchcraft. These accusations were made up and had no evidence to back them.

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John Proctor is a tragic hero because he is like any other person, and he experiences a downfall due to poor choices and judgement. A tragic hero can be described as a normal person that makes poor choices that inevitably backfire in the end, and John Proctor matches that description. He cheated on his wife with Abigail and eventually he admitted to it, but it backfired for him and he was the one who had to pay for it. He was hanged for the mistakes and choices he made, making him a tragic hero.

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John Proctor is a Tragic Hero because he suffered more than he deserved. He was accused of something he did not really do and took the punishment for it which resulted in his death.

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I think both ways of looking at it bring up good points, but I personally believe John did the right thing and didn't lie. He showed bravery and integrity in a time and place that lacked it, and he made a good statement by not lying.

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I think it is because it represents a harsh time where people were imprisoned and killed off of accusations. The Crucible does a good job at showing this.

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Though it can be debated, the media's constant attacks of Trump can be considered a "witch hunt" because the media always was cooking up negative things about Trump to try and sway the public opinion against him and to make him look worse.

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Imagery is used in the beginning when Reverend Parris wanted to know what Abigail was doing in the woods. He expresses and describes what he saw but Abigail says they were doing something contrary to what he thought. They both paint a picture of what was happening in the woods.

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Hale was not right in telling Proctor to lie and save himself because he was probably going to be executed regardless of what he said or his actions. The people of Salem were deluded and could not bring themselves to believing John Proctor

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Symbolism is shown in The Crucible because a Crucible is a container used to melt things together in a laboratory and the people of Salem slowly melted apart because as the days passed they were increasingly getting crazier and accusing each other of lies in an effort to try to look innocent themselves.

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An example of a modern day witch hunt is the government vs Edward Snowden. This can be considered a witch hunt because he was a whistleblower and exposed the governments corruption and lies. The result of his heroic actions caused his exile from the United States.