The Crucible: Act One Close Analysis Note Guide

Ms. Iacullo and Ms. Storti English III CP

Name: ______Period #: ____ The Crucible: Act One Close Analysis Note Guide

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller interrupts dialogue to provide background information on issues and characters in the play (although it’s not linear which may be confusing for some of you). The first example of this is in Act One (An Overture) after he provides the stage directions to set the scene. Miller begins with Reverend Parris, who appears in the opening scene.

STEP ONE: Reverend Parris & his Counterparts

Read pages 3-8 and write down what you learn about Reverend Parris in terms of:

Rev. Parris’s age, occupation, and character

Occupation:

Character Traits:

Marital status and family:

Like all of Salem, Reverend Parris believed“…children…[should be] thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak” (par 1). Ms. Iacullo and Ms. Storti English III CP

Name: ______Period #: ____

Characters feelings of persecution (oppression)

Character Feeling of Persecution Side Notes

STEP TWO: Briefly describe life in Salem:

What was permitted and what was not (make a t-chart)

Permitted Not Permitted Ms. Iacullo and Ms. Storti English III CP

Name: ______Period #: ____

The meaning of “raise the roof” and how that brought people together (This is their strategy for how to “solve” issues.)

How do the townspeople try to keep their morals and values from “spoiling”? Are their morals/values “spoiled”?

What is the purpose of the two-man patrol and to whom did they report?

Quote regarding the two-man patrol: “This predilection (fondness) for minding other people’s business was time-honored among the people of Salem, and it undoubtedly created many of the suspicions which were to feed the coming madness” (5).

What does the first part of the quote mean? NOTE: The second part is a foreshadowing of what is to come.

A great forest and wilderness lay beyond Salem. Who actually lived in this forest and who did the Puritans also think lived in this forest? Ms. Iacullo and Ms. Storti English III CP

Name: ______Period #: ____

The Puritans referred to their colony as the New Jerusalem or a City Upon a Hill, their refuge from persecution in Europe, their vision for the new world. You may recall that we noted in a previous class that although he Puritans had all these lofty ideals for a God-fearing society, that:

“…they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world,” they were not tolerant of others, i.e., the Indians and the Quakers. As we mentioned in the introduction, the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combination of state and religious power “…whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by [actual] or ideological enemies” (7).

**** In short, the Puritans were going to protect their community from anything that challenged their common beliefs. (Important idea explored in Miller’s play.)

Land-lust Concept:

“Land-lust” and “long-held hatreds of neighbors “ underscored the Salem Witch Trials, but it is premature to discuss them now. Miller mentions them in this passage because he wants us to keep them in the forefront of our minds.

What does the idea of “land lust” mean…?