1. Arthur Miller

3. This is the basis for Arth
Miller’s screenplay, The
Crucible. Who was
executed, why?

4. 1. Abstract – adjective
Considered apart from
concrete
existence; theoretical
2. Allegory – noun
The representation of
abstract
ideas or principles by
characters.

5. Most of those accused of being witches were
women.
Many were healers, and used plants to heal people.
Many were without family, and this made them easy
targets.
They were people who did not fit in with the
mainstream for some reason.

6. The Witches' Sabbath,
painted in 1606
You are going to explore this
painting on the next page.
HTD68835 The Witches Sabbath, 1606 by Frans II The Younger Francken,
(1581-1642),
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, (Out of Copyright)

7. Skull –
The skeleton of the head.
These were often used in
paintings as reminders of
death and the afterlife.
Could they provide a link with
the dead and spirits from
beyond the grave?
Q. What are the skulls lying on?
Q. What has been put with them?
Consider how superstitious people were at this time.

8. Remember how important religion was at this time.

9. Skull –
The skeleton of the head.
These were often used in
paintings as reminders of
death and the afterlife.
Could they provide a link with
the dead and spirits from
beyond the grave?
Q. What are the skulls lying on?
Q. What has been put with them?
Consider how superstitious people were at this time.

10. Witch
Somebody who practices magic (in this
case ‘dark’ forms of magic.
It was thought at this time that witches
were sometimes accompanied by a a devil
or ‘familiar’ spirit.
Lots of witches together are called a
coven.
Do you expect Q. What do you find strange about
a witch to look the two witches at the front of the
like this? picture?
Q. What do you find strange about
the appearance of this witch ?

11. Cauldron
A large round pot made of
metal which is used for
boiling food.
Cauldrons could also be
used for mixing potions….
Q. Can you link this with any
other part of the picture?

12. Witch
When people think of witches
they tend to think that they
will be female.
Men were also accused of
witchcraft. A male witch is
sometimes called a Warlock –
a wizard or sorcerer.
Q. Are all of those present within
this painting female?

13. A Familiar
This was thought to be an evil spirit that
had taken on the form of an animal
Familiars could even look
like common pets!
Q. How many creatures
can you see in the picture?
Q. Describe some of
these creatures.
A Spell book Contained incantations, chants and spells

14. Sprites
Supernatural beings or the
souls of people. They can
sometimes take on a ghostly
appearance.
Levitation
Rising into the air using
supernatural powers.
Could this be a reference to Doctor
Faustus (made famous in a play by
Christopher Marlowe in 1604)?
Ask your teacher about this.

15. Witch Tests and Trials
Witch examinations often involved looking for a witch-mark.
This was supposed to be where familiars sucked blood from
the witch.
Sometimes large pins were pushed into the witch-mark. If the
person did not cry out in pain (or if she did not bleed from the wound!)
she was a witch.
Other witches were ducked or thrown into water with their
hands tied. If they sank (and drowned!) they were said
to be innocent and if they floated they were guilty
and hung or burnt.

16. One of the ways most witches were accused was with the
use of “spectral evidence.” If someone said they had seen
the accused with the devil in a dream, or that the accused
had visited them in the night, or had hurt them, it was
taken as evidence that the devil was at work.
20 executed
Between 175 to
200 imprisoned

17. How did it start?
In 1692, several girls in the village of Salem, Massachusetts
became intrigued when a West Indian servant told them stories of
magic and voodoo from her native land.
Bored and restricted by the oppressive Puritan life, the
girls slipped into the woods one night and “conjured”
love charms and hexes.
One girl, Betty Parris, slipped into unconsciousness
when her father caught them. She wouldn’t wake up,
and this started the discussion of witchcraft. To avoid
punishment, the girls created the story of the “witches”
who made them dance and conjure the spells.

18. Why did it happen?
It began as a way for the oppressed girls to avoid
being punished.
It then became an ideal way to get revenge on anyone
whom you disliked.
People started accusing their neighbors of being
witches so they could steal their farmland.
People accused others of being witches
if they wanted to steal their husbands
or wives or possessions.

19. Those accused of being witches
were most often found guilty.
Sometimes they were sentenced to
be tied to a rock dunked in a
pond, and if they sank, they were
declared innocent. Innocent. If
they somehow survived the
dunking, they were obviously
witches, and they were executed.
Most of those found guilty of
witchcraft were hung.
One man was pressed to death
with rocks because he refused to
plead guilty or innocent, insuring
that his sons still inherited his
lands.

20. Why wasThe Crucible written?
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in
1953 as an allegory for McCarthyism or the so
called (second) Red Scare. Miller felt many
personal convictions to McCarthyism as a result
of a multitude of events that happened in his life.
Wanting to point out to the world the amazing
parallel between the unjust Salem Witch Trials of
1692 and the (second) Red Scare from 1948 to
1956, Miller wrote The Crucible to make a
powerful statement about the dangers of hysteria
and the dehumanization that can result.

22. During McCarthyism, the United States was terrified of Communism's
influence. Like the witches, communists were seen ingrained within
every aspect of society. Miller was sent to jail for withholding
information from the court, namely the names of those assumed to
be communists. Many of Miller’s peers fearing the wrath of the court
provided names of suspected communists in an attempt to save
themselves.

23. Arthur Miller offers his explanations
for the factors that caused the Salem
Witch Trials.
-He uses the real people from the trials as
characters, but created his own story to
point out the problems in Puritan society.
-Ask yourself the following question as
you read:
“How much evidence of the supernatural
exists in this play?”

24. This play shows the concept of mass
hysteria.
Mass Hysteria -a form of groupthink, in
which several people with something in
common begin to think in the same way.
In mass hysteria, the group members all
develop a common fear that often spirals
into a panic. The group members feed off
each other’s emotional reactions, causing
the panic to escalate.

25. Miller’s Inspiration
Miller was motivated to examine the
Salem Witch Trials because he was
witness to one of the other greatest mass
tragedies in the United States, The
McCarthy Era.
The McCarthy Era was an era in the
1940s and 1950s when individuals were
accused of being Communist. Individuals
were often targeted with little proof.

26. Individuals were “blacklisted” and
prevented from obtaining work.
Many lives were destroyed.
Many of the accused even committed
suicide.
In the years following the McCarthy
Era, the actions of the government
were recognized as cruel and unjust.

27. Miller created this play to show the
similarities between the two eras in
American History, and examine the
hidden motivations behind the
atrocities that occurred.