Lauren Edmonds

English 112B

Unit Plan-Investigating Individualism and Conformity

May 2, 2007

 

Investigating Individualism and Conformity through Arthur Miller�s The Crucible

 

      An individual�s relationship to society is an important and interesting issue that comes up again and again in literature for young adults.  Perhaps this is because teens are grappling with this topic for the first time in their lives.  Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson defined an adolescent�s primary task as developing an identity separate from his family and even from his surrounding society (Bee and Boyd).  Adolescents are in a unique situation in that they have taken a step away from the familiarity of their families but have not yet integrated themselves into adult society.  

As teenagers attempt to make the transition from child to adult, they often develop ideals and a more sophisticated morality.  Although these developments may be quite rigid and at times impractical, they illustrate the fact that teens are thinking about the world around them.  As adolescents reach Piaget�s intellectual developmental stage of formal operations, they are able to envision a world different from the concrete reality in which they live (Bee and Boyd).  Young adults have the ability to imagine an idealized world and idealized relationships between people.  They are constantly sifting their experiences through their developing moral code.   

Thus, teens are closely observing society while not actually being fully a part of it.  Literature that addresses the oftentimes opposing forces of individuality and conformity are apt selections for a teen�s developmental stage.  The Crucible illustrates this struggle in the adult character of John Proctor.  The play as a whole can be read as an analogy for McCarthyism and the suspicion that it created.  At these times of mass hysteria, personal integrity becomes even more important as one may be called upon to stand up for one�s beliefs. 

Despite these larger issues, The Crucible focuses on the historical events which occurred in Salem in 1692.  The protagonist is John Proctor, a straightforward and honest man with a terrible secret: his affair with the household servant, Abigail Williams.  Abigail is the leader of a pack of young girls who are identified by the town as witches.  Abigail quickly turns the witch hunt around and soon she and the other girls are the accusers rather than the accused. 

Abigail uses her power to revenge any member of the town who has ever treated her badly, and soon she accuses Proctor�s wife, Elizabeth.  Proctor is outraged, and sets out for Salem with Mary Warren, the new household servant, to expose the witches as frauds.  In an effort to get to the truth, he confesses his affair with Abigail to Judge Danforth.  Despite Elizabeth Proctor�s truthful character she denies, in an effort to save his good name, that her husband was ever unfaithful.  John Proctor is soon arrested also, and the accused wait in jail for the hangings.

      Over the summer, the hysteria dies down, Reverend John Hale has quit, and Abigail is nowhere to be found.  Judge Danforth tries to save face and rescue lives by letting the accused sign a confession in exchange for their freedom.  Proctor is tempted to sign a confession until he realizes that this would compromise both his personal integrity and his obligation to

      On the surface, The Crucible is about the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in Puritan New England in 1692.  As mentioned above, however, Miller was inspired equally by his own experience being subpoenaed by the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).  Miller was fined, briefly jailed, and blacklisted for not giving names of former Communist Party members (Bigsby). 

The Crucible is typically taught to eleventh graders.  Students of this age have made progress in their journey toward adulthood and are also ready for more advanced reading.  The Crucible offers up both challenging literature and engaging issues dealing with individualism and conformity.

Launching the Unit

      To introduce this unit to an 11th grade class, use the poem, �The Hangman,� by Maurice Ogden, shown below.

Into our town the Hangman came,
Smelling of gold and blood and flame.
And he paced our bricks with a diffident air,
And built his frame in the courthouse square.

 

The scaffold stood by the courthouse side,
Only as wide as the door was wide;
A frame as tall, or little more,
Than the capping sill of the courthouse door.

 

And we wondered, whenever we had the time,
Who the criminal, what the crime
That the Hangman judged with the yellow twist
of knotted hemp in his busy fist.

 

And innocent though we were, with dread,
We passed those eyes of buckshot lead --
Till one cried: "Hangman, who is he
For whom you raised the gallows-tree?"

 

Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
And he gave us a riddle instead of reply:
"He who serves me best," said he,
"Shall earn the rope of the gallows-tree."

 

And he stepped down, and laid his hand
On a man who came from another land.
And we breathed again, for another's grief
At the Hangman's hand was our relief

 

And the gallows-frame on the courthouse lawn
By tomorrow's sun would be struck and gone.
So we gave him way, and no one spoke,
Out of respect for his Hangman's cloak.

 
The next day's sun looked mildly down
On roof and street in our quiet town,
And stark and black in the morning air
Was the gallows-tree in the courthouse square.

 

And the Hangman stood at his usual stand
With the yellow hemp in his busy hand;
With his buckshot eye and his jaw like a pike
And his air so knowing and business-like.

 

And we cried, "Hangman, have you not done
Yesterday, with the foreign one?"
Then we fell silent, and stood amazed,
"Oh, not for him was the gallows raised."

 

He laughed a laugh as he looked at us:
"Did you think I'd gone to all this fuss
To hang one man? That's a thing I do
To stretch a rope when the rope is new."

 

Then one cried "Murder!" and one cried "Shame!"
And into our midst the Hangman came
To that man's place. "Do you hold," said he,
"with him that was meant for the gallows-tree?"

 

And he laid his hand on that one's arm.
And we shrank back in quick alarm!
And we gave him way, and no one spoke
Out of fear of his Hangman's cloak.

 

That night we saw with dread surprise
The Hangman's scaffold had grown in size.
Fed by the blood beneath the chute,
The gallows-tree had taken root;

 

Now as wide, or a little more,
Than the steps that led to the courthouse door,
As tall as the writing, or nearly as tall,
Halfway up on the courthouse wall.

 
The third he took -- we had all heard tell --
Was a usurer, and an infidel.
"What," said the Hangman "have you to do
With the gallows-bound, and he a Jew?"

 

And we cried out, "Is this one he
Who has served you well and faithfully?"
The Hangman smiled: "It's a clever scheme
to try the strength of the gallows-beam."

 

The fourth man's dark, accusing song
Had scratched our comfort hard and long;
"And what concern," he gave us back.
"Have you for the doomed -- the doomed and Black?"

 

The fifth. The sixth. And we cried again,
"Hangman, Hangman, is this the man?"
"It's a trick," he said. "that we hangmen know
For easing the trap when the trap springs slow."

 

And so we ceased, and asked no more,
As the Hangman tallied his bloody score.
And sun by sun, and night by night,
The gallows grew to monstrous height.

 

The wings of the scaffold opened wide
Till they covered the square from side to side;
And the monster cross-beam, looking down,
Cast its shadow across the town.

 
Then through the town the Hangman came,
Through the empty streets, and called my name --
And I looked at the gallows soaring tall,
And thought, "There is no one left at all

 

For hanging, and so he calls to me
To help pull down the gallows-tree."
So I went out with right good hope
To the Hangman's tree and the Hangman's rope.

 

He smiled at me as I came down
To the courthouse square through the silent town.
And supple and stretched in his busy hand
Was the yellow twist of the hempen strand.

 

And he whistled his tune as he tried the trap,
And it sprang down with a ready snap --
And then with a smile of awful command
He laid his hand upon my hand.

 

"You tricked me. Hangman!," I shouted then,
"That your scaffold was built for other men...
And I no henchman of yours," I cried,
"You lied to me, Hangman. Foully lied!"

 

Then a twinkle grew in the buckshot eye,
"Lied to you? Tricked you?" he said. "Not I.
For I answered straight and I told you true --
The scaffold was raised for none but you.

 

For who has served me more faithfully
Then you with your coward's hope?" said he,
"And where are the others who might have stood
Side by your side in the common good?"

 

"Dead," I whispered. And amiably
"Murdered," the Hangman corrected me:
"First the foreigner, then the Jew...
I did no more than you let me do."

 

Beneath the beam that blocked the sky
None had stood so alone as I.
The Hangman noosed me, and no voice there
Cried "Stop!" for me in the empty square.


 

Ogden�s poem speaks of the folly of standing idly by while injustice occurs in our midst.  Ask students to describe the narrator�s �coward�s hope.�  How did the narrator serve the hangman best?  If he had spoken out, what might he have risked?  What would he have been opposing?  Was the narrator a conformist?

2.  The Lottery, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about community-sanctioned violence in a small town.  Every year, the lottery selects the person that will be stoned to death in the town square.  In this community, like that in The Crucible, women are on a lower social standing than men, and it is a woman and a mother who draws the fated ticket.  This story appeared in The New Yorker only five years before The Crucible was published.

      Ask students about their reactions to the more sinister meaning of the �lottery� revealed at the end of the story.  What social factors were at play that allowed the victim�s own family members to participate in the murder?  How do the town�s members justify this ritual?

Excerpt from The Lottery:

"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they`re talking of giving up the lottery."

Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing`s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they`ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about `Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.` First thing you know, we`d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There`s always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody."

"Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams said.

"Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."

"Martin." And Bobby Martin watched his father go forward. "Overdyke.... Percy."

"I wish they`d hurry," Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son. "I wish they`d hurry."

"They`re almost through," her son said.

"You get ready to run tell Dad," Mrs. Dunbar said.

Mr. Summers called his own name and then stepped forward precisely and selected a slip from the box. Then he called, "Warner."

"Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery," Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. "Seventy-seventh time."

"Watson" The tall boy came awkwardly through the crowd. Someone said, "Don`t be nervous, Jack," and Mr. Summers said, "Take your time, son."

"Zanini."

After that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers. holding his slip of paper in the air, said, "All right, fellows." For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, all the women began to speak at once, saving. "Who is it?," "Who`s got it?," "Is it the Dunbars?," "Is it the Watsons?" Then the voices began to say, "It`s Hutchinson. It`s Bill," "Bill Hutchinson`s got it."

3.     Students need some background on The Salem Witch Trials.  A webquest may be done using the website below:

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM

This website has historical documents, including �petitions used to accuse witches,� �letters of Governor Phips,� and �map of Salem in 1692.�  It also contains biographies of individuals involved in the trials, a chronology of events, and recreated images from the trials.

4.  Students should also have some background on Arthur Miller and his involvement in the �witch hunts� that occurred surrounding anti-communist suspicion during the Cold War.  I found an old BBC production called Arthur Miller and the Crucible, which is 29 minutes long and discusses the parallels between Miller�s own life and his portrayal of the Salem Witch Trials.  This video can be found online at http://www.films.com/id/9338/Arthur_Miller_and_The_Crucible.htm

The Central Focus

      The play can be read in class as well as at home.  Although the language is fairly simple, the number of characters and sequence of events may be hard to follow.  Reviewing the previous night�s reading in class will aid the students� understanding of the play.  Because of the dialogue and numerous characters, important scenes may be acted-out or read aloud in class.

      A study guide is a useful way to keep track of events in the novel.  Reviewing these questions in class will clarify student understanding.  The following sample questions for Acts I and IV were found online at http://warren.dusd.net/~dstone/Resources/11P/Crucible_SG.htm.

Act I

1.      Look up and write down two definitions for the word crucible. Consider throughout the play how these two definitions might apply.

2.     The play's author is _______________________ and the play was written in ______ as a protest to Senator _______________________ senate hearings attacking alleged ________________ infiltration in the U.S. government.  What did the letters HUAC stand for?

3.     Act I is set in _________________ in the __________ of ______.

4.     According to Miller's opening statements in his introduction to Act I, what were some of the causes of the "panic" that lead to the witch trials?

5.     Miller's opening stage direction states that Abigail has "an endless capacity for dissembling." What does this mean?

6.     Why is Reverend Parris reluctant to admit anything "unnatural" about Betty's illness? 

7.     When speaking with Abigail, what does Reverend Parris say he definitely "saw" in the woods?  Notice the conversation that follows.  What are Reverend Parris' suspicions?  What personality traits are revealed by Abigail's responses to his queries?

8.     Why are Ann and Thomas Putnum so involved in Betty's illness? What are their different personality traits?

9.     Give two reasons why Mrs. Putnum suspects that witchcraft exists in the village.

10.   Who were James Bayley and George Burroughs?  What do they have to do with the Putnums?  Why would Mr. Putnum want to see Rev. Parris fail?

11.   How does Abigail's personality change when the adults go downstairs? How does she manipulate the others? What are her personality traits?

12.   When the girls are alone, Betty calls for her mother and tries to get out the window.  Analyze the psychological importance of these actions.  What does Betty need?

13.   Several things are clarified when Abby and John Procter converse in Betty's room.  What do we learn about their history?  Carefully describe how each one feels now.

14.   Explain Betty's reaction at the end of the Abbey/John scene.  What alternate, damaging explanation is suggested by Abigail? 

15.   After the adults rush back to Betty's room, they begin a prolonged argument.   For each of the characters (Putnum, Parris, Procter, Corey, and Nurse) identify the people and/or issues that they find upsetting.

16.   Explain or "read"  the image Miller uses to describe Reverend John Hale's entrance.  In other words, what character traits and/or feelings are revealed with this image?

17.   Hale states that his books are  "weighted with _____________."  What  is Miller trying to show the reader with this quote?

18.   What two things does Giles say to Hale that he shouldn't have said?  What is his motivation for discussing his wife? Hint: why has he been in court so often?

19.   Why do you think Abigail chooses Tituba to blame when Reverend Hale pressures her to confess?

20.   What fears and which people prompt Tituba's confession?

21.   By pressuring her to confess, Tituba is given what must be a unique opportunity for self expression.  What does she reveal?  What kind of person does Tituba say accompanied the devil? 

22.   Just prior to the "calling out" at the end of Act I, how does Hale describe Betty while interrogating Tituba?  What should his description of her make us remember? 

Act IV

1.     Act IV is set in _____________________ during the __________.

2.     Describe the condition of Sarah Good and Tituba.  Why is it ironic that they are still imprisoned?

3.     According to Cheever, why does Parris weep so much?  What is the significance of this?

4.     What surprising news does Parris give Danforth and Hathorne? (3 things)

5.     Why does Reverend Parris want Danforth to postpone the hangings?  

6.     Has Parris' core personality changed from the early part of Act I?  Why or why not?

7.     Why does Danforth refuse to consider a postponement?  What do his strong feelings about the insignificance of "Andover" reveal?  (Hint: why does he want to suppress all discussion of Andover?)

8.     What is Reverend Hale's purpose in returning to Salem? What is his motivation? 

9.     Why does Reverend Hale suggest that it is a "marvel they do not burn your province!"?

10.   Consider Hale's passionate appeal to Elizabeth.  How has his  religious faith been tested during the past three month?

11.   What is Hale's advice to her (and, by extension, John)?  What does Elizabeth mean when she says that Hale's advice is the "Devil's argument"?

12.   What statement does she make when she refuses to speak to Danforth? 

13.   Examine Danforth's speech carefully.  What does he reveal about himself in his criticism of her?

14.   Identify the different reasons that Danforth/Hathorne, Parris, and Hale have for wanting Proctor to confess?

15.   How has Giles Corey used the law to his advantage, and, in a sense, won his last case?

16.   Why does Proctor think it would be "honest" for him to confess?  Explain his logic.

17.   Elizabeth says he is a good man, that he takes her sins on himself. What does she mean and what does this reveal about her self-image?  How has she changed?

18.   What verbal and dramatic ironies are embedded in the confession sequence between Proctor and Danforth?

19.   What reason does Proctor give for tearing up his confession?

20.   Explain the double meaning of Danforth's last lines.

21.   Why does Elizabeth refuse to plead with John at the close of Act IV?

      When students have finished their reading, they can split into small groups to investigate one of three essay questions.  By working together, students can share ideas and quotations from the play.  Essay topics may include:

1.     Compare and contrast McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials.  Are these two historical events as analogous as Miller believed them to be?

2.     Trace the development of John Proctor�s character.  Do you see him as a tragic figure?  Why? 

3.     At the end of the play, 19 people have been killed because of the accusations of one girl.  How did different members of the community, including Parris and Danforth, permit this to happen?  Who in the community acted as a voice of reason in the midst of hysteria?

 

Extending the Unit

This unit can be extended in a variety of ways.  An important activity is to have students find current events which relate to the theme of the unit.  The War on Terrorism is a perfect example of how fear and suspicion are present in our society today.  Have students share the information they have found with the rest of the class and connect the information to the themes found in The Crucible.  How does the media function to promote this fear and suspicion?

A movie adaptation of The Crucible, made in 1996 and starring Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams, may be shown towards the end of the unit.  Reading this play may be a jumping-off point for students to want to read more about the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, or other plays by Arthur Miller.  The selection of young adult literature below is related to some aspect of the play.  Students may read one of these books and then share what they have learned in a class presentation.

 

 

Young Adult Literature Selections

1.     Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Guy Montag is a �fireman� in a futuristic dystopia where books are burned and citizens are narcotized through television.  This book covers issues of censorship as well as individualism in the face of conformity.  Guy Montag is a character who eventually becomes an outcast in his society and befriends artists and intellectuals who challenge the status quo.

2.     Whale Talk by Robert Cormier: The central character, T.J. Jones, is a high school student who chooses to �waste� his athletic ability because of his dislike of the elitist and hierarchical nature of the athletic department.  Jones puts together a swim team outfitted with the school�s misfits and outcasts.  In doing so, he challenges school authority and stands up for values he believes are more important than the almighty All-Sport title.

3.     The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Hester Prynne is a young woman who commits adultery in Puritan New England and exists on the fringes of society as a result.  She wears a scarlet �A� so that everyone will know the crime that she has committed.  With similar themes and setting to that found in The Crucible, this complements the unit very well.

4.     Witness by Karen Hesse: The setting of a small town in Vermont mirrors the tight-knit community in The Crucible.  The KKK has moved into this town and certain families and individuals are targeted because of their race or religion.  The story is told from the perspectives of several different town-members, including two young girls who �witness� much of the action of the story.

5.     Nothing but the Truth by Avi: Philip Malloy is a ninth grade student who is sent to the principal�s office by his English teacher for humming along to the Star Spangled Banner.  His English teacher, Miss Narwin, is a passionate and dedicated teacher who refuses to let Malloy slide by in her class on his looks and charm.  The local media catches onto the story and soon Malloy becomes a boy to be rallied around while Miss Narwin risks losing her dignity and her job.

6.     The Wave by Tod Strasser: Ben Ross is a teacher who is having a difficult time teaching his students about the holocaust.  He thinks of a creative gimmick in the form of �The Wave.� The students in his class soon pass this onto the rest of the school and students begin judging each other based on whether or not they participate in this ritual.  �The Wave� gets so out of hand that Mr. Ross eventually has to end his teaching experiment and informs the students that they are behaving just like Nazis.

7.     The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: This short story, published in 1948, is still commonly taught in English classes.  This is the chilling story of a small American town that performs a yearly �lottery� in which whoever�s name is drawn is then stoned to death.  The small-town setting and the violence that it sanctions raises the same issues that are found in The Crucible.

8.     The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier: Like Whale Talk, this book deals with a male high school student, Jerry Renault, who refuses to conform to some aspect of his school�s culture.  In this case, it is the school gang, the Vigils, who order him to sabotage the school�s chocolate sale.  He does as told until the Vigils tell him to stop.  Jerry does not stop, to the irritation of both the administration and the Vigils.  Inspired by the The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Renault continues to dare to disturb the universe.

9.     My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban�A Young Woman�s Story by Latifa: This is a first-hand account of one young woman�s life in Kabul under the Taliban�s rule.  The protagonist spends almost four years in a world where she is not even allowed to show her face in public.  This story speaks of the mistreatment of women that often occurs alongside extremist governments. 

Works Cited

Avi.  Nothing But the Truth.  New York: Scholastic Inc., 1991.

Arthur Miller and The Crucible.  A BBC Production: 1981.

Bee, H. and Boyd, D.  Lifespan Development (3rd Edition).  Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2002. 

Bigsby, Christopher.  The Portable Arthur Miller.  New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

Bradbury, Ray.  Fahrenheit 451.  New York: Ballantine Books, 1953

Cormier, Robert.  The Chocolate War.  New York: Random House, Inc, 1974.

Cormier, Robert.  Whale Talk.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.

Famous American Trials: Salem Witchcraft Trial, 1692.  Linder, Douglas.  3/2007.  University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.  4/28/07.  <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm>

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  The Scarlet Letter.  Boston: Tickner, Reeds, and Fields, 1850.

Hesse, Karen.  Witness.  New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2001

Jackson, Shirley.  �The Lottery.�  The New Yorker: June 28, 1948.

Latifa.  My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban�A Young Woman�s Story. New York: Hyperion, 2001.

Miller, Arthur.  The Crucible. New York: The Viking Press, 1953.

Mr. Stone�s Study Guide for Arthur Miller�s The Crucible.  5/4/2005.  David Stone. 4/30/07. <http://warren.dusd.net/~dstone/Resources/11P/Crucible_SG.htm#Act4>

Strasser, Tod.  The Wave.  New York: Random House, Inc., 1981.

The Crucible.  Dir. Nicholas Hytner.  Perf. Winona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Joan Allen.  20th Century Fox, 1996.