the crucible

The Crucible By : Monique Roussel

Erika MedeirosDanny MerktTasha Cabral

The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller. It was about the Salem witch trials. The play takes place in the town of

Salem Massachusetts, in 1692.

Act I

CharactersTituba

Abigail WilliamsSusanna WalcottMrs. Ann PutnamThomas Putnam

Mercy LewisJohn ProctorGiles Cory

Rebecca NurseFrancis Nurse

Reverend John Hale

At the beginning of the play Reverend Paris is sitting with

his daughter Betty who is lying unconscious in bed. He

is afraid that she is bewitched because he caught her and her friends dancing naked

around a fire and trying to fly.

What he didn’t know was that the girls were

trying to conjure spirits, drinking chicken blood as part of a charm to kill Elizabeth Proctor and trying to fly. He sent for a witchcraft

expert and was waiting for him to arrive.

Although Paris was worried about Betty, he was also very concerned about the people of Salem thinking that the girls in his house are practicing witchcraft. Something like that could

ruin his reputation.

Paris eventually leaves the room and the girls that

were downstairs entered. Abigail threatens to kill

Mary Warren and Mercy if they don’t keep their

mouths shut.

When the other girls leave, John Proctor and Abby

confront each other. Abigail flirts with John and tells him she still loves him. This is when we find out that the two were having an affair.

Later on in the act Reverend Hale comes in and questions everybody. He makes Abigail look guilty so she

puts the blame on Tituba. Tituba knew she’d be hanged for denying

working with the devil so she tries to save herself by confessing to

everything. She also starts accusing people she doesn’t like of witchcraft.

Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned for her because she was still

hanged.

Abigail picked up on Tituba’s method of getting innocent people arrested. This is how

the witch trials in Salem began.

Act II

There is a lot of tension in Elizabeth and John Proctors

house because he thinks she wont forgive him for his affair

with Abigail. Elizabeth tells John what is going on with the witch

trials.

Whoever is accused of being a witch is brought in front of Abigail and her

friends. If the girls fall to the ground and act like spirits are attacking

them ; the accused person is sentenced to death

Both Giles Cory’s and John Proctor’s wives were accused

and arrested

To save his wife, John goes to Mary Warren and tries to force her to confess the truth. By doing this he knows he’ll have to admit to cheating on Elizabeth with Abby but he’s willing to do it to clear

his wife’s name.