Act One of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, introduces the central conflicts, characters, and motivations that will drive the play’s narrative. However, students often struggle to make inferences and analyze key moments due to a lack of context and background knowledge.
This guide will provide teachers with strategies to address these challenges!
Key Points and Strategies to Aid Student Comprehension
1. Why are Betty and Ruth feeling sick/freaking out?
- Context: Betty and Ruth are pretending to be ill to avoid punishment after being caught dancing in the woods and engaging in forbidden fortune-telling activities. (In history, they were doing a type of fortune-telling game that involved cracking an egg into a glass of water and interpreting the “images” they saw in the egg. This game was viewed as an evil or demonic activity in direct opposition to God & to the Puritan religion.) The girls’ behavior reflects the community’s fear of witchcraft; they are aware that what they have done is a grave crime/sin in the eyes of their community. They may also be aware that the punishment for witchcraft can be hanging; at the very least, they can assume they will be beaten, probably severely, for what they have done.
- Teaching Tip:
- Provide background on Puritan beliefs about witchcraft and sin, especially the fact that they believe those who practice witchcraft have made a deal with the devil to work for him in exchange for powers or other rewards & that doing witchcraft is a sin, for which one will go to hell.
- Encourage students to consider how fear of punishment might drive the girls’ actions.
- Ensure your students understand why the girls who were caught in the woods are panicking, and discuss why this panic spread beyond their little circle & into the broader community. (You may wish to cover the hardships of recent times in Salem & how people were thus primed to believe the devil was in Salem.)
2. Why do the girls all listen to Abigail?
- Context: Abigail is a strong, manipulative leader who uses fear and threats to maintain control. She is one of the older girls in the group (in the play, though in reality she was only 11 or 12); she is also the most confident of the bunch and is willing to threaten her friends with violence and also accuse others in order to protect herself.
- Teaching Tip:
- Highlight Abigail’s threats to the girls in the text. Discuss how fear of exposure or punishment can make others comply.
- Zoom in on what Abigail says to the other girls about what she saw happen to her parents. Why might this make them more afraid of her?
- Compare Abigail’s leadership style to examples of peer pressure in contemporary life.
3. What can you infer happened between John Proctor and Abigail?
- Context: John Proctor and Abigail had an affair, which Proctor now regrets, but Abigail still desires him. Students may miss the fact that they had an affair before if they are not good with making inferences or if they do not understand the dialogue (especially some of the words & phrases used) between John and Abigail. They may also miss the fact that John regrets the affair because he seems to still be flirting with Abigail at some points and seems to have willingly chosen to be alone with her again.
- Teaching Tip:
- Guide students to analyze Abigail’s flirtatious behavior and John’s growing discomfort throughout their interaction. Point out how pushy and even desperate she becomes and ask them to explain how and why he reacts as he does.
- Use textual evidence to help students infer their past relationship without needing explicit confirmation. Ask them how readers/viewers can be pretty sure they had an affair based on what they say to each other. Encourage them to point out specific lines, as this will help students who struggle with inferences.
4. Explain John’s conflicted feelings about Abigail.
- Context: John Proctor feels guilt and shame for betraying his wife but is also drawn to Abigail, who is youthful, alluring, bold, and very into him.
- Teaching Tip:
- Encourage students to consider Proctor’s dialogue and actions when he is with Abigail. What makes them think he still likes her? What makes them think he feels ashamed of himself for betraying his wife? How does he try to resist Abigail?
- You may want to lead a discussion on themes of guilt, temptation, and personal integrity, especially if you are doing a theme-focused reading/viewing of the play.
5. Why wouldn’t Parris want people to jump to the conclusion that witchcraft is in Salem?
- Context: Reverend Parris wouldn’t want people jumping to conclusions about witchcraft in Salem for several key reasons:
- It would reflect extremely poorly on his ministry and leadership, since a minister’s household was supposed to be a model of Christian virtue. It just so happens that his daughter and niece, who live under his roof and are his responsibility, are at the center of the behavior in the woods that started the witchcraft rumors!
- Having his own daughter Betty and niece Abigail potentially involved with witchcraft will certainly devastate his reputation and possibly end his career.
- He was already in a precarious position with many Salem residents who opposed his leadership style and material focuses (like his demand for golden candlesticks). Many felt he was paranoid, greedy, and overly focused on hell (scaring people into being good rather than convincing them with love and kindness).
- Teaching Tips:
- Have students analyze Parris’s dialogue for signs of insecurity and self-preservation.
- Have students explore the unique position of Puritan ministers. For example, you may want to help them understand that ministers were the moral and political authorities of their communities and that a minister’s reputation was everything in Puritan society – their word and household had to be beyond reproach (meaning nobody could question them; their reputation needed to be 100% pure).
- Connect to modern examples. Ask students to imagine a modern parallel: “What if something scandalous happened in the home of a prominent religious or community leader today? How would that affect their position?”
- Examine the economic and social context as well. Explain how Parris’s position as minister was actually quite unstable – he was essentially an employee of the congregation, and they could throw him out and vote in a new minister whenever they wanted to do so. Highlight how Salem Village was already divided over various issues, including Parris’s compensation and leadership, so he is feeling especially vulnerable in terms of his job security.
- Help students understand that Parris’s fear wasn’t just about losing his job – in Puritan society, being associated with witchcraft could mean complete social and spiritual ostracism; he could end up excommunicated or even hanged if the accusations spread from Betty and Abigail to him (and people already disliked him in town).
6. Why would the Putnams WANT to believe the Devil is in Salem?
- Context: The Putnams latch on to the accusations of witchcraft being used in Salem to explain their own personal tragedies, like the deaths of 7 of their 8 children. Puritans believe that God’s chosen people (the elect) have good luck, and those with bad luck may be being punished by God (or the bad luck may be a sign they are sinners, destined for hell). If the babies were killed by witchcraft, this allows Anne and Thomas to be free of worry that God is mad at them or that they are not “elect” (chosen for heaven); it would also help remove any other townspeople’s suspicions that perhaps the Putnams’ were being punished by God.
- Teaching Tip:
- Discuss the Putnams’ background, including their disputes over land and status in the community. They already feel as though they are disliked and persecuted by some in the town; this may make them even more desperate to have an excuse for everyone as to why their kids keep dying shortly after birth.
- Help students identify how the witchcraft hysteria provides them with a convenient explanation for their misfortunes.
7. Why would Goodie Putnam dislike Rebecca Nurse?
- Context: Rebecca Nurse represents goodness and moral authority in the community, but her large, healthy family contrasts sharply with Goodie Putnam’s tragic losses, creating envy and resentment. Goodie Putnam feels that people see Rebecca as chosen by God and that they suspect she is cursed by God or has sins on her soul that God is punishing her for committing.
- Teaching Tip:
- Compare and contrast the two women’s circumstances.
- Explore themes of jealousy and scapegoating.
General Strategies for Supporting Struggling Readers
- Pre-Reading Activities:
- Provide historical context about Puritan society, Salem’s theocratic government, and beliefs about witchcraft.
- Introduce characters and their relationships using visual aids like a family tree or character map.
- Close Reading with Textual Evidence:
- Model how to find and interpret evidence in the text to answer inference-based questions.
- Classroom Discussions:
- Use open-ended questions to encourage students to explore characters’ motivations and conflicts.
- Connections to Modern Contexts:
- Relate themes from the play to contemporary issues such as peer pressure, mass hysteria, and the impact of rumors.
- Visual and Dramatic Aids:
- If possible, show scenes from a film adaptation or have students do a reader’s theatre, acting out the parts of Act One in class to help students visualize the tension and emotions of the play.
My full unit incorporates all 5 of these strategies! You can find more by checking out the resources below!
https://englishwithmrslamp.com/2024/12/17/english-11-the-crucible-drama/
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/english-with-mrs-lamp/category-the-crucible-1351210
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