excel hsc english area of study guide the crucible pp87 105

4 • The Crucible 87

Syllabus Requirements

FOCUS ON THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Introduction

s This section in each chapter focuses wholly on the concept of belonging and therefore contains a detailed analysis of the text in relation to this concept.

s Please note that this is the material that you will draw from to write your extended response on the concept of belonging in the HSC examination.

s To ensure that you know what the syllabus expects of you, we have included the syllabus requirements in the margins.

• The first margin questions are always directly from the syllabus—these are the syllabus requirements.

• The second margin questions (underneath) are syllabus questions made easy, i.e. we have interpreted them so you can readily understand what is required of you!

Places and the Concept of Belonging

Act One—The Upper Bedroom of Reverend Parris

s More than any other concept of belonging, the concept of belonging to place, and the contrast between private and public places, is the one that we see in action immediately in Act One. Reverend Parris is publicly concerned about his daughter’s health and the possibility that the devil may be in Salem, but privately worried about his reputation and keeping his job. Abigail is publicly a child and privately a woman, a temptress of Proctor. The adult characters address her as a child. Parris: ‘Child. sit you down’ (p. 19, act 1) and Danforth: ‘What is it child?’ (p. 101, act 3). But the audience never really regards her in this way. At her entrance, Miller describes her as having ‘an endless capacity for dissembling’ (p. 18, act 1), meaning that she is capable of hiding the truth from others if she wants to. This is a stage direction, so if the director wants the audience to ‘see’ this in Abigail, then the actress must look ‘false’ or ‘manipulative’ in this first scene with Parris. The audience should gain

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of places that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of places?

88 Excel HSC Area of Study Guide: The Crucible


the impression that she is not being ‘straight’ with Parris. This impression will be reinforced in the scene not long after with Proctor (pp. 28–30, act 1) where she is seductive, and manipulative: ‘John, pity me, pity me!’ (p 30, act 1). She also demonstrates that she will be a ruthless leader of the girls. We see this on pages 26 and 27 (act 1) in the stage direction where she ‘smashes her [Betty Parris] across the face’ and in lines such as: ‘Shut it! Now shut it!’ and ‘I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!’ Proctor is publicly upright—‘I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the door’ (p. 64, act 2)—but privately guilt-ridden and fallen. As Elizabeth says, ‘The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you’ (p. 55, act 2). She realises that Proctor has not forgiven himself for his actions with Abigail. When Proctor goes to the court in Act Three it is to save others, especially Elizabeth who he regards as more worthy than himself. When, in Act Four, he vacillates over whether to sign the confessions, one of the things uppermost in his mind is the belief that he is unworthy. For example, he says: ‘My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man’ (p. 118, act 4). The upper bedroom of Reverend Parris, the scene of Act One, is a private place above a public place (the chapel). As the Act begins, it is a place of growing tension, as Parris prays beside his ailing daughter Betty. Parris, with his living quarters, ought to be an agent of community and belonging, but it becomes ever obvious that his concerns are for himself and his reputation, rather than the community, or even his own daughter. ‘There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?’ (p. 19, act 1). The insistent, even hysterical, tone indicates to the audience that this is what really concerns him most. When Hale arrives and examines Tituba and Abigail, Abigail makes a play for her own safety and belonging by naming some community members as witches. Thus Sarah Good, Goody Osburn and the others become excluded—they no longer belong.

Act Two—The Common Room of the Proctor House

s The Proctor household is a place of discomfort and distance at the outset of Act Two. The sense of belonging that we might associate with two people who are married is missing, but it is at least a place where Proctor and Elizabeth can deal in private with their problems. The audience will read much into the fact that Proctor adds



salt to the pot on the stove, then congratulates Elizabeth on it being ‘well seasoned’ (p. 51, act 2). This trivial action shows that he wants to please her, but is not comfortable enough to simply tell her that he added some salt. Their conversation covers further trivia, and Miller’s stage direction says ‘A sense of their separation rises’ (p. 52, act 2). The cause of this distance comes openly into the conversation when they discuss the ‘goings on’ in Salem, which Proctor describes as a ‘black mischief’ (p. 53, act 2). Elizabeth accuses him of avoiding becoming involved because it might involve discrediting Abigail, with whom he has had an affair. Emotions rise as Proctor accuses Elizabeth of judging him: ‘You will not judge me more, Elizabeth’ and ‘You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’. Learn charity, woman’ (p. 55, act 2). When Hale and then Cheever invade this private place, both Elizabeth and Proctor are forced to involve themselves in the activities of the society in general, the court and the accusations of witchcraft. Once Elizabeth is accused and arrested, it becomes a fight for survival. Proctor says, ‘I will fall like an ocean on that court!’ Fear nothing, Elizabeth’ (p. 72, act 2). Proctor’s grand simile—‘fall like an ocean’—conveys his belief that he is possessed of evidence about Abigail that will change the course of the court proceedings. They don’t belong in Salem society, now that it has gone crazy with allegations of witchcraft, but they are forced to become involved anyway. Neither of them will ever return to the house—to the place of private sanctity and safety, or escape society’s pressures to belong.

Act Three—The Court of Salem

s The court, or actually the anteroom that becomes the court, is another place that ought to be a place of belonging, of social justice, but this does not prove to be the case. Because of Danforth’s rulings and Abigail’s ability to control things, the court is never going to produce justice. Danforth belongs in the court, by definition, and Abigail and the girls can be said to belong in the sense that they have control of proceedings. Everyone else is shut out by a combination of Danforth’s arrogance and his refusal to question the validity of the outcome of the court process. His belief, expressed in the central metaphor of the play, that ‘We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment’ (p. 81, act 3) has become invalid. They are burning a hot fire, but Abigail’s concealment (pretence) isn’t being ‘melted down’ at all. His belief



that ‘a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it’ is what leads to the situation Hale describes: ‘Is every defence an attack on the court?’ (p. 85, act 3). The formality of the court pervades the tone of the first three-quarters of this Act. Danforth is in his element—he controls the formality and his power is enhanced by it. The last part of the Act, however, is hijacked by Abigail and the girls, who intimidate Mary Warren back into their number: ‘Abby, Abby, I’ll never hurt you more’ (p. 104, act 3). The formality of the court is overthrown and the tone becomes one of hysteria. Proctor picks up the metaphor of heat in ‘A fire, a fire is burning!’ (p. 105, act 3) as he envisages he and Danforth burning together in hell. By the close of the Act, the ‘court’ has disintegrated. Hale’s departure—‘I denounce these proceedings!’ (p. 105, act 3)—symbolises this disintegration.

Act Four—A Cell in Salem Jail

s The cell in the jail in Salem, the setting of Act Four, is a place of exclusion. That Miller uses it as the setting of Act Four indicates that Salem society, belonging in Salem, has disintegrated. Cheever notes: ‘There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now their masters are in the jails, and much disagreement who they will belong to now’ (pp. 109–110, act 4). Hale adds to this on page 114, saying ‘there are orphans wandering from house to house’. This paints a picture for the audience of a society in disarray. Danforth is unwilling to budge on the treatment of those sentenced to death, even when he hears that Abigail has run off: ‘Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part’ (p. 113, act 4). This is part ego, part self-protection and part a desire to hang onto any shred of credibility that the court still has. It can be seen that Proctor and Elizabeth belong together, a group of two. They come to a point of peace, she claiming some of the responsibility for his adultery—‘It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery’ (p. 119, act 4). Here she uses the commonplace metaphors of heat associated with passion and coldness with lack of passion. Most importantly, she ‘releases’ him to make his own decision about confessing or hanging: ‘Do as you will, do as you will!’ (p. 120, act 4). As well, you could say that Rebecca belongs with God, but aside from that, ‘belonging’ in Salem has ended, reflected in the drab and oppressive disorder of the jail.



Events and the Concept of Belonging

Act One

In the Woods

s The events in the woods are actions of those who do not belong. The group who gathered in the woods consisted of young women (children to Salem society) and Tituba, Parris’s Barbados-born servant. Both these groups are alienated from Salem society. They feel a sense of not belonging due to the repression of their natural inclination to (for example) dance. The scene between Abigail and the other girls on pages 25–27 gives us the best idea of what really happened in the woods. Based on this scene, it would seem that Tituba had tried to conjure the spirits of the dead Putnam children, with the blessing of Ann (Mrs) Putnam. Abigail drank a potion to kill Elizabeth Proctor and Mercy Lewis was naked and everyone danced. Mere dancing is likely to be punished by whipping, but conjuring spirits is a hanging offence.

The Affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams

s The affair between Proctor and Abigail is an act of exclusion (not belonging). For Abigail, it is a failed attempt at belonging. It would seem that the only way a woman can ‘belong’ in Salem society is to be a wife. Abigail desires this status and hopes to achieve it with Proctor as her husband; thus her need to remove Elizabeth. For Proctor, it is an act of social suicide. It makes him a lecher—a breaker of God’s laws on marriage. He cannot belong, and his guilt will haunt him.

The First ‘Crying Out’

s Abigail’s first ‘crying out’ (pp. 49–50) shifts Abigail from being excluded to the status of belonging. It is a successful attempt to grasp control of the situation. Once society (here in the person of Reverend Hale) accepts that they are genuine, the girls become a part of the status quo. They belong.

Act Two

Mary Warren’s Poppet

s Ridiculous trivial evidence such as Mary Warren’s poppet becomes a barrier to belonging. Mary’s poppet becomes evidence against Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s dialogue—‘Has the court discovered a text in poppets now?’ (p. 69,

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of events that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of events?

Abigail and the other girls hold a ‘witchcraft’ ceremony in the woods.

Mary’s poppet becomes evidence against Elizabeth.



act 2)—reflects her sarcastic tone, but little does she know that the answer is ‘yes’. The audience can see that the situation has been manipulated by Abigail but because Abigail belongs, the court doubts Elizabeth’s belonging.

Proctor’s Decision to Go to Court

s Proctor, a natural individual, is drawn into the courtroom situation, to try to belong, and to defend his wife. To participate in social processes is to belong. His natural inclination had been to avoid the court even though he thinks the situation is crazy and believes that Abigail indicated to him that there was no witchcraft practised in the woods. The fact that he does not want to tell anyone else about his lechery is also a factor. Ironically, the challenge to Elizabeth’s worthiness to belong forces Proctor to go to the court. However, his simile—‘I will fall like the ocean on that court!’ (p. 72, act 2)—indicates that he is already in the frame of mind of an opponent of the court. Once he is in the court he confirms his initial belief that he does not belong there—especially after he confesses to lechery and Elizabeth lies, contradicting him. His exclusion is complete when Mary Warren, under Abigail’s pressure, calls him out as ‘the Devil’s man … No, I love God; I go your way no more’ (p. 104, act 3). Thus, through the juxtaposition of God’s way and Proctor’s way, Mary Warren implies that Proctor is against God.

Act Three

Proctor’s Confession and Elizabeth’s Lie

s The Proctors’ alienation at the court indicates their lack of belonging in Salem society. By confessing to lechery, Proctor is knowingly excluding himself from Salem society. Elizabeth’s lie to ‘support’ him backfires and leaves them both in a state of not belonging. This is one of the climaxes of the play, so it carries a lot of emotional weight with the audience.

Abigail and Mary Warren in Court

s Salem society has moved so far out of kilter that those who should belong are excluded and those who used to be excluded belong. As Proctor’s metaphor suggests: ‘the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom’ (p. 72, act 2). Proctor uses ‘jangling’ to suggest an irresponsible, childish attitude to running Salem. Mary arrives at the court with Proctor—at that

Proctor dramatically accuses Abigail of being a ‘whore’.



point she is ‘belonging’ with the Proctors. But they are on the outer with Salem society, because Elizabeth is accused and Proctor is about to confess to lechery. By the end of the scene she has rejoined the girls under the influence of Abigail and returned to a position of belonging. Abigail achieves this through a process of fear, intimidation and peer hysteria. Mary wilts under the pressure of the girls’ mimicking her and claiming to be threatened by her.

Hale Denounces the Court

s By the end of Act Three, Reverend Hale has changed sides and withdrawn his support for the court. He no longer belongs. This has a huge impact on the audience, because he is a character we have respected, and he used to belong. It impresses us that he would make himself an outcast. Reverend Hale arrives at this position because he believes that Elizabeth’s lie is a ‘natural lie to tell’ (p. 100, act 3), he has always trusted Proctor and he no longer believes in the voracity of the girls, saying that he has never trusted Abigail. Hale’s words—‘This girl has always struck me false!’ (p. 100, act 3)—are brave, because Abigail could turn on him.

Act Four

Abigail and Mercy Leave Salem

s Abigail’s belonging to the status quo is a pragmatic thing and in the end it does not deliver Proctor to her. Having given testimony that has resulted in people being incarcerated and hanged, Abigail and Mercy Lewis steal thirty-one pounds from Reverend Parris and run away. This leaves Danforth alone with his judgements but no witnesses. The acceptance of the testimony of the girls was based on the idea of them as innocent victims. The action of Abigail and Mercy running away does not suggest that they are innocent. ‘Vanished!’, says Danforth, in shock (p. 110, act 4). Danforth appreciates that the disappearance of the girls makes the credibility of the court even lower, but yet continues with the hangings.

Elizabeth Goes to Proctor

s In Act Four, Elizabeth and Proctor are both excluded from Salem society—they are prisoners, he awaiting execution—but they do belong to each other. When Danforth sends Elizabeth in to speak to Proctor, it is in the hope that she will convince him to sign a (false) confession so that Danforth can avoid hanging him. Theoretically it is an

Proctor and Elizabeth meet for the last time in his cell.



offer to Proctor to belong again, but it could be argued that Danforth now has no relation to Salem society. It could also be argued that Salem society doesn’t exist any more and so there is no longer a society to belong to. Proctor and Elizabeth’s love gives them a bond of belonging to each other. Elizabeth’s emotive dialogue—‘Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it’ (p. 119, act 4)—declares him to be good, and a little later he declares himself to have a shred of goodness.

Characters and theConcept of Belonging

John Proctor

s Proctor is an individual who has not put a high priority on ‘belonging’ in his life. He is not comfortable with the idea that he is to necessarily respect the ideas of others. The fact that he hates and distrusts Parris adds to this sense of not belonging:

I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more. (p. 34, act 1)

Proctor’s dialogue ironically suggests that God is absent from the church. There is the implication here that Christianity should be a religion of love rather than what Parris has made of it—a religion of punishment and damnation.

s Proctor chooses not to belong to Salem society. The fact that he has ‘sinned’ with Parris’s niece Abigail causes him to view himself as a hypocrite and not worthy of association with such people as Rebecca and Frances Nurse, who he regards as better than him. His sin, even when only Elizabeth knows about it, makes him uncomfortable in terms of belonging in Salem society. He says, ‘I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man’ (p. 118, act 4). Climbing up the stairs to the gallows is used here in Proctor’s honest dialogue as a metaphor for the goodness required to go to heaven. Rebecca Nurse might ‘climb the gibbet like a saint’, but Proctor sees himself as utterly unworthy.

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of characters that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Proctor?

For a quick recap of Proctor, go to page 76.76



s Proctor doesn’t ‘belong’ in his own family. At the beginning of the play his sin is still having a negative influence on his relationship with his wife, Elizabeth. In Act Two we see that they are uncomfortable with each other. Proctor does not really belong in his own family because he has strayed from it. Proctor: ‘Spare me! You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’’ (p. 55, act 2). Proctor uses repetition and alliteration (‘forget’/‘forgive’) to make his point to Elizabeth—that she has not forgiven him.

s Proctor doesn’t belong in the court. Danforth’s behaviour and attitudes very quickly exclude Proctor from ‘belonging’ in the context of the court. Though his intention is to put the court straight by telling them that Abigail told him that the event in ‘the woods’ was ‘sport’, the court quickly takes the attitude that he is an enemy of it, and therefore an enemy of God. Danforth’s dialogue—‘a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between’ (p. 85, act 3)—uses the metaphor of the road to symbolise the taking of a particular direction in life. In this case it is that you can only support the court or oppose it; there are no other ‘roads’.

s In the end Proctor belongs to his own values, as he chooses truth over lies. Proctor’s personal salvation is not achieved in terms of the church, or in terms of belonging. He makes peace with himself and decides to die rather than sign a false confession and have it hung on the church door. This is ‘goodness’ in the sense that it is the truth, but he (and Elizabeth) reject the ‘belonging’ arguments being put to them by Hale, who wants Proctor to sign and live. Elizabeth says, ‘He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!’ (p. 126, act 4). Elizabeth’s use of the personal pronoun ‘his’ in ‘his goodness’ shows that she appreciates that John must judge himself. It is his own goodness, not God’s goodness, even though she implies in ‘God forbid …’ that God supports John in his private reconciliation.

Abigail Williams

s Abigail is seventeen and therefore a ‘child’ in Salem society and so the only legitimate way for her to belong is to accept this status of ‘child’ and obey the rules. This is not in her nature, especially after she has been ‘a woman’ with Proctor. Her exclamation to Proctor—‘How do you call me child!’ (p. 29, act 1)—shows her resentment of the status of ‘child’,


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Abigail?

For a quick recap of Abigail, go to page 78.78



a motif throughout the play of innocence, immaturity and lack of status. In terms of belonging, what she does is form a group of her own (the girls) to belong to and in fact lead. By accusing others of witchcraft, she takes control of the situation, even threatening Danforth. Danforth’s use of ‘child’ in his words to her—‘Child, I do not mistrust you’ (p. 96, act 3)—indicates that she still, because of her age, has no status in the community, but Danforth’s placating tone shows that she now has the power and that she could turn it on him.

s Abigail ‘belongs’ in the sense that she finds a place, a role and power within Salem society. She and the girls are victims at first, but they turn into protagonists. Then others (such as Elizabeth Proctor) become victims of the girls led by Abigail. Suddenly, Abigail belongs and Elizabeth does not. This is highly ironic, as the audience knows that Elizabeth is a good Christian woman and Abigail is not. Elizabeth immediately twigs to Abigail’s real motives, as shown in her words ‘She wants me dead. I knew all week it would come to this’ (p. 59, act 2), while the court views Abigail as an innocent victim of witchcraft.

s Abigail lies in order to remove Elizabeth and have Proctor belong to her. This puts the audience in a position of disrespect for Salem society and belonging. The audience shares Abigail’s view shown in her words ‘I never knew what pretence Salem was’ (p. 30, act 1).

s Abigail can be seen as someone who wants to belong as a woman, but there are no socially acceptable ways for her to achieve this. What she wants is to be Mrs Proctor, which would give her a social status of belonging, but there is no acceptable way for her to achieve this. In her words ‘You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!’ (p. 30, act 1), Abigail’s repetition of the word ‘love’ is an attempt to pull Proctor back into a relationship with her. The audience will note that Proctor only ever uses the word ‘lust’ to describe what happened between them, an important contrast.

Elizabeth Proctor

s Initially, Elizabeth belongs in Salem society as a member of a family (the Proctors) and as a respectable Christian wife. As she says, ‘I am a covenanted Christian woman’ (p. 64, act 2). The Christian term ‘covenanted’ indicates


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Elizabeth?

For a quick recap of Elizabeth, go to page 79.79



that she has been through rituals or ceremonies declaring her Christianity. She is bound to Christianity. All of this makes her arrest a shock to the audience. Her belonging is brought into question by the accusation of Abigail that Elizabeth has visited her as a spirit and harmed her. Hale says, ‘Abigail were stabbed tonight; a needle were found stuck into her belly’ (p. 71, act 3). Elizabeth’s Christian principles (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’) come into conflict with her family values (always support your husband) and she chooses to belong to her family rather than her community by lying to Danforth. Danforth asks her, ‘Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher?’ (p. 100, act 3). The exclamation mark tells us that Danforth raises his voice to intimidate Elizabeth. The word ‘lecher’ is strongly judgemental and derogatory.

s At the end of the play, Elizabeth is removed from belonging to Salem society. She ignores Hale and Danforth and refuses to influence Proctor’s decision. Talking him into signing and living would have been a way for both of them to belong again, but she rejects this. She is an individual, as John is, to the end, telling him: ‘Do as you will, do as you will!’ (p. 120, act 4). The repetition indicates the strength of Elizabeth’s resolve to allow Proctor to die if he chooses to.

Reverend Hale

s Reverend Hale walks into Salem as the great saviour of the community and belongs instantly. Parris greets him: ‘Mr Hale! Oh! It’s good to see you again!’ (p. 40, act 1). This is the most pleasant thing that Parris says to anybody in the play, even though he is frightened of what Hale might discover. The repeated exclamation marks reveal his fawning nature, behaving in an overly friendly manner.

s By Act Four Hale does not belong to conventional Salem society. The theocracy’s inability to admit error means that Hale is gradually shut out from Salem society and the court, because he is an honest man. His conscience alienates him from the court which he denounces at the end of Act Three. In Act Four he is begging Proctor to confess to what they all know is lies: ‘Let him give his lie’ (p. 115, act 4). Hale does not even pretend to believe the confessions. He no longer wishes to belong, only to save the lives of the accused and to assuage his own guilt. His hysteria at the end is due to his sense of guilt for Proctor’s death. Miller’s stage direction—‘Hale weeps in frantic prayer’ (p. 126, act 4)—uses the


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Hale?

For a quick recap of Hale, go to page 80.80



combination of the words ‘prayer’, ‘weeps’ and ‘frantic’ in an unlikely way to convey the level of Hale’s guilt and hysteria.

Deputy-Governor Danforth

s Danforth belongs to the theocratic Salem society which he embodies. He symbolises Salem’s hypocritical ways. He is the society, so he must belong to it. The rhetorical question ‘Do you know who I am, Mr Nurse?’ (p. 80, act 3) is aimed at intimidating Francis.

s Danforth is quite alone in the play, being a representative of a social and legal system, rather than a three-dimensional human being. All of his relationships with others are based on his power. His only supporters are Hathorne (who is like him) and Parris, who Danforth hates: ‘Mr Parris, you are a brainless man!’ (p. 111, act 4).

s At the end, the disintegration of Salem society means that there is nothing much left to belong to. Despite this, and the fact that Abigail has run off, Danforth continues to uphold the validity of the court. Cheever’s speech—‘There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now that their masters are in the jails, and much disagreement who they will belong to now’ (pp. 109–110)—gives an impression of Salem as anarchic (having no order or rule).

Rebecca Nurse

s At the beginning of the play, Rebecca is the most respected and highly regarded member of Salem society. In that way, she belongs. Francis Nurse’s metaphor about her—‘My wife is the very brick and mortar of the church’ (p. 67, act 2)—is a physical image of Rebecca’s closeness to her religion.

s Rebecca chooses not to sign a false confession in order to belong to Salem society. Rebecca’s faith is a private one and she will not have anyone else tell her how to worship or what to believe in. She is opposed to the recruiting of Reverend Hale and concerned that they should avoid looking for ‘loose spirits’. There is no chance that she will sign a false confession. In these ways she is an individual. Her dialogue—‘There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear it, I fear it’ (p. 33, act 1) is a prophetic foreshadowing of the events to come.


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Danforth?

For a quick recap of Danforth, go to page 81.81


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Rebecca?

For a quick recap of Rebecca, go to page 83.83



s At the end, Rebecca belongs in the ranks of the holy and pure. She is like an unofficial saint, a martyr, dying for her beliefs and her faith. Her powerful dialogue—‘Let you fear nothing!’ (p. 125, act 4)—comforts others with her faith.

Reverend Parris

s Parris, although he holds one of the key roles in the community of Salem, does not belong. He is insecure in his position and believes that there are people out to get him. In a situation where he could try to play a role in bringing the community together, he merely tries to absolve himself of blame. Parris’s dialogue—‘Excellency, it profit nothing you should blame me’ (p. 111, act 4)—reveals his selfish nature.

s Parris gains no sense of belonging from his family group. He shows no real care for Betty when she is sick, but rather his concern is for his own situation—it will reflect badly on him if the Devil has taken up residence in his house: ‘There be no unnatural cause here’ (p. 18, act 1). Parris’s insistence only makes the audience more suspicious that something untoward was happening in the woods.

s Parris is always on the outer. Danforth finds him annoying, even though Parris is supporting Danforth most of the time. To the audience, he is a snivelling hypocrite who deserves no one’s sympathy. His astonishing speech to Danforth—‘This way, unconfessed and claiming innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest people will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in their tears’ (p. 112, act 4)—advocates the signing of false confessions in order to discredit those that won’t sign and to, in turn, benefit the credibility of the court. Parris’s use of the term ‘our good purpose’ is shocking in its hypocrisy.

Giles Corey

s Eighty-year-old Giles is an individualist who chooses not to belong to Salem society. His dialogue—‘This man is killing his neighbours for their land!’ (p. 87, act 3)—reveals how he sees the true purpose behind Putnam’s actions in using the girls’ accusations to gain Giles’s land.

s Giles sticks up for his rights and will not allow himself to be taken advantage of. He has his own opinions and ways; he does not bother about belonging. He has even sued


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Parris?

For a quick recap of Parris, go to page 83.83


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Giles?

For a quick recap of Giles, go to page 84.84



Proctor at one point. Giles: ‘I know my rights, sir, and I will have them’ (p. 86, act 3) This means he will never belong in Salem.

s Giles, Proctor and Rebecca belong together because they each have a direct honesty. When Proctor says to Giles, ‘What say you, Giles, let’s find the party’ (p. 35, act 1) this friendly dialogue refers to the party that Parris believes has formed of those who want to get rid of him. Proctor admires Giles’s sense of fight.

Mary Warren

s Mary’s story is all about belonging. As a seventeen-year-old, she has no status or rights in adult society in Salem. The only way to belong is to conform and obey. The young people form a sub-culture which Mary belongs to, but as an ‘outer member’. Proctor tries to get Mary to act as a member of his family in order to save Elizabeth: ‘Mary, remember the angel Raphael—do that which is good’ (p. 103, act 3). But Abigail and the girls exert enormous peer pressure on her in the court. Abigail’s words to her—‘The wings! Her wings are spreading!’ (p. 103, act 3)—are frightening to the audience who see that the court has lost control and that Abigail wields extraordinary power over the girls.

s Mary’s fall in the court is a triumph for belonging. She chooses the peer group and joins them in accusing Proctor of being evil. She chooses to belong with the court and to belong with Abigail and the girls. Mary’s statement—‘I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God’ (p. 104, act 3)—encapsulates Mary’s decision to belong with Abigail rather than with Proctor.

Tituba

s Tituba is an outsider in Salem society. She is only there as a servant to Parris. Her race, religion, culture and language make her an outcast. When she says No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!’ (p. 46, act 1), her use of the word ‘truck’ is an assertion that she does not associate or deal with the devil.

s She is also a scapegoat and a victim, so she cannot belong. Abigail blames her: ‘She made me do it! She made Betty do it!’ (p. 45, act 1). She is one of the victims of Abigail’s lies.


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Mary?

For a quick recap of Mary, go to page 84.84


How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of Tituba?

For a quick recap of Tituba, go to page 85.85



Relationships and theConcept of Belonging

John Proctor and Abigail Williams

s Superficially, Salem’s society appears to be one of ‘belonging’ in that everyone shares the same values and religious beliefs, and adheres to the rules; but the fact that Proctor and Abigail have had an affair shows that this is a façade. We see that Salem is in the ‘real’ world of normal desires. Abigail’s speech—‘I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near!’ (p. 29, act 1)—is especially sexual in its animalistic imagery. Abigail presents herself to Proctor as the object of his desires. She uses language in an attempt to arouse Proctor to be drawn to her again.

s Abigail does belong, even if it is by immoral means. Ironically, it is Abigail who gains control by accusing others of witchcraft. She ‘belongs’ in the sense that she is accepted and believed. Abigail’s threatening question demonstrates her power: ‘Let you beware, Mr Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits?’ (p. 96, act 3). By Act Four Abigail has given up on her goal to have Proctor and has left Salem altogether. People have been excluded and hanged on her word. The hypocrisy of the court is clear. The logical and moral bankruptcy of Danforth’s dialogue—‘Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now’ (p. 113, act 4)—is obvious to the audience. If one person has been wrongly hanged, to go on hanging others wrongly makes matters worse.

John and Elizabeth Proctor

s Love is one of the main agents of ‘belonging’ in society. The story of John and Elizabeth Proctor is one of love harmed, but strong enough to rise above life’s challenges. At the end, Elizabeth is in the strange, but moving, situation of performing an act of love that allows her husband to choose death. ‘Only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it’ (p. 119, act 4). The key word here is ‘now’, because it tells us that there was a time when she doubted his goodness. Their love is what they belong to. This is the concept of belonging to people.

s Their love is more important to Elizabeth than any sense of ‘belonging’ to a social group. Her love is strong enough to

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of the relationships between characters that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of the relationship between Proctor and Abigail?

For a quick recap of the relationship between Proctor and Abigail, go to page 85.

85

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of the relationships between characters that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor?

For a quick recap of the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor, go to page 86.

86



forgive John and allow him to make his own decision about whether to sign the confession and live. ‘I am not your judge, I cannot be’ (p. 120, act 4). This idea goes back to Act 2 when she said that it was he himself who judged John Proctor. Now she reiterates, that true forgiveness can only come from within. They belong to each other and they have both come to terms with themselves as well. They have belonging of identity. Elizabeth’s words—‘He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!’ (p. 126, act 4)—reflect the purest act of love in the play. ‘God forbid’ suggests that she believes that God would not approve of her trying to stop Proctor from dying.

Ideas and the Concept of Belonging

Belonging, Self-acceptance and Guilt

John Proctor

s Proctor believes that he is unworthy of belonging because of his affair with Abigail. He doesn’t deserve Elizabeth’s love or the respect of the community, both potential agents of belonging for him. Proctor’s confession of lechery is an unburdening of secret guilt, but his declaration to Danforth that they will both burn in hell is an attack on himself as well as the judge: ‘A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth!’ (p. 105, act 3). The fire is an image of hell and punishment. Lucifer is represented by a boot (brutality, violence, destruction) and, more fearful, a face. Proctor sees his own and Danforth’s face in the face of Lucifer.

s Proctor finally achieves self-acceptance and a sense of belonging in his marriage. By refusing to sign the confession at the end of the play Proctor is asserting his right to judge himself. His third person dialogue demonstrates that he sits in judgement on himself, ‘for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor’ (p. 125, act 4). The word ‘shred’ indicates that the goodness is small and fragmentary. However, Proctor seems to have come to terms with himself. This is achieved partly through his renewed sense of belonging with Elizabeth. For Proctor, the most important sense of belonging in the play is belonging in his marriage, not belonging to his community.

In your response and composition you must examine, question, reflect and speculate on how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representation of ideas that you encounter in the prescribed text.

How does Miller use language and structural techniques to communicate the concept of belonging in The Crucible through his portrayal of ideas?



Elizabeth Proctor

s Elizabeth’s sense of belonging is connected to Proctor, and she chooses him over belonging to society when she lies for him in court. Elizabeth also has a burden of guilt: ‘It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery’ (p. 119, act 4) indicates that she regards herself as responsible for John’s straying. She purges herself by allowing him to choose to hang.

Reverend Hale

s Hale’s sense of belonging to Salem society is challenged in the play. The other character most guilt-ridden is Reverend Hale. Having set the court in motion by declaring Tituba to have dealt with the devil and sent her spirit out on Abigail and the others, every subsequent accusation is his responsibility. By the time Rebecca and Elizabeth are arrested he is becoming concerned about where things are headed and by the end of Act Three he has denounced Abigail and quit the court. In Act Four he is broken with guilt: ‘There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!’ (p. 114, act 4). This is traditional Christian imagery of blood for guilt. In Hale’s language, the blood of others is on his head as a sign of his guilt, his responsibility. Miller uses an exclamation mark, then repetition with two exclamation marks. This is an indication of the powerful emotion in Hale’s words. He attempts to save the lives of Salem’s accused by having them confess as a payment for his guilt, but this does not allow him to belong again. Instead, he becomes more guiltridden through his hypocrisy in persuading good Christians to lie. He cannot belong to a society that he sees as corrupt.

Belonging and Power

The powerful belong in The Crucible.

Reverend Hale

s Reverend Hale immediately belongs in Salem when he arrives, and he sets about adopting a position of power. Once he and the court have accepted the initial ‘confession’ and calling out of the girls, then they have the power in the court, and they belong. As Hale loses power, which occurs as he realises that the girls are lying, he also loses his sense of belonging to Salem and its hypocritical values. At the end he is utterly alone, crying out to Elizabeth that she should go to Proctor and prevent him from dying: ‘Go to him, take his shame away!’ (p. 126, act 4). The irony is that Elizabeth has facilitated Proctor



making his own decision to die precisely by taking away his shame.

Deputy-Governor Danforth

s Danforth has a strong sense of his own belonging and power. His boastful question—‘And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?’ (p. 80, act 3)—refers to his own power to determine life and death. Just the same, he is wary of Abigail’s power and does not challenge it, or her belonging, as it could threaten his own.

Abigail Williams

s Once the court believes Abigail and the other girls, they acquire great power and also a state of belonging. Abigail Williams is powerful enough to terrify Mary Warren and turn her evidence around completely. She is also powerful enough to intimidate Danforth by pointing out the fact that she could readily accuse him if she chose to. ‘Let you beware, Mr Danforth’ (p. 96, act 3) sends a shudder through Danforth and the sudden realisation through the audience that if she accused him of witchcraft it would put him in a position where his own defence would become as impossible as that of every other accused. In the end, Abigail opts out of the whole thing and leaves town with Mercy Lewis. There is little left in Salem to belong to following the social destruction of the witch trials.

Belonging and the Truth

s Belonging in the play is never based on the truth. The truth becomes a shared thing, something everyone agrees on. It doesn’t matter whether it is based on fact or not. People believe what they want to hear. For a society based on Christianity and the rule of God’s law, there is ironically little regard for the truth in the play:• Parris, a representative of God who should be honest

and just, is dishonest very early in the play.• It is a condition of belonging to the girls’ group that

the whole truth about what happened in the woods is never told. Abigail: ‘We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all’ (p. 26, act 1). Here Miller uses short sentences to indicate Abigail’s authoritarian status with the girls.

• Hale enters Salem wanting to find the devil, and he thinks that he does.

• Danforth believes that the ‘hot fire’ they are burning in the court ‘melts down all concealment’ (p. 81,



act 3). When things do come out, like Proctor’s lechery, this is proof to Danforth that the court is in the right. Unfortunately some concealment, Parris’s and Abigail’s, does not come out.

• Even when Abigail runs off, Danforth continues to hang people on her word. This shows that Danforth, a symbol of belonging in Salem, has no regard for the truth as a value.

s The truth is important to Rebecca Nurse who will not lie in order to belong to society. She goes to her death because she believes she will be damned for eternity if she lies and confesses to things she didn’t do.

s The truth is important to Elizabeth Proctor, but her sense of belonging to her husband and her love for him is stronger than her value for the truth. She is, according to her husband, a woman incapable of lying. Yet, to save him from social disgrace she brings herself to lie to Danforth that Proctor is not a lecher.

Belonging and Conscience

s Characters who belong are able to ignore their conscience; those who act on their conscience are excluded. Abigail, Parris and Danforth are examples of those who ignore their conscience with Proctor, Rebecca and Hale being those who act on their conscience at cost to their belonging to society. Abigail appears to have no conscience at all and she uses this absence to lie her way into belonging. Parris has suppressed his conscience for fear of it being found that his niece and daughter had participated in ‘unchristian acts’ in the woods. Hale’s conscience is such that he can no longer support the court once he seriously doubts Abigail’s honesty and the ‘guilt’ of characters like Rebecca and Elizabeth. For exercising his conscience, he is excluded by Salem society and he no longer belongs.

s The terrible irony is that conscience is a Christian notion, here being abused in the name of Christianity. Danforth says to Proctor in Act Four, ‘Your soul alone is the issue here, Mister, and you will prove its whiteness or you cannot live in a Christian country’ (p. 122, act 4). Here Danforth is telling Proctor that he isn’t worthy of living in a Christian country unless he signs a confession that is a lie and then lies about other people as well by saying he saw them with the devil. All of this, of course, goes directly against Proctor’s conscience and his own Christian beliefs (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’).

excel hsc english area of study guide the crucible pp87 105

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