Notes on Setting & Character- The Crucible

Arthur Miller : not inspired by the witch trials at Salem, but by the Joseph McCarthy hearings in Washington, in 1953, during the Cold War--great focus on guilt by association and guilt by accusation, without evidence. From wikipedia:

McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion.^[1] He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, McCarthy's tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate.
The term McCarthyism, coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more generally in reference to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.^[2]

[A note about wikipedia: while wikipedia is NOT a viable source for academic research, it will provide the student with brief explanations, definitions, and (perhaps most importantly) a list of Primary and Secondary sources and links for the student who wishes to begin serious research.]

Arthur Miller was not accused of Communist activities, but many of his friends in Hollywood were. He used the Salem witch trials as a parallel to what he believed was happening in Congress under the scrutiny of McCarthy and his like-minded colleagues.

*A Note on the Historical Accuracy of This Play -- immediately precedes Act One -- important term:
dramatic license: a liberty taken by a writer to produce a desired effect by deviating from conventional form, established rule, fact, or logic.

Notes over Literature – all examples come from The Crucible, except where noted

Setting: time & place – gives context to history, literature, one’s life
The Crucible: 1692, Salem, Massachusetts - Importance of setting is explained by Miller early in Act One, shortly after Rev. Samuel Parris is introduced -- it is extremely important in understanding these characters and this play; key terms:

Puritan - their attitudes & the development of a theocracy

Character(s) – in literature, those with whom an individual interacts; types:

·         Flat – one dimensional—often “fills the background”—example: Martha Cory

·         Round—fully developed, usually the primary characters—John Proctor

·         Static—remains the same in work— Abigail Williams; Samuel Parris

·         Dynamic—undergoes a transformation/change in attitude/development—Elizabeth Proctor; John Hale

·         Stereotype—a character so often portrayed that he/she is automatically “known” to the reader or the audience; what we consider “good” literature, like “good” films, will make limited use of stereotypes, while comedies (especially) off use stereotypes to create humor, as often seen in humorous horror movies that “play off” the idea of the mad scientist; some movies will take stereotypes and turn them on their head, such as the character of Jake in Sweet Home Alabama, who tells his (almost) ex-wife: “Just because I talk slow doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

How to determine a personality or “character:”  DIRECT & INDIRECT characterization

Direct characterization refers to specific information an author chooses to give regarding an individual in a drama or story.  Example: when Abigail William is first introduced by Miller, she is referred to as:  “. . .a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling. Now she is all worry and apprehension and propriety.”   [NOTE:  The student is expected to look up all unfamiliar words and expected to know what they mean as they are used in context in the drama, novel, or poetry.] 

Indirect characterization refers to what the character says (or thinks, if provided by the author) or what he or she does OR what other characters’ say to or about the character.  Example:  In Act one of The Crucible, Abigail denies to her uncle, Rev. Parris, that she was a part of a group of girls who were caught dancing and “conjuring spirits” in the woods. However,  when he and the other adults leave the bedroom of the “afflicted” girl, and Abigail is left alone with her young cousin and the other girls, she drops the “innocent act” because the other girls KNOW what she has done:   

BETTY: You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!

ABIGAIL:  Betty, you never say that again! You will never—

BETTY: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife . . . .

ABIGAIL, smashes her across the face: Shut it! Now shut it!             

The above dialogue, combined with the direct characterization given earlier in the scene,  provides the reader with a clear understanding that  Abigail is not the ingénue we might imagine when she first comes on stage  

Your first assignment will focus on direct and indirect characterization.   It will require you to look carefully at the major characters and note how each is presented. It requires that you focus on specific detail. When you later write your paper over the drama, it is hoped that the preliminary analysis you do at this stage will benefit you as you draft and finalize your critical essay over The Crucible.