Arthur Miller

Who is Reverend Parris and what is he doing at the opening of Act 1 in the play?

What kind of person is Parris? How does the narrator describe him in his relationships with other townspeople? How about with children?

Describe what life was like in Salem, Massachusetts for the townspeople. Refer to at least one specific detail from the reading.

A group of girls mysteriously fell ill, falling victim to hallucinations and seizures.

The sickness caused fears of witchcraft, and it was not long before the girls, and then many other residents of Salem, began to accuse other villagers of working with devils and casting spells.

Old grudges and jealousies spilled out into the open, fueling the atmosphere of hysteria.

Mass Hysteria is a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.

Within a few weeks, dozens of people were in jail on charges of witchcraft. By late August 1692, nineteen people (and two dogs) had been convicted and hanged for witchcraft.

Strong belief that Satan is acting in the world◦ Disease, natural catastrophes, and bad fortune are

the devil’s work!

A belief that Satan recruits witches and wizards to work for him.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salemcauses.html

A belief that a person afflicted by witchcraft exhibits certain symptoms◦ most of which can be faked!

It was a troubled time, making it seem likely that Satan was running the show◦ Smallpox, fights among church-goers, ongoing

battles with Native Americans

Teenage boredom◦ no television, no iPods, lots and lots of Bible

reading, strict household rules

Magistrates and Judges were willing to listen to accusations of witchcraft◦ really a way for them to shift blame away from their

own failures as leaders◦ allowed “spectral evidence” in court

Confessing "witches" adding credibility to earlier charges.

“The play is not reportage of any kind .... Nobody can start to write a tragedy and hope to make it reportage .... what I was doing was writing a fictional story about an important theme.” – Arthur Miller

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

The "important theme" that Miller was writing about was clear to many people in 1953 at the play's opening. 

It was written in response to Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee's crusade against supposed communist sympathizers.

As with the accused witches in Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess and to identify other communist sympathizers in order to save themselves.

Many “cooperated,” attempting to save themselves through false confessions, and like in Salem, this helped to fuel the hysteria.

The entertainment industry was a major target. Miller was brought forth for questioning, but refused to cooperate.

Those who were revealed, falsely or legitimately, as Communists, and those who refused to incriminate their friends, saw their careers suffer, as they were blacklisted from potential jobs for many years afterward.

Have things changed since Have things changed since Salem?Salem?

Quick Write: Quick Write: Do you think something like this Do you think something like this could this happen today? Why or why could this happen today? Why or why not? Try to think of an example from not? Try to think of an example from recent history or today.recent history or today.