The Crucible Act 3

“The Crucible” Act 3

Do Now: Have you or someone you know ever been unable to make a person listen to you? How did it feel to be ignored? Did you finally succeed in being heard? Describe the

situation in about a paragraph.

• Martha Corey is supposedly telling fortunes

• Have you ever read a fortune cookie? Do you think this court would consider fortune cookies evil?

• Giles Corey brings evidence to free his wife from accusation.

• She was arrested based on his own suspicions about her reading books - Guilt

• He didn’t expected that the court would go this far with the accusations

• “they be telling lies about my wife”

• Putnam is “reaching out for land”, according to Corey

• Francis Nurse and Giles Corey want to convince the court that the girls are frauds

• openly weeping – cares for his wife and feels responsible for her plight

• Danforth insists that they follow procedure and that the men submit affidavit; this is the third day that they have tried and failed to be heard; their wives might be executed before the written plea is reviewed

• The judges don’t want their authorities challenged. They don’t want to think about the girls being frauds since they already sentenced women to death based on their testimony.

• 400 are in jails, 72 condemned to hang: he will not want to listen to proof because he would then have to review all his previous decisions

• Lines 121-133 – Mary Warren has not been at court all week; Herrick says she was sick and Giles says that she has been “striving with her soul all week” - guilt

• Mary reveals that the girls are all pretending and that she never saw any spirits

• Parris denounces Proctor as a troublemaker that shouldn’t be listened to

• Danforth does not believe Mary is telling the truth – he doesn’t want to admit that he has been fooled by their performance

• Danforth believes Proctor has brought Mary Warren to court to save Elizabeth

• Parris believes Proctor has come to court to undermine the authority of the court

• Elizabeth claims to be pregnant, and if it turns out that she is she will be kept alive until the baby is born

• Proctor continues his attempts to prove the girls are lying because he is also trying to save the wives of his friends

• “that women will never lie” – about Elizabeth

• a petition that attests to the character of Elizabeth, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse –explaining they are good people and were never seen to communicate with the Devil

• 91 signatures - Francis Nurse promised those that signed the petition that they will not be harmed because of it

• Parris and Hathorne insist that everyone who signed the petition should be questioned – hysteria

• the judges are acting upon illogical personal opinions by wanting to bring before the court everyone with an unpopular opinion – the judges feel threatened

• Hale protests with “Is every defense an attack upon the court?” in lines 326-327

• Hale seems to be switching sides - he is starting to question the events

• Giles insists that Putnam convinced his daughter to cry witchery on George Jacobs so that he can acquire his land

• the court doesn’t seem to need much proof to convict witches, but a lot of proof when it comes to defending them

• Giles Corey hesitates to give the name of the witness against Putnam

• fears the man would be put in jail along with the 91 who signed the character testament

• he feels guilty for causing his wife’s trouble

Do you agree with Danforth’s assessment that Giles is a “foolish old man” in line 440?

• he is honorable and keeps promises even though he will suffer for his silence

• Hale points out that there is a fear in the country of the court

• Danforth believes the fear is caused by guilt

• people refuse to come to the defense of their neighbors for fear of being accused themselves; they see the court is irrational and fickle

• If Proctor is right about Abigail and the other girls then innocent people have been sentenced to die

• Hale comes forth “in a trembling state” [506] and implores Danforth to stop the proceedings “in God’s name” [512]; his “hand shakes yet as with a wound” [524] after he signs Rebecca Nurse’s death warrant because he realizes how serious the situation is – and suspects that Proctor might be right

• Witchcraft is an invisible crime and only the witch and the victim can testify to it. No lawyers.

• Danforth says in line 594 that Mary will go to jail either way - either she is lying now or lied about the witches – lying is a sin

• Danforth encourages the girls to continue their behavior in line 618-620 –suggests that Mary Warren has been conquered by the Devil and sent to the court to distract the court’s sacred purpose

• Mary Warren cannot faint when asked to prove that she was pretending to faint

• the mood is different, she cannot find the emotion for it

• Have you ever failed to do something when the need arose – something that you had done before or that you were sure you could do? How does that experience help you understand Mary Warren’s position in front of the judges?

• Abigail refuses to answer questions when they reflect negatively on her and shifts the attention off herself when in trouble

• she pretends to be cold, Mercy Lewis follows, they accuse Mary Warren of bewitching them

• John is mad that Abigail asks for the help of heaven

• he thinks she is such a base sinner that she has given up her right to ask for heavenly help

• Proctor admits to his affair with Abigail

• Abigail has swayed Danforthto her side and Mary Warren is weakening.

• It is his only hope to discredit Abigail. He hopes to prove her a whore and not a child or a saint.

• Proctor argues that no man would ruin his name unless it were true.

• Danforth has Elizabeth brought to the room to question her about Proctor’s claim that Abigail is a whore.

• Proctor claims that his wife cannot tell a lie and kicked Abigail out for harlotry

• Focus on the stage directions in lines 920-958.

• Elizabeth is nervous - tries to glance at her husband, hoping to find a clue from him about how she should respond; she is reluctant to look at Danforth and afraid that she will hurt her husband with her answer

• It was difficult for Elizabeth to tell a lie about John’s lecherysince she is characterized as an honest woman

• She was trying to protect John’s reputation

• She would never reveal information about him without his permission

• she has to decide between honesty and loyalty to her husband

• Hale believes Elizabeth’s lie was natural; he calls Proctor an honest man; he believes the court is losing control and that private vengeance is the cause of the trouble

• Abby sees a yellow bird, which she claims is the spirit of Mary Warren come to silence her – once again, she shift the attention away from her.

• The girls repeat everything Mary Warren says because they are trying to convince the onlookers that Mary is directing demonic power against them

• Abigail has coached them – they wait for Abigail to lead; hysteria – the emotion in the room is high

• Proctor’s efforts to save his wife are destroyed

• Abigail and the others badger Mary Warren so badly that she accuses Proctor of being “the devil’s man” and is believed

• Mary sides with Abigail because of hysteria and bullying - she has a better chance of staying alive

• Hale denounces the proceedings and quits the court

• Proctor compares himself and Danforth with the Devil – they are both frauds and will go to hell