Sec+3+-+The+Crucible+2+(Mr+Adrian+Chan)

__ The Culture of Fear- Panic, Hysteria and Paranoia in the Crucible __

__ Core Curriculum __

Students should have adequate competence in displaying


 * 1)  level of discernment in contributions from research and to collaborative work
 * 2)  substantive contributions to class discussion and special projects
 * 3)  range and depth in analysis
 * 4)  evidence of creative thinking
 * 5)  organization, meaningful substance, rhetorical skill, and poise in formal presentation

Arthur Miller- Personal Experience for McCarthyism [] []
 * __Background Reading__**

Witchcraft in Salem Village: Intersections of Religion and Society []

Salem Witchcraft Trials [] []


 * Some commonly held beliefs about fear and superstition **


 *  fear breeds superstition; superstition breeds fear.
 *  some personalities have an inbred power to manipulate others.
 *  guilt is a powerful agent in effecting vulnerability in an individual.
 *  to explain the unexplainable, the human mind reaches into a supernatural domain.
 *  "monomania" in belief can be a very destructive force.
 *  people often "cave in" to "authority" figures for fear of being socially isolated.
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> "Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned."
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> the Devil, in human imagination, is manifested in many forms.
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> "evil" is in the eye of the beholder.
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> in Miller’s words, in some areas, people have a "predilection for minding other people’s business."
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> "integrity" is an intrinsic element of the "heroic."

· BBC News' On This Day - Witness <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[|http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/] <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[|witness/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm] Arthur Miller discusses his play The Crucible and the McCarthy witch-hunts with Francine Stock, from July 2000. · Secrets of the Dead - Crime Scene Investigations Meet History <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[] Behavioral Psychologist Linnda Caporael investigates a shocking new idea about the girls' convulsions that led to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
 * // Research Review Resources //**

· National Geographic Interactive <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[] This interactive Salem Witch Hunt is entertaining and educational. This site will provide students with basic information about the Salem Witch Trials, the inspiration for Arthur Miller's The Crucible. · Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist's Answer to Politics by Arthur Miller <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[] This article appeared in the October 21 & 28, 1996 issue of The New Yorker, pages 158-164. The author of the play and screenplay reflects on the 1950's political origins of his play, as the motion picture is about to be released. · The Salem Witch Museum <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[] Students can access this site to find out more information about Salem, the witch trials, and more.

**__Questions to Consider after reviewing sites__**

· How would these allegations impact your daily life, reputation, career and family? Are these types of allegations fair? If not, why do they persist? · Who makes these types of rumors or accusations? Why? · How do the themes of "panic," "hysteria," "paranoia," and "intolerance" fit into the discussion? · How does this fit in with the belief that a person is "innocent until proven guilty" under American law?

Write a short journal entry in which you describe an experience of discrimination. Think about the following questions: · What events, if any, led up to this experience? · Where were you? · Who else was there? · How did they react to the situation? · How did you react to it? · What changed after you experienced this?

Begin discussing these injustices in historical terms. When in history have groups of people been falsely accused of crimes because of the way they look? How about in recent history? Consider these events…. · Japanese internment camps during World War II · Salem Witch Trials of 1692 · The plight of Arab Americans after September 11 · The Holocaust · The Cultural Revolution · Stalin's regime in Russia · Pinochet's regime in Chile · McCarthyism in the 1950s Please divide yourselves into 6 teams of 4 for each topic and post your opinions on the discussion forum

Each student in the group must complete a brief essay response in at least 400 words on the allocated topic
 * __ Group Work Extension __**

Group 1 Explore the difference between the "traditional" or "classic" hero (possible responses: larger than life (//Beowulf//); free of human frailties; saves the day; seeks to fight a cause for others’ welfare; manifests the "ideal" in every way) and the modern "antihero" (an "everyman" with human faults; sometimes a "loser"; copes; puts up a good struggle; self-aware of mistakes and flaws; "heroic" in taking a stand against difficult odds, but does not always win).

Group 2 Explore the implication of the title of the play. What is a "crucible"? In what specific way(s) can the play be perceived as an extension of that definition? // The Crucible // has been referred to, by some scholars, as a "Morality" play. What is a "Morality" play and what evidence could be used to argue for or against the assertion?

Group 3 Miller comments that a central issue addressed in the play is the "continuity through time of human delusion {in this case, perhaps, that the Puritan community is God’s chosen ideal, a 'city on a hill' and 'purging' will keep the 'city' 'pure'}, and that the only safeguard, fragile though it may be, against it, is the law and the courageous few whose sacrifice illuminates delusion." Do you agree with this comment?