The Crucible

M: School Holiday

T: Distribute Act IV Vocabulary Builder; due Thursday, January 19, quiz Friday, January 20.  The students will write a one-page response to the question: Who bears the most guilt for the fate of those hanged in the Salem witch trials–the girls who accused innocent people or the judges who sentenced them to death? Support your answers with evidence from the text.

W: The students will complete a quiz over Act III. Read pages 1217 – 1220 and discuss the description of Salem in chaos could warn against anti-communist fear and suspicion in Arthur Miller’s time.

Th: The students will read pages 1220 – 1226 and discuss (1) how Parris’s description of Proctor suggests the qualities of a tragic hero and (2) Elizabeth’s reluctance to plead with John to confess to witchcraft and save himself.

F: The students will read pages 1227 – 1233 and discuss (1) how  Proctor’s refusal to incriminate others relates to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, (2) the ways Proctor’s statements reflect those of a tragic hero, and (3)  the insights expressed by Proctor.