Do  Now: You are 'people - watching' in the lunchroom. You see a student you've never seen before. You make an inference about what kind of person he/she is. What did you base your opinion on? (List several things you'd look at to help you make a guess.)

Welcome To ( big drum roll ) THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller

Act One: An Overture
The Puritan Connection:
1. The problem: the rules that were established to keep the community together became so restrictive and extreme that the community became violently divided.
2. Where's the fun?
     No celebration of Christmas - no plays or theater- holidays were spent in church - work, work work everyday but Sunday- two-man patrols to report on people slacking off or drinking, tendency to mind other people's business, children never played, jealousy of those with land and who seemed happy, guilt, the fear of going to Hell.

The Historical Connection:
The true story: On January 20th 1692, Elizabeth Parris ( daughter of Reverend Parris ) and Abigail Williams ( his niece ) started acting strangely and screamed that they were being tortured. Since doctors couldn't find a cause for their behavior, they concluded the girls were bewitched. Soon, other girls exhibited the same weird behavior. They cried out the names of Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn as being witches. Thus, the Salem Witch Hunts began. The period was marked by hysteria. During the next eight months 150 people were jailed. By the time the court was dismissed, 27 people had been convicted of witchcraft, 19 were hung, one pressed to death, 50 confessed, and more than 100 were awaiting trial.
The Play: Read the set direction and Paragraph 1 on p. 6.
From direct and indirect characterization, what do you know about Reverend Parris, Tituba , and Abigail?
Homework: Finish your wiki and comment on this blog.