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mette hermann witch hunting and the red scare t.h matteson the trial of george jacobs 1855 undervisningsforløb i 3dz efteråret 2009

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mette hermann kernestof shirley jackson the lottery 1948 fra 50 tekster v riber christensen gyldendal 1988 arthur miller the crucible penguin 1953 uddrag akt 1 s 40 ­ 50 akt 2 akt 4 arthur miller are you now or were you ever 2000 fra http www.writing.upenn.edu afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html supplerende stof the crucible 1997 film introduction to the crucible fra http www.netcomuk.co.uk media/hrc_miller.html grant wood american gothic 1930 billede fra http www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/6565 blog mccarthyism and witch hunting til forløbet er denne blog udarbejdet http crucible-miller.blogspot.com den indeholder historisk baggrundsstof sekundære kilder til analysen af the crucible samt biografisk stof om arthur miller examination of a witch source http www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/sal_iexa.htm

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mette hermann shirley jackson the lottery worksheet 1 digging into the text work in pairs and discuss the questions below 1 read the opening paragraph of the story and comment on the atmosphere the morning of june 27th was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green the people of the village began to gather in the square between the post office and the bank around ten o clock in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on june 26th but in this village where there were only about three hundred people the whole lottery took less than two hours so it could begin at ten o clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner 2 what is the procedure of the lottery and what arrangements are made before the opening of the game 3 usually a lottery is something good when do you begin to suspect that no one wants to win the lottery ­ and when does the atmosphere change list all the clues the text gave you 4 in what way has the lottery changed over the years 2 vocabulary ­ who are the villagers find synonyms and antonyms for the following adjectives words polite reluctant nervous quiet grave awkward gentle fair regretful willing desperate now consider which of these words describe the villagers you may also come up with adjectives of your own explain why the villagers have not changed their way of life discuss what reasons the villagers have for having the lottery synonyms antonyms

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mette hermann literary analysis 1 comment on the characters mr summers mr graves old man warner and tessie what do you make of old man warner saying lottery in june corn be heavy soon and what does the story imply about traditions and ceremonies 2 where do you think the lottery takes place what purpose do you suppose the writer has in making this setting appear so familiar and ordinary 3 what do you think that the stones and the black box might symbolize 4 what do you make of old man warner saying lottery in june corn be heavy soon and what does the story imply about traditions and ceremonies 5 what does the story imply about human nature 6 what are the themes of the story consider each of the following interpretations a the lottery serves to reinforce the village s hierarchical social order by instilling the villages with an unconscious fear that if they resist this order they might be selected in the next lottery b the lottery deals with an all-too-human tendency to seize upon a scapegoat c the lottery describes man s victimization by unexamined and unchanging traditions which could easily be changed if their implications were only realized d the lottery deals with the topic of mass-hysteria e the lottery is a social commentary on how society blindly follows tradition even if the event is misunderstood or has no current relevance it s also a comment on scapegoating or a group using parts of it as ways to release their frustrations in this case by stoning f the lottery is an allegory of how society and groups tend to act everyday g jackson gives examples of hypocrisy which runs rampant in today s society tessie is perfectly willing to stone one of her neighbors but when she is the one who is going to be stoned she says it isn t fair it isn t right h the lottery offers at look at the selfish nature of human beings i the story of the lottery is a cry or a wake up call to everyone to step forward and stand up for what you believe in.

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mette hermann the crucible act one pp 40 ­ 50 worksheet i getting started the first part of the movie 40 min communicative exercise work in pairs and retell the first part of the crucible based on the movie and what you have prepared for today make sure to include information about the opening scene with the gathering in the woods ­ the conversation between abigail and john proctor ­ the arrival of hale ­ tituba s confession ­ abigail s role in the play please comment on these photographs as well vocabulary i please define these words charities ­ heathen ­ to cast a spell ­ to be afflicted ­ to conjure ­ superstition vocabulary ii fill in the missing words noun pretence suspect accusation whip charity honest verb noun superstition envious adjective temptation prove condemnation confess hysteria afflicted suspicion accused

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mette hermann background information the puritans read the following text about the puritans and answer the questions who were the puritans what did they believe in why did they cross the atlantic what did they want puritans in new england in 1608 a group of puritan separatists attempting to escape religious persecution fled england for the netherlands they remained there until 1620 but fearing that they were losing their cultural identity they decided to settle in delaware in the new world a mixed group of puritan emigrants the pilgrims and adventurers from england sailed to america on the mayflower and landed accidentally on cape cod in november 1620 within five months half of the original 101 colonists were dead during the course of the early seventeenth century however increasing numbers of immigrants many but by no means all of them puritans managed to establish a group of autonomous north american colonies including plymouth 1620 massachusetts 1628 new hampshire 1629 connecticut 1633 maine 1635 rhode island 1636 and new haven 1638 like their counterparts in britain they were extreme calvinistic protestants who viewed the reformation as a victory of true christianity over roman catholicism they believed that the universe was god centered and that man inherently sinful and corrupt rescued from damnation if indeed he was only by arbitrary divine grace was duty-bound to do god s will which he could understand best by studying the bible and the universe which god had created and which he controlled their isolation in the new world their introversion the harshness and dangers of their new existence their sense that they were a new chosen people of god destined to found a new jerusalem a new city of god in the midst of the wilderness insured that american puritanism would remain more severe and frequently more intellectually subtle and rigorous than that which they had left behind the american puritan tended to interpret the bible which had supreme literary value because it was the perfect word of god even more literally than did his british counterparts though many of the original american puritans many of whom were both preachers and authors had attended english universities they tended to form religious oligarchies and sought to establish a purified church which meant the frequently harsh imposition of religious uniformity upon an unwilling populace it was to escape puritan religious persecution that roger williams a minister from salem established his colony in rhode island in 1636 the overt remnants of puritanism did not die out in new england until well into the nineteenth century and it echoes in american society today in coming to the new world in the first place puritans altered the course of history for better or for worse there were approximately 4,000,000 english speaking people in the entire world in 1603 less than four centuries later there are over seventy-five times that number source http www.curriculumunits.com/crucible/background/frames_puritan_history.htm

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mette hermann quotations look at the following quotations and determine who the speaker is and what the quote is about quote it s strange how i knew you but i suppose you look as such a good soul should we have all heard of your great charities in beverly mr hale i have always wanted to ask a learned man ­ what signifies the readin of strange books speaker contents when the devil comes to you does he ever come ­ with another person perhaps another person in the village someone you know let god blame me not you not you rebecca i ll not have you judging me any more is it a natural work to lose seven children before they live a day she sends her spirit on me in church she makes me laugh at prayer you are god s instrument put in our hands to discover the devil s agents among us you are selected tituba you are chosen to help us cleanse our village i danced for the devil i saw him i wrote in his book i go back to jesus i kiss his hand i saw sara good with the devil

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mette hermann the main characters who are the main characters of the play and what do you know about them ­ and what is their attitude towards witchcraft in salem character description attitude towards witchcraft abigail and john proctor comment on the relationship between abigail and proctor what has happened in the past ­ and in what way does their relationship seem to influence the accusations of witchcraft in salem comment on the following quotation as well i look for john proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart i never knew what pretence salem was i never knew the lying lessons i was taught by all these christian women and their covenanted men and now you bid me tear the light of my eyes i will not i cannot you loved med john proctor and whatever sin it is you love me yet page 30

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mette hermann the crucible act ii p 51 ­ 61 worksheet ii john and elisabeth proctor p 51 55 find examples in the text that describe their relationship and the problems they have had page reference comments mary warren p 55 ­ 61 written exercise write a brief description of the conversation between mary and the proctors who is mary what has happened where has she been etc

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mette hermann the crucible ­ act ii and iv worksheet iii the main characters discuss in pairs the following characters and the questions below write a brief description of each character john proctor to what extent is this man a hero what failings does he have what strengths does he have how do his strengths and weaknesses bring him into conflict with other characters including minor characters has he any eagerness to be a martyr what forces internal and external compel him to become one how else is this man torn internally or suffer from internal conflicts do you admire him why elizabeth proctor why don t we sympathise with her when we met her in actii how does she win our sympathy as the play develops what does she come to realise by the end of the play hale what are your first impressions of hale why do these impressions change as the play progresses despite all his decent instincts why does he come off badly parris who is he in conflict with in this play what internal conflicts does he have what are his main motivations what does he fear about john proctor abigail williams what does the incident involving the poppet reveal about her character why could she be described as a hard opportunist is there any softness in her rebecca nurse in what way does she point to the criminal absurdity of the witch hunt what do you think she symbolises source http english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/crucible/characters.html

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mette hermann themes what are the themes of the crucible look at the following suggested themes from www.sparknotes.com and discuss their contents intolerance the crucible is set in a theocratic society in which the church and the state are one and the religion is a strict austere form of protestantism known as puritanism because of the theocratic nature of the society moral laws and state laws are one and the same sin and the status of an individual s soul are matters of public concern there is no room for deviation from social norms since any individual whose private life doesn t conform to the established moral laws represents a threat not only to the public good but also to the rule of god and true religion in salem everything and everyone belongs to either god or the devil dissent is not merely unlawful it is associated with satanic activity this dichotomy functions as the underlying logic behind the witch trials as danforth says in act iii a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it the witch trials are the ultimate expression of intolerance and hanging witches is the ultimate means of restoring the community s purity the trials brand all social deviants with the taint of devil-worship and thus necessitate their elimination from the community hysteria another critical theme in the crucible is the role that hysteria can play in tearing apart a community hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors whom they have always considered upstanding people are committing absurd and unbelievable crimes communing with the devil killing babies and so on in the crucible the townsfolk accept and become active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious piety but also because it gives them a chance to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held grudges the most obvious case is abigail who uses the situation to accuse elizabeth proctor of witchcraft and have her sent to jail but others thrive on the hysteria as well reverend parris strengthens his position within the village albeit temporarily by making scapegoats of people like proctor who question his authority the wealthy ambitious thomas putnam gains revenge on francis nurse by getting rebecca francis s virtuous wife convicted of the supernatural murders of ann putnam s babies in the end hysteria can thrive only because people benefit from it it suspends the rules of daily life and allows the acting out of every dark desire and hateful urge under the cover of righteousness reputation reputation is tremendously important in theocratic salem where public and private moralities are one and the same in an environment where reputation plays such an important role the fear of guilt by association becomes particularly pernicious focused on maintaining public reputation the townsfolk of salem must fear that the sins of their friends and associates will taint their names various characters base their actions on the desire to protect their respective reputations as the play begins parris fears that abigail s increasingly questionable actions and the hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughter s coma will threaten his reputation and force him from the pulpit meanwhile the protagonist john proctor also seeks to keep his good name from being tarnished early in the play he has a chance to put a stop to the girls accusations but his desire to preserve his reputation keeps him from testifying against abigail at the end of the play however proctor s desire to keep his good name leads him to make the heroic choice not to make a false confession and to go to his death without signing his name to an untrue statement i have given you my soul leave me my name he cries to danforth in act iv by refusing to relinquish his name he redeems himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity from http www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/themes.html

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mette hermann could you think of any other themes compare the crucible with the lottery why is the play called the crucible a crucible is a melting pot a container in which you can melt metal or other substances what does this have to do with the play message write a short note about 200 words where you explain why miller has written the crucible ­ and why it should be read as an allegory.

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mette hermann arthur miller the crucible across 1 forbandelse 2 jordmoder 3 anklage 4 hjemsøgt 7 bevis 8 proces 9 helgen 11 at tilstå 12 at piske 13 løkke 14 16 17 18 at forhekse tilståelse velgørenhed at vidne 10 12 15 17 19 at fordømme heksekunst at hekse trylle smeltedigel bedrager down 1 de 10 bud 4 påstand 5 omdømme 6 at afvise 9 mistanke

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mette hermann an introduction to the crucible the action of the play is based on an historical event the salem witchcraft trials which took place in massachusetts in 1692 but the drama has more recent parallels with the anticommunist witch-hunts of the 1950s carried out by the un-american activities commission based in washington in a contemporary context one could even see parallels with the recent media witch-hunts against a number of prominent figures from the worlds of politics business sport and show business the drama centres around a husband and wife john and elizabeth proctor and a young girl abigail with whom john proctor has committed adultery in order to remove elizabeth from the scene thereby leaving john free to marry her abigail accuses john s wife of witchcraft a crime still punishable by death in the seventeenth century the play builds to a tense and moving climax in which both husband and wife come through a series of moral tests in order to atone for what each sees as his/her own sin against the other finally john proctor having saved his wife from death by publicly confessing to his adultery with abigail refuses to sign a document which could save his own life because signing it would require him to lie he chooses death as his final act of atonement set in the small tightly knit community of salem the play s setting provides an appropriately claustrophobic atmosphere for the events which take place the world of salem is enclosed by strict moral and religious codes which inevitably encourage the growth of hypocrisy and the abuse of power the confined setting of the play effectively reinforces the trapped emotional state of the principal characters the two central characters are both very strong but flawed individuals who have to come to terms with their own weaknesses each is put to the test as is their marriage which survives despite or perhaps because of what each has to suffer the play charts the growth in self knowledge of both of these characters and explores the nature of their guilt their pain and above all their moral courage in facing up to the consequences of their actions not only do these central characters exert a fascinating influence over the audience but so also do the play s powerful themes betrayal guilt love compassion moral integrity self discovery and fearless courage all feature as thematic strands running through the course of the drama despite the play s period setting these themes appear timeless and universal equally relevant today as they would have been in past centuries source http www.netcomuk.co.uk media/hrc_miller.html

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mette hermann the crucible ­ character map source http www.cliffsnotes.com/wileycda/litnote/the-crucible-character-map.id-68,pagenum-61.html

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