The Witch Trials
Directions: To answer the following questions about
the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts., click on the following website
and :
1) Click on Background
2) Click on The Village of Salem
3) Click on Timeline of the Witch Trials
Click here to print out a copy of the discussion questions.
5. Define "intangible evidence."
6. Who was the first person hanged?
7. What was the effect of Thomas Brattle's letter on Governor Phips?
8. What happened in May of 1693 that affected the trials?
Joseph McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee
1) Scroll down to The Crucible and click on the first website,"Arthur Miller's The Crucible."
2) Then click on Joseph McCarthy.
3) Then click on "Senator Joe McCarthy"- a brief excerpt. Answer the first four questions.
4) Go back to The Crucible.
5) Click on HUAC. Then click
on the first HUAC site and answer the rest of the questions.
Arthur Miller @Web English Teacher
2. In the article, what analogies are made about McCarthy "discovering" Communism?
3. According to the article, how is McCarthy viewed from an historical perspective ? (copy down the last sentence of the excerpt for class discussion)
4. When was the House Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC) established and what was its objective?
5. What is a blacklist? What are the ramifications of being placed on a blacklist? Who were some people from Hollywood who were put on McCarthy's blacklist?
- Directions: To answer the following questions about Arthur Miller and his play, click on the following website which is an article from The New Yorker magazine entitled "Why I Wrote The Crucible."
2. In 1950, what first motivated Miller to write about "the hunt for Reds" but also created some apprehension in him?
3. How did Hollywood first become involved with HUAC?
4. What did Miller fear he would be accused of by writing about Salem and witches at this particular time?
5. What attracted Arthur Miller about the language of seventeenth century New England and how did he master it?
6. What was the critical reaction to the play when it opened on Broadway?
7. Miller alludes to several interpretations of the play by modern audiences; describe any two.
Be prepared to discuss the following after completing
the above exercises at the three websites:
What
do you think Arthur Miller meant when he said in the second paragraph of
his article, "...Fear doesn't travel well; just as it can warp
judgment, its absence can diminish memory's truth."