TERMINALE LV1 · UPPER SECONDARY · B2 to C1 · C1/C2 extension track in every session

The Crucible: Fear, Accusation and Integrity

Key question: How can fear turn a community against its own members, and what does it cost to keep one's integrity?

Axes: Fictions et réalités · Espace privé et espace public · Art et pouvoir · Citoyenneté et mondes virtuels.

The play: Arthur Miller's The Crucible opened on Broadway on 22 January 1953. It stages the Salem witch trials of 1692 and was written during the hunt for communists in the United States.

Final task (written expression, choose one): John Proctor's written plea to the court, or an op-ed about rumour and public shaming today (300 words).

Intermediary tasks: a radio news flash from Salem (oral), a town meeting (interaction), a courtroom scene in your own words (interaction), a two minute exposé (oral production), a class debate (interaction).

Easy to find: The Crucible (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Joan Allen, screenplay by Arthur Miller. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), directed by George Clooney, with David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow.

Watch the film at home

The Crucible (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner. In France, the film is called La Chasse aux sorcières.

  1. Where to watch: see the list of streaming and rental options on JustWatch France.
  2. DVD: ask at your local library or médiathèque.
  3. Official trailer: on the Apple TV page of the film.
  4. Scenes to watch: Act I: the girls dance in the forest at night (the opening of the film). Act II: the officers arrest Elizabeth at home. Act III: in court, the girls turn against Mary Warren. Act IV: Proctor tears his confession and walks to the gallows.

Watch with English subtitles if you can.

Sessions

Session 1: Salem, 1692: the real story
What really happened in Salem in 1692, and why did a whole community believe in witches?Session 2: Acts I and II: fear spreads
How do fear and rumour turn neighbours into accusers?Session 3: Act III: the court
Who holds power in the courtroom, and why is it impossible to prove one's innocence?Session 4: Act IV: Because it is my name!
Why does John Proctor choose to die rather than sign a lie?Session 5: Salem and McCarthyism
Why did Arthur Miller use 1692 to speak about the America of the 1950s?Session 6: Witch hunts today: rumour and public shaming
Are social media pile-ons a modern witch hunt?Final task: a plea or an op-ed

Extra resources

Film analysisSpeed-dating discussionWritten assessmentsEscape from SalemText studyOral questioningFigures of speechPunctuationSummative testC1/C2 essay out of 20

Links reminder