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

Session 2: Acts I and II: fear spreads

Part 2. How do fear and rumour turn neighbours into accusers?

Objectives

Warm-up

Chain whisper: the teacher whispers a sentence to one student, it travels across the class. Compare the first and last versions. What changed, and why?

Documents

Document 2: the story so far. Reverend Parris finds his daughter Betty, his niece Abigail and other girls dancing in the forest at night. Betty falls ill. Rumours of witchcraft spread. Abigail once worked for John and Elizabeth Proctor, and had an affair with John; Elizabeth dismissed her. Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft, arrives. The girls start naming names. In Act II, Elizabeth is accused, and the clerk Cheever comes to arrest her.
"Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers?"
Arthur Miller, The Crucible (1953), Act II, John Proctor
"We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!"
Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Act II, John Proctor

Activities

  1. Character map: Proctor, Elizabeth, Abigail, Parris, Hale, the Putnams. Draw the links: love, jealousy, land, power.
  2. Read the two quotations. Who are "the little crazy children"? What does "common vengeance writes the law" mean?
  3. Language: expressing suspicion. They say that... / Apparently... / I have heard that... / It is rumoured that...
  4. Intermediary task (interaction): a town meeting in Salem. Some villagers want to support the court, others want to stop the accusations.

More activities

Character cards: faith and power in Salem

Each group receives one card and presents it: role in Salem, what the character wants, what the character fears, one link to faith or power.

CharacterRoleWantsFears
Reverend Parrisminister of Salemrespect and a secure positiona scandal in his own house
Abigail Williamshis niece, once the Proctors' servantJohn Proctorpunishment for the forest dance
John Proctorfarmerto protect his family and his namehis secret being revealed
Elizabeth Proctorhis wifehonesty and trustAbigail
Thomas and Ann Putnamrich landownersland and influencelosing status
Reverend Haleexpert in witchcraftto find the Devilfailing in his mission
Rebecca Nurserespected old womanpeace and common sensemadness in the village

Close reading: Abigail and Proctor alone (Act I)

Read the scene in your edition where Abigail and Proctor are alone, after Betty's fit. Pay attention to the stage directions, written in italics.

  1. Find two stage directions that show Abigail's feelings, and two that show Proctor's. What do they tell us that the words do not?
  2. How does Abigail try to bring back the past? How does Proctor answer?
  3. How does the tone change at the end of the scene?
  4. What does this scene reveal about Abigail's motive later in the play?
Sentence starters
  • The stage direction shows that...
  • Abigail tries to... whereas Proctor...
  • The tone becomes...
  • This prepares the audience for...

Character map and 'who accuses whom' chart

Draw a map of Salem: put the characters in circles, and draw arrows for love, conflict, land and accusation. Then complete the chart as you read and update it after each act.

AccuserAccusedActReal motive?
AbigailTitubaIto save herself
TitubaSarah Good and othersI...
AbigailElizabeth ProctorII...
Mary WarrenJohn ProctorIII...

Close reading: dramatic irony in Act II

Reverend Hale visits the Proctors and asks John to recite the Ten Commandments. Read the passage in your edition.

  1. Which commandment does Proctor forget? Who reminds him?
  2. Why is this moment ironic for the audience, who knows his secret?
  3. How does this scene weaken Proctor in Hale's eyes?
  4. Find another example of irony in Act II.
Sentence starters
  • The irony lies in the fact that...
  • The audience knows that..., but Hale...
  • This moment is painful because...
  • It suggests that...

Writing: a character diary entry

Choose Elizabeth, Mary Warren or Reverend Hale. Write a diary entry at the end of Act II (A: 180 words, B: 80 words): what happened today, what your character feels, what your character fears for tomorrow. Write as the character, never about yourself.

Sentence starters
  • Dear Diary, today...
  • I cannot believe that...
  • I am afraid that tomorrow...
  • If only...

Sentence starters

Role play

Groups of five: a town meeting chaired by a respected farmer. Roles: a frightened mother, a man who wants his neighbour's land, a calm farmer, a minister, a young servant. Each one speaks at least twice.

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: rumour, grudge, vengeance, jealous, dismissed, warrant, hysteria, holy
  1. Elizabeth ______ Abigail from her house.
  2. Abigail is ______ of Elizabeth.
  3. A ______ is a story that spreads without proof.
  4. Some villagers hold an old ______ against their neighbours.
  5. Proctor says that ______ writes the law.
  6. Cheever comes with a ______ for Elizabeth.
  7. Collective panic is called mass ______.
  8. Proctor asks if the accuser is always ______.
Answer key
  1. dismissed
  2. jealous
  3. rumour
  4. grudge
  5. vengeance
  6. warrant
  7. hysteria
  8. holy

Homework

Write Elizabeth's diary entry on the night she is arrested (150 words).

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.

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
InteractionRarely reactsReacts simplyReacts and arguesReacts, argues and persuades
Language of suspicionAbsentSome expressionsVariedVaried and accurate
RoleNot respectedPartly respectedRespectedConvincing and consistent

Terminale LV1 · C1/C2 extension track

For strong or anglophone students. Fear and rumour: from village to hysteria.

Extended extract

An army of devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the centre, and after a sort, the first born of our English settlements.
Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World, 1693 (public domain)

Critical analysis

  1. How does military imagery create fear?
  2. Who benefits from this narrative?
  3. How does Miller dramatise the same mechanism?

Nuanced vocabulary

Word or phraseMeaning and use
mass hysteriacollective panic spreading through a group
scapegoata person blamed for others' troubles
moral panicexaggerated public fear of a threat
arguablyto present a view as defensible but open to debate
to hinge onto depend entirely on

Argued writing (C1: 300 words · C2: 400 words)

Essay: 'Fear is a political tool.' Discuss with Salem and the play.

Debate

Town meeting role play: each villager defends their interest; observers name the rhetoric used.

Links reminder