The Crucible Act 3 Study GuideThe Crucible Act 3 Study Guide

The Crucible

Act Three

Study Guide for an English III / AP-level test

Contents

1. Scene-by-Scene Summary

2. Characters

3. Key Quotations

4. Themes, Motifs and Symbols

5. Dramatic Irony, Conflict and Character Development

6. Narrative and Historical Notes

7. Vocabulary in Context

8. Common Misconceptions and Traps

9. Practice Prompts

Arthur Miller, The Crucible (1953). Quotations are kept short and used for analysis.

The Crucible, Act Three: Study Guide

Setting: the vestry room of the Salem meeting house, now the anteroom of the General Court. The room is "solemn, even forbidding," with sunlight through high windows. The trial itself is heard through the wall at first.

The act in one sentence: Proctor brings Mary Warren's testimony to prove the girls are frauds, but every attempt to use evidence and reason is turned against the defenders. The act ends with Mary accusing Proctor, Proctor arrested, and Hale quitting the court. 1. Scene-by-Scene Summary

# Scene What happens Why it matters

1 Martha

Corey's

examination

(offstage)

Hathorne questions Martha about "the reading of fortunes." She says,

"I know not what a witch is." Hathorne asks how she knows she is not a witch, then. Giles roars, "Thomas Putnam is reaching out for land!" and is dragged in.

Circular logic: not

knowing what a

witch is becomes

suspicious. Giles's

outburst states the

land motive.

2 Danforth

enters

Deputy Governor Danforth is described as grave, sixties, humorous but

loyal to "his position and his cause." Giles weeps that he "broke

charity" with Martha by mentioning her books. Francis Nurse says the

girls are frauds. Danforth notes that nearly four hundred are jailed and seventy-two condemned "upon my signature."

Danforth's

authority and pride

are tied to the

trials' credibility.

3 Mary

Warren's

claim

Proctor brings Mary, who says the girls' fits were "pretense." Danforth asks if Proctor has spread the story, and reminds him the state holds

that "the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children."

Mary's testimony

attacks the entire

basis of the court.

4 Testing

Proctor

Cheever reports that Proctor ripped the warrant. Parris says Proctor

rarely comes to church; Cheever adds that he plowed on Sunday.

Danforth says he has "seen marvels in this court."

The court judges

the character of the

defender rather

than the evidence.

5 The

pregnancy

offer

Danforth reveals Elizabeth claims she is pregnant (no sign yet) and

offers to spare her a year until delivery. He asks if Proctor will now drop the charge. Proctor refuses, because his friends' wives are

accused too. Danforth: "Then your purpose is somewhat larger."

It is a test.

Proctor's refusal

shows he is fighting

for justice, not only

for his wife, and it

makes Danforth

suspicious.

6 The petition

of ninety-

one

Proctor submits a testament signed by ninety-one landholding church

members vouching for Rebecca, Elizabeth and Martha. Parris demands

they be summoned; Danforth orders warrants for all "for examination."

Francis is horrified ("I gave them all my word"). Danforth: a person is "either with this court or he must be counted against it."

Defending the

accused becomes a

crime. It is a direct

parallel to

McCarthy-era guilt

by association.

7 Giles's

deposition

Giles claims Putnam prompted his daughter to cry out George Jacobs

so Putnam could buy his forfeited land; a witness heard Putnam say

she had "given him a fair gift of land." Giles refuses to name the

witness, who would be jailed, and is arrested for contempt.

It parallels refusing

to "name names"

before HUAC. Giles

protects others at

his own cost.

8 Hale vs.

Danforth

Hale warns of "a prodigious fear of this court." Danforth replies there is then "a prodigious guilt." Hale has signed seventy-two death warrants and this morning "signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse." He asks for lawyers. Danforth's "ipso facto" speech: witchcraft is invisible, so only the witch and victim can testify.

Danforth's legal

logic shuts out

every defense.

Hale's conscience is

breaking.

9 Mary's

deposition

and the

girls

Abigail, Mercy, Susanna and Betty are brought in. Abigail denies everything and says Goody Proctor "always kept poppets." Hathorne: "a poppet will keep fifteen years." Proctor: "There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house." Proctor reveals Abigail was twice put out of the meeting house for laughing at prayer, and that the girls danced naked; Parris reluctantly admits the dancing.

The defense scores

points. Danforth

looks at Abigail

"with new eyes."

10 Mary

cannot faint

Parris and Hathorne ask Mary to faint now, to prove the fits were pretense. She cannot; she explains she "thought" she saw spirits because everyone else screamed. Danforth asks Abigail if her visions could be illusion. Abigail threatens him ("Let you beware, Mr. Danforth") and then feels "a cold wind," and the girls shiver. Abigail turns the

tide by intimidation

and performance.

11 Proctor

confesses

the affair

Proctor seizes Abigail by the hair: "How do you call Heaven! Whore!" He confesses lechery: "I have known her, sir." It happened "some eight months past." "I have made a bell of my honor!" He says Elizabeth "cannot lie."

Proctor sacrifices

his good name for

the truth. It is the

turning point of his

arc.

12 Elizabeth's

lie

Danforth calls Elizabeth in. Proctor and Abigail have their backs turned, and Elizabeth is forbidden to look at John. Asked why she dismissed Abigail, Elizabeth hesitates, then says her husband is not a lecher: "No, sir." She is removed just as Proctor cries, "I have confessed it!"

The cruelest irony:

the woman who

never lies lies once,

out of love, and it

destroys them both.

13 Hale's

conversion

Hale: "private vengeance is working through this testimony!" He believes Proctor and says Abigail "has always struck me false." Hale crosses over

to the defense.

14 The yellow

bird

Abigail "sees" a yellow bird (Mary's spirit) on the beam. The girls repeat everything Mary says in unison. Danforth threatens Mary with hanging.

Mob mimicry

overwhelms

individual truth.

15 Mary's

reversal