Syllabus Requirements

FOCUSOONNCEPT
THE CLONGING
OF BE
Introduction
s This section in each chapter focuses wholly on the concept of belonging and therefore
contains a detailed analysis of the text in relation to this concept.
s Please note that this is the material that you will draw from to write your extended
response on the concept of belonging in the HSC examination.
s To ensure that you know what the syllabus expects of you, we have included the syllabus
requirements in the margins.
• The first margin questions are always directly from the syllabus—these are the syllabus
requirements.
• The second margin questions (underneath) are syllabus questions made easy, i.e. we
have interpreted them so you can readily understand what is required of you!

Places and the Concept of Belonging In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
Act One—The Upper Bedroom of Reverend Parris through the representation of places that
s More than any other concept of belonging, the concept of you encounter in the prescribed text.
belonging to place, and the contrast between private and
How does Miller use language and
public places, is the one that we see in action immediately in structural techniques to communicate
Act One. Reverend Parris is publicly concerned about his the concept of belonging in The Crucible
daughter’s health and the possibility that the devil may through his portrayal of places?
be in Salem, but privately worried about his reputation
and keeping his job. Abigail is publicly a child and
privately a woman, a temptress of Proctor. The adult
characters address her as a child. Parris: ‘Child. sit you
down’ (p. 19, act 1) and Danforth: ‘What is it child?’
(p. 101, act 3). But the audience never really regards
her in this way. At her entrance, Miller describes her
as having ‘an endless capacity for dissembling’ (p. 18,
act 1), meaning that she is capable of hiding the truth
from others if she wants to. This is a stage direction, so
if the director wants the audience to ‘see’ this in Abigail,
then the actress must look ‘false’ or ‘manipulative’ in
this first scene with Parris. The audience should gain

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the impression that she is not being ‘straight’ with

Parris. This impression will be reinforced in the scene
not long after with Proctor (pp. 28–30, act 1) where she
is seductive, and manipulative: ‘John, pity me, pity me!’
(p 30, act 1). She also demonstrates that she will be a
ruthless leader of the girls. We see this on pages 26 and
27 (act 1) in the stage direction where she ‘smashes
her [Betty Parris] across the face’ and in lines such as:
‘Shut it! Now shut it!’ and ‘I can make you wish you
had never seen the sun go down!’ Proctor is publicly
upright—‘I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the
door’ (p. 64, act 2)—but privately guilt-ridden and fallen.
As Elizabeth says, ‘The magistrate sits in your heart that
judges you’ (p. 55, act 2). She realises that Proctor has
not forgiven himself for his actions with Abigail. When
Proctor goes to the court in Act Three it is to save others,
especially Elizabeth who he regards as more worthy than
himself. When, in Act Four, he vacillates over whether
to sign the confessions, one of the things uppermost in
his mind is the belief that he is unworthy. For example,
he says: ‘My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good
man’ (p. 118, act 4). The upper bedroom of Reverend
Parris, the scene of Act One, is a private place above
a public place (the chapel). As the Act begins, it is a
place of growing tension, as Parris prays beside his ailing
daughter Betty. Parris, with his living quarters, ought to
be an agent of community and belonging, but it becomes
ever obvious that his concerns are for himself and his
reputation, rather than the community, or even his
own daughter. ‘There is a faction that is sworn to drive
me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?’ (p. 19,
act 1). The insistent, even hysterical, tone indicates to
the audience that this is what really concerns him most.
When Hale arrives and examines Tituba and Abigail,
Abigail makes a play for her own safety and belonging
by naming some community members as witches. Thus
Sarah Good, Goody Osburn and the others become
excluded—they no longer belong.

Act Two—The Common Room of the Proctor

House
s The Proctor household is a place of discomfort and distance
at the outset of Act Two. The sense of belonging that we
might associate with two people who are married is
missing, but it is at least a place where Proctor and
Elizabeth can deal in private with their problems. The
audience will read much into the fact that Proctor adds

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salt to the pot on the stove, then congratulates Elizabeth

on it being ‘well seasoned’ (p. 51, act 2). This trivial
action shows that he wants to please her, but is not
comfortable enough to simply tell her that he added
some salt. Their conversation covers further trivia, and
Miller’s stage direction says ‘A sense of their separation
rises’ (p. 52, act 2). The cause of this distance comes
openly into the conversation when they discuss the
‘goings on’ in Salem, which Proctor describes as a
‘black mischief’ (p. 53, act 2). Elizabeth accuses him
of avoiding becoming involved because it might involve
discrediting Abigail, with whom he has had an affair.
Emotions rise as Proctor accuses Elizabeth of judging
him: ‘You will not judge me more, Elizabeth’ and ‘You
forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’. Learn charity, woman’
(p. 55, act 2). When Hale and then Cheever invade this
private place, both Elizabeth and Proctor are forced to
involve themselves in the activities of the society in
general, the court and the accusations of witchcraft.
Once Elizabeth is accused and arrested, it becomes a
fight for survival. Proctor says, ‘I will fall like an ocean
on that court!’ Fear nothing, Elizabeth’ (p. 72, act 2).
Proctor’s grand simile—‘fall like an ocean’—conveys his
belief that he is possessed of evidence about Abigail that
will change the course of the court proceedings. They
don’t belong in Salem society, now that it has gone
crazy with allegations of witchcraft, but they are forced
to become involved anyway. Neither of them will ever
return to the house—to the place of private sanctity and
safety, or escape society’s pressures to belong.

Act Three—The Court of Salem

s The court, or actually the anteroom that becomes the court, is
another place that ought to be a place of belonging, of social
justice, but this does not prove to be the case. Because of
Danforth’s rulings and Abigail’s ability to control things,
the court is never going to produce justice. Danforth
belongs in the court, by definition, and Abigail and the
girls can be said to belong in the sense that they have
control of proceedings. Everyone else is shut out by a
combination of Danforth’s arrogance and his refusal
to question the validity of the outcome of the court
process. His belief, expressed in the central metaphor of
the play, that ‘We burn a hot fire here; it melts down
all concealment’ (p. 81, act 3) has become invalid.
They are burning a hot fire, but Abigail’s concealment
(pretence) isn’t being ‘melted down’ at all. His belief

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that ‘a person is either with this court or he must be

counted against it’ is what leads to the situation Hale
describes: ‘Is every defence an attack on the court?’
(p. 85, act 3). The formality of the court pervades the
tone of the first three-quarters of this Act. Danforth is
in his element—he controls the formality and his power
is enhanced by it. The last part of the Act, however,
is hijacked by Abigail and the girls, who intimidate
Mary Warren back into their number: ‘Abby, Abby, I’ll
never hurt you more’ (p. 104, act 3). The formality of
the court is overthrown and the tone becomes one of
hysteria. Proctor picks up the metaphor of heat in ‘A
fire, a fire is burning!’ (p. 105, act 3) as he envisages
he and Danforth burning together in hell. By the
close of the Act, the ‘court’ has disintegrated. Hale’s
departure—‘I denounce these proceedings!’ (p. 105,
act 3)—symbolises this disintegration.

Act Four—A Cell in Salem Jail

s The cell in the jail in Salem, the setting of Act Four, is a
place of exclusion. That Miller uses it as the setting
of Act Four indicates that Salem society, belonging in
Salem, has disintegrated. Cheever notes: ‘There be so
many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now their masters
are in the jails, and much disagreement who they will
belong to now’ (pp. 109–110, act 4). Hale adds to this
on page 114, saying ‘there are orphans wandering from
house to house’. This paints a picture for the audience
of a society in disarray. Danforth is unwilling to budge
on the treatment of those sentenced to death, even when
he hears that Abigail has run off: ‘Postponement now
speaks a floundering on my part’ (p. 113, act 4). This is
part ego, part self-protection and part a desire to hang
onto any shred of credibility that the court still has. It
can be seen that Proctor and Elizabeth belong together,
a group of two. They come to a point of peace, she
claiming some of the responsibility for his adultery—‘It
needs a cold wife to prompt lechery’ (p. 119, act 4).
Here she uses the commonplace metaphors of heat
associated with passion and coldness with lack of
passion. Most importantly, she ‘releases’ him to make
his own decision about confessing or hanging: ‘Do as
you will, do as you will!’ (p. 120, act 4). As well, you
could say that Rebecca belongs with God, but aside
from that, ‘belonging’ in Salem has ended, reflected in
the drab and oppressive disorder of the jail.

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Events and the Concept of Belonging In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
Act One through the representation of events that
In the Woods you encounter in the prescribed text.
s The events in the woods are actions of those who do not How does Miller use language and
belong. The group who gathered in the woods consisted structural techniques to communicate
of young women (children to Salem society) and Tituba, the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of events?
Parris’s Barbados-born servant. Both these groups are
alienated from Salem society. They feel a sense of
not belonging due to the repression of their natural
inclination to (for example) dance. The scene between
Abigail and the other girls on pages 25–27 gives us the
best idea of what really happened in the woods. Based
on this scene, it would seem that Tituba had tried to
conjure the spirits of the dead Putnam children, with
the blessing of Ann (Mrs) Putnam. Abigail drank a
potion to kill Elizabeth Proctor and Mercy Lewis was
naked and everyone danced. Mere dancing is likely
to be punished by whipping, but conjuring spirits is a
hanging offence.
Abigail and the other girls hold a ‘witchcraft’
The Affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams ceremony in the woods.
s The affair between Proctor and Abigail is an act of exclusion
(not belonging). For Abigail, it is a failed attempt at
belonging. It would seem that the only way a woman
can ‘belong’ in Salem society is to be a wife. Abigail
desires this status and hopes to achieve it with Proctor
as her husband; thus her need to remove Elizabeth. For
Proctor, it is an act of social suicide. It makes him a
lecher—a breaker of God’s laws on marriage. He cannot
belong, and his guilt will haunt him.
The First ‘Crying Out’
s Abigail’s first ‘crying out’ (pp. 49–50) shifts Abigail from
being excluded to the status of belonging. It is a successful
attempt to grasp control of the situation. Once society
(here in the person of Reverend Hale) accepts that they
are genuine, the girls become a part of the status quo.
They belong.

Act Two
Mary Warren’s Poppet
s Ridiculous trivial evidence such as Mary Warren’s poppet
becomes a barrier to belonging. Mary’s poppet becomes
evidence against Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s dialogue—‘Has Mary’s poppet becomes evidence against
the court discovered a text in poppets now?’ (p. 69, Elizabeth.

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act 2)—reflects her sarcastic tone, but little does she

know that the answer is ‘yes’. The audience can see
that the situation has been manipulated by Abigail but
because Abigail belongs, the court doubts Elizabeth’s
belonging.
Proctor’s Decision to Go to Court
s Proctor, a natural individual, is drawn into the courtroom
situation, to try to belong, and to defend his wife. To
participate in social processes is to belong. His natural
inclination had been to avoid the court even though
he thinks the situation is crazy and believes that
Abigail indicated to him that there was no witchcraft
practised in the woods. The fact that he does not want
to tell anyone else about his lechery is also a factor.
Ironically, the challenge to Elizabeth’s worthiness to
belong forces Proctor to go to the court. However, his
simile—‘I will fall like the ocean on that court!’ (p. 72,
act 2)—indicates that he is already in the frame of mind
of an opponent of the court. Once he is in the court he
confirms his initial belief that he does not belong there—
especially after he confesses to lechery and Elizabeth
lies, contradicting him. His exclusion is complete when
Mary Warren, under Abigail’s pressure, calls him out as
‘the Devil’s man … No, I love God; I go your way no
more’ (p. 104, act 3). Thus, through the juxtaposition of
God’s way and Proctor’s way, Mary Warren implies that
Proctor is against God.

Act Three
Proctor’s Confession and Elizabeth’s Lie
s The Proctors’ alienation at the court indicates their lack
of belonging in Salem society. By confessing to lechery,
Proctor is knowingly excluding himself from Salem
society. Elizabeth’s lie to ‘support’ him backfires and
leaves them both in a state of not belonging. This is
one of the climaxes of the play, so it carries a lot of
emotional weight with the audience.

Proctor dramatically accuses Abigail of being
a ‘whore’.
Abigail and Mary Warren in Court
s Salem society has moved so far out of kilter that those
who should belong are excluded and those who used to
be excluded belong. As Proctor’s metaphor suggests:
‘the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the
kingdom’ (p. 72, act 2). Proctor uses ‘jangling’ to
suggest an irresponsible, childish attitude to running
Salem. Mary arrives at the court with Proctor—at that

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point she is ‘belonging’ with the Proctors. But they are

on the outer with Salem society, because Elizabeth is
accused and Proctor is about to confess to lechery. By
the end of the scene she has rejoined the girls under
the influence of Abigail and returned to a position of
belonging. Abigail achieves this through a process of
fear, intimidation and peer hysteria. Mary wilts under
the pressure of the girls’ mimicking her and claiming to
be threatened by her.
Hale Denounces the Court
s By the end of Act Three, Reverend Hale has changed sides
and withdrawn his support for the court. He no longer
belongs. This has a huge impact on the audience,
because he is a character we have respected, and he
used to belong. It impresses us that he would make
himself an outcast. Reverend Hale arrives at this position
because he believes that Elizabeth’s lie is a ‘natural lie
to tell’ (p. 100, act 3), he has always trusted Proctor and
he no longer believes in the voracity of the girls, saying
that he has never trusted Abigail. Hale’s words—‘This
girl has always struck me false!’ (p. 100, act 3)—are
brave, because Abigail could turn on him.

Act Four
Abigail and Mercy Leave Salem
s Abigail’s belonging to the status quo is a pragmatic thing and
in the end it does not deliver Proctor to her. Having given
testimony that has resulted in people being incarcerated
and hanged, Abigail and Mercy Lewis steal thirty-one
pounds from Reverend Parris and run away. This leaves
Danforth alone with his judgements but no witnesses.
The acceptance of the testimony of the girls was based
on the idea of them as innocent victims. The action
of Abigail and Mercy running away does not suggest
that they are innocent. ‘Vanished!’, says Danforth, in
shock (p. 110, act 4). Danforth appreciates that the
disappearance of the girls makes the credibility of the
court even lower, but yet continues with the hangings.
Elizabeth Goes to Proctor
s In Act Four, Elizabeth and Proctor are both excluded from
Salem society—they are prisoners, he awaiting execution—
but they do belong to each other. When Danforth sends
Elizabeth in to speak to Proctor, it is in the hope that
she will convince him to sign a (false) confession so that Proctor and Elizabeth meet for the last time in
Danforth can avoid hanging him. Theoretically it is an his cell.

4 • The Crucible 93
 Syllabus Requirements
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Proctor?
For a quick recap of Proctor, go to
76 page 76.
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offer to Proctor to belong again, but it could be argued
that Danforth now has no relation to Salem society. It
could also be argued that Salem society doesn’t exist
any more and so there is no longer a society to belong
to. Proctor and Elizabeth’s love gives them a bond of
belonging to each other. Elizabeth’s emotive dialogue—
‘Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it’ (p. 119,
act 4)—declares him to be good, and a little later he
declares himself to have a shred of goodness.
Characters and the
Concept of Belonging
John Proctor
s Proctor is an individual who has not
put a high priority on ‘belonging’ in his
life. He is not comfortable with the
idea that he is to necessarily respect
the ideas of others. The fact that he
hates and distrusts Parris adds to this
sense of not belonging:
I have trouble enough without I come five mile
to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody
damnation. Take it to heart Mr Parris. There are
many others who stay away from church these
days because you hardly ever mention God any
more. (p. 34, act 1)
Proctor’s dialogue ironically suggests that God is absent
from the church. There is the implication here that
Christianity should be a religion of love rather than
what Parris has made of it—a religion of punishment
and damnation.
s Proctor chooses not to belong to Salem society. The fact
that he has ‘sinned’ with Parris’s niece Abigail causes
him to view himself as a hypocrite and not worthy of
association with such people as Rebecca and Frances
Nurse, who he regards as better than him. His sin,
even when only Elizabeth knows about it, makes him
uncomfortable in terms of belonging in Salem society.
He says, ‘I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a
fraud. I am not that man’ (p. 118, act 4). Climbing up
the stairs to the gallows is used here in Proctor’s honest
dialogue as a metaphor for the goodness required to go
to heaven. Rebecca Nurse might ‘climb the gibbet like a
saint’, but Proctor sees himself as utterly unworthy.
 Syllabus Requirements

s Proctor doesn’t ‘belong’ in his own family. At the beginning

of the play his sin is still having a negative influence on
his relationship with his wife, Elizabeth. In Act Two we
see that they are uncomfortable with each other. Proctor
does not really belong in his own family because he
has strayed from it. Proctor: ‘Spare me! You forget
nothin’ and forgive nothin’’ (p. 55, act 2). Proctor uses
repetition and alliteration (‘forget’/‘forgive’) to make his
point to Elizabeth—that she has not forgiven him.
s Proctor doesn’t belong in the court. Danforth’s behaviour and
attitudes very quickly exclude Proctor from ‘belonging’ in
the context of the court. Though his intention is to put the
court straight by telling them that Abigail told him that the
event in ‘the woods’ was ‘sport’, the court quickly takes
the attitude that he is an enemy of it, and therefore an
enemy of God. Danforth’s dialogue—‘a person is either
with this court or he must be counted against it, there
be no road between’ (p. 85, act 3)—uses the metaphor of
the road to symbolise the taking of a particular direction
in life. In this case it is that you can only support the
court or oppose it; there are no other ‘roads’.
s In the end Proctor belongs to his own values, as he chooses
truth over lies. Proctor’s personal salvation is not achieved
in terms of the church, or in terms of belonging. He
makes peace with himself and decides to die rather
than sign a false confession and have it hung on the
church door. This is ‘goodness’ in the sense that it is
the truth, but he (and Elizabeth) reject the ‘belonging’
arguments being put to them by Hale, who wants
Proctor to sign and live. Elizabeth says, ‘He have his
goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!’ (p. 126,
act 4). Elizabeth’s use of the personal pronoun ‘his’ in
‘his goodness’ shows that she appreciates that John
must judge himself. It is his own goodness, not God’s
goodness, even though she implies in ‘God forbid …’
that God supports John in his private reconciliation.
In your response and composition you must
Abigail Williams examine, question, reflect and speculate on
s Abigail is seventeen and therefore a how the concept of belonging is conveyed
‘child’ in Salem society and so the only through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
legitimate way for her to belong is to accept
this status of ‘child’ and obey the rules. This How does Miller use language and
is not in her nature, especially after she structural techniques to communicate
has been ‘a woman’ with Proctor. Her the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Abigail?
exclamation to Proctor—‘How do you
For a quick recap of Abigail, go to
call me child!’ (p. 29, act 1)—shows 78 page 78.
her resentment of the status of ‘child’,

4 • The Crucible 95
 Syllabus Requirements
s Abigail ‘belongs’ in the sense that she finds a place, a role
s Abigail lies in order to remove Elizabeth and have Proctor
s Abigail can be seen as someone who wants to belong as a
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Elizabeth?
For a quick recap of Elizabeth, go to
79 page 79.
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a motif throughout the play of innocence, immaturity
and lack of status. In terms of belonging, what she does
is form a group of her own (the girls) to belong to and
in fact lead. By accusing others of witchcraft, she takes
control of the situation, even threatening Danforth.
Danforth’s use of ‘child’ in his words to her—‘Child, I
do not mistrust you’ (p. 96, act 3)—indicates that she
still, because of her age, has no status in the community,
but Danforth’s placating tone shows that she now has
the power and that she could turn it on him.
and power within Salem society. She and the girls are
victims at first, but they turn into protagonists. Then
others (such as Elizabeth Proctor) become victims of
the girls led by Abigail. Suddenly, Abigail belongs and
Elizabeth does not. This is highly ironic, as the audience
knows that Elizabeth is a good Christian woman and
Abigail is not. Elizabeth immediately twigs to Abigail’s
real motives, as shown in her words ‘She wants me
dead. I knew all week it would come to this’ (p. 59,
act 2), while the court views Abigail as an innocent
victim of witchcraft.
belong to her. This puts the audience in a position
of disrespect for Salem society and belonging. The
audience shares Abigail’s view shown in her words ‘I
never knew what pretence Salem was’ (p. 30, act 1).
woman, but there are no socially acceptable ways for her
to achieve this. What she wants is to be Mrs Proctor,
which would give her a social status of belonging, but
there is no acceptable way for her to achieve this. In her
words ‘You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it
is, you love me yet!’ (p. 30, act 1), Abigail’s repetition
of the word ‘love’ is an attempt to pull Proctor back
into a relationship with her. The audience will note that
Proctor only ever uses the word ‘lust’ to describe what
happened between them, an important contrast.
Elizabeth Proctor
s Initially, Elizabeth belongs in Salem
society as a member of a family (the
Proctors) and as a respectable Christian
wife. As she says, ‘I am a covenanted
Christian woman’ (p. 64, act 2). The
Christian term ‘covenanted’ indicates
 Syllabus Requirements

that she has been through rituals or ceremonies declaring

her Christianity. She is bound to Christianity. All of this
makes her arrest a shock to the audience. Her belonging
is brought into question by the accusation of Abigail that
Elizabeth has visited her as a spirit and harmed her. Hale
says, ‘Abigail were stabbed tonight; a needle were found
stuck into her belly’ (p. 71, act 3). Elizabeth’s Christian
principles (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’) come
into conflict with her family values (always support your
husband) and she chooses to belong to her family rather
than her community by lying to Danforth. Danforth asks
her, ‘Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher?’
(p. 100, act 3). The exclamation mark tells us that
Danforth raises his voice to intimidate Elizabeth. The
word ‘lecher’ is strongly judgemental and derogatory.
s At the end of the play, Elizabeth is removed from belonging to
Salem society. She ignores Hale and Danforth and refuses
to influence Proctor’s decision. Talking him into signing
and living would have been a way for both of them to
belong again, but she rejects this. She is an individual,
as John is, to the end, telling him: ‘Do as you will, do
as you will!’ (p. 120, act 4). The repetition indicates the
strength of Elizabeth’s resolve to allow Proctor to die if
he chooses to.

Reverend Hale In your response and composition you must

s Reverend Hale walks into Salem as the great saviour of the examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
community and belongs instantly. Parris greets him: ‘Mr through the representation of characters
Hale! Oh! It’s good to see you again!’ (p. 40, act 1). that you encounter in the prescribed text.
This is the most pleasant thing that Parris says to
anybody in the play, even though he is frightened of How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
what Hale might discover. The repeated exclamation the concept of belonging in The Crucible
marks reveal his fawning nature, behaving in an overly through his portrayal of Hale?
friendly manner. For a quick recap of Hale, go to
s By Act Four Hale does not belong to conventional Salem 80 page 80.
society. The theocracy’s inability to admit error means
that Hale is gradually shut out from Salem society and
the court, because he is an honest man. His conscience
alienates him from the court which he denounces at
the end of Act Three. In Act Four he is begging Proctor
to confess to what they all know is lies: ‘Let him give
his lie’ (p. 115, act 4). Hale does not even pretend to
believe the confessions. He no longer wishes to belong,
only to save the lives of the accused and to assuage his
own guilt. His hysteria at the end is due to his sense
of guilt for Proctor’s death. Miller’s stage direction—
‘Hale weeps in frantic prayer’ (p. 126, act 4)—uses the

4 • The Crucible 97
 Syllabus Requirements
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Danforth?
For a quick recap of Danforth, go to
81 page 81.
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Rebecca?
For a quick recap of Rebecca, go to
83 page 83.
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combination of the words ‘prayer’, ‘weeps’ and ‘frantic’
in an unlikely way to convey the level of Hale’s guilt
and hysteria.
Deputy-Governor Danforth
s Danforth belongs to the theocratic
Salem society which he embodies.
He symbolises Salem’s hypocritical
ways. He is the society, so he must
belong to it. The rhetorical question
‘Do you know who I am, Mr Nurse?’
(p. 80, act 3) is aimed at intimidating
Francis.
s Danforth is quite alone in the play, being a representative of
a social and legal system, rather than a three-dimensional
human being. All of his relationships with others are
based on his power. His only supporters are Hathorne
(who is like him) and Parris, who Danforth hates: ‘Mr
Parris, you are a brainless man!’ (p. 111, act 4).
s At the end, the disintegration of Salem society means that
there is nothing much left to belong to. Despite this, and
the fact that Abigail has run off, Danforth continues
to uphold the validity of the court. Cheever’s speech—
‘There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads,
now that their masters are in the jails, and much
disagreement who they will belong to now’ (pp. 109–
110)—gives an impression of Salem as anarchic (having
no order or rule).
Rebecca Nurse
s At the beginning of the play, Rebecca is the most respected
and highly regarded member of Salem society. In that way,
she belongs. Francis Nurse’s metaphor about her—‘My
wife is the very brick and mortar of the church’ (p. 67,
act 2)—is a physical image of Rebecca’s closeness to
her religion.
s Rebecca chooses not to sign a false confession in order
to belong to Salem society. Rebecca’s faith is a private
one and she will not have anyone else tell her how to
worship or what to believe in. She is opposed to the
recruiting of Reverend Hale and concerned that they
should avoid looking for ‘loose spirits’. There is no
chance that she will sign a false confession. In these
ways she is an individual. Her dialogue—‘There is
prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear
it, I fear it’ (p. 33, act 1) is a prophetic foreshadowing
of the events to come.
 Syllabus Requirements

s At the end, Rebecca belongs in the ranks of the holy and

pure. She is like an unofficial saint, a martyr, dying for
her beliefs and her faith. Her powerful dialogue—‘Let
you fear nothing!’ (p. 125, act 4)—comforts others with
her faith.

Reverend Parris In your response and composition you must

examine, question, reflect and speculate on
s Parris, although he holds one of the key roles in the how the concept of belonging is conveyed
community of Salem, does not belong. He is insecure in through the representation of characters
his position and believes that there are people out to that you encounter in the prescribed text.
get him. In a situation where he could try to play a How does Miller use language and
role in bringing the community together, he merely structural techniques to communicate
tries to absolve himself of blame. Parris’s dialogue— the concept of belonging in The Crucible
‘Excellency, it profit nothing you should blame me’ through his portrayal of Parris?
(p. 111, act 4)—reveals his selfish nature. For a quick recap of Parris, go to
83 page 83.
s Parris gains no sense of belonging from his family group. He
shows no real care for Betty when she is sick, but rather
his concern is for his own situation—it will reflect
badly on him if the Devil has taken up residence in
his house: ‘There be no unnatural cause here’ (p. 18,
act 1). Parris’s insistence only makes the audience more
suspicious that something untoward was happening in
the woods.
s Parris is always on the outer. Danforth finds him annoying,
even though Parris is supporting Danforth most of the
time. To the audience, he is a snivelling hypocrite who
deserves no one’s sympathy. His astonishing speech
to Danforth—‘This way, unconfessed and claiming
innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest people
will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in
their tears’ (p. 112, act 4)—advocates the signing of
false confessions in order to discredit those that won’t
sign and to, in turn, benefit the credibility of the court.
Parris’s use of the term ‘our good purpose’ is shocking
in its hypocrisy.

Giles Corey In your response and composition you must

s Eighty-year-old Giles is an individualist who chooses
not to belong to Salem society. His dialogue—‘This
man is killing his neighbours for their land!’ (p. 87,
act 3)—reveals how he sees the true purpose behind
Putnam’s actions in using the girls’ accusations to gain
Giles’s land.
s Giles sticks up for his rights and will not allow himself to be
taken advantage of. He has his own opinions and ways;
he does not bother about belonging. He has even sued
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Giles?
For a quick recap of Giles, go to
84 page 84.

4 • The Crucible 99
 Syllabus Requirements
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Mary?
For a quick recap of Mary, go to
84 page 84.
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of characters
that you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of Tituba?
For a quick recap of Tituba, go to
85 page 85.
100 Excel HSC Area of Study Guide: The Crucible
Proctor at one point. Giles: ‘I know my rights, sir, and I
will have them’ (p. 86, act 3) This means he will never
belong in Salem.
s Giles, Proctor and Rebecca belong together because they
each have a direct honesty. When Proctor says to Giles,
‘What say you, Giles, let’s find the party’ (p. 35, act 1)
this friendly dialogue refers to the party that Parris
believes has formed of those who want to get rid of
him. Proctor admires Giles’s sense of fight.
Mary Warren
s Mary’s story is all about belonging. As a seventeen-year-
old, she has no status or rights in adult society in Salem.
The only way to belong is to conform and obey. The
young people form a sub-culture which Mary belongs
to, but as an ‘outer member’. Proctor tries to get Mary to
act as a member of his family in order to save Elizabeth:
‘Mary, remember the angel Raphael—do that which
is good’ (p. 103, act 3). But Abigail and the girls exert
enormous peer pressure on her in the court. Abigail’s
words to her—‘The wings! Her wings are spreading!’
(p. 103, act 3)—are frightening to the audience who see
that the court has lost control and that Abigail wields
extraordinary power over the girls.
s Mary’s fall in the court is a triumph for belonging. She
chooses the peer group and joins them in accusing
Proctor of being evil. She chooses to belong with the
court and to belong with Abigail and the girls. Mary’s
statement—‘I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love
God’ (p. 104, act 3)—encapsulates Mary’s decision to
belong with Abigail rather than with Proctor.
Tituba
s Tituba is an outsider in Salem society.
She is only there as a servant to Parris.
Her race, religion, culture and language
make her an outcast. When she says
No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!’
(p. 46, act 1), her use of the word
‘truck’ is an assertion that she does not
associate or deal with the devil.
s She is also a scapegoat and a victim, so she cannot belong.
Abigail blames her: ‘She made me do it! She made
Betty do it!’ (p. 45, act 1). She is one of the victims of
Abigail’s lies.
 Syllabus Requirements

Relationships and the In your response and composition you must

examine, question, reflect and speculate
Concept of Belonging on how the concept of belonging is
conveyed through the representation of the
John Proctor and Abigail Williams relationships between characters that you
s Superficially, Salem’s society appears to be one of ‘belonging’ encounter in the prescribed text.
in that everyone shares the same values and religious beliefs, How does Miller use language and
and adheres to the rules; but the fact that Proctor and Abigail structural techniques to communicate
have had an affair shows that this is a façade. We see that the concept of belonging in The Crucible
Salem is in the ‘real’ world of normal desires. Abigail’s through his portrayal of the relationship
speech—‘I know how you clutched my back behind between Proctor and Abigail?
your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I For a quick recap of the relationship
85 between Proctor and Abigail, go to
came near!’ (p. 29, act 1)—is especially sexual in its page 85.
animalistic imagery. Abigail presents herself to Proctor
as the object of his desires. She uses language in an
attempt to arouse Proctor to be drawn to her again.
s Abigail does belong, even if it is by immoral means.
Ironically, it is Abigail who gains control by accusing
others of witchcraft. She ‘belongs’ in the sense that she
is accepted and believed. Abigail’s threatening question
demonstrates her power: ‘Let you beware, Mr Danforth.
Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may
not turn your wits?’ (p. 96, act 3). By Act Four Abigail
has given up on her goal to have Proctor and has left
Salem altogether. People have been excluded and hanged
on her word. The hypocrisy of the court is clear. The
logical and moral bankruptcy of Danforth’s dialogue—
‘Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part;
reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of
them that died till now’ (p. 113, act 4)—is obvious to
the audience. If one person has been wrongly hanged,
to go on hanging others wrongly makes matters worse.

John and Elizabeth Proctor
s Love is one of the main agents of ‘belonging’ in society. The
story of John and Elizabeth Proctor is one of love harmed,
but strong enough to rise above life’s challenges. At the
end, Elizabeth is in the strange, but moving, situation
of performing an act of love that allows her husband to
choose death. ‘Only be sure of this, for I know it now:
Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it’ (p. 119,
act 4). The key word here is ‘now’, because it tells us
that there was a time when she doubted his goodness.
Their love is what they belong to. This is the concept of
belonging to people.
s Their love is more important to Elizabeth than any sense of
‘belonging’ to a social group. Her love is strong enough to
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate
on how the concept of belonging is
conveyed through the representation of the
relationships between characters that you
encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of the relationship
between John and Elizabeth Proctor?
For a quick recap of the relationship
86 between John and Elizabeth Proctor,
go to page 86.

4 • The Crucible 101

 Syllabus Requirements
In your response and composition you must
examine, question, reflect and speculate on
how the concept of belonging is conveyed
through the representation of ideas that
you encounter in the prescribed text.
How does Miller use language and
structural techniques to communicate
the concept of belonging in The Crucible
through his portrayal of ideas?
102 Excel HSC Area of Study Guide: The Crucible
forgive John and allow him to make his own decision
about whether to sign the confession and live. ‘I am
not your judge, I cannot be’ (p. 120, act 4). This idea
goes back to Act 2 when she said that it was he himself
who judged John Proctor. Now she reiterates, that true
forgiveness can only come from within. They belong
to each other and they have both come to terms with
themselves as well. They have belonging of identity.
Elizabeth’s words—‘He have his goodness now. God
forbid I take it from him!’ (p. 126, act 4)—reflect the
purest act of love in the play. ‘God forbid’ suggests that
she believes that God would not approve of her trying
to stop Proctor from dying.
Ideas and the Concept of Belonging
Belonging, Self-acceptance and Guilt
John Proctor
s Proctor believes that he is unworthy of belonging because of
his affair with Abigail. He doesn’t deserve Elizabeth’s love
or the respect of the community, both potential agents
of belonging for him. Proctor’s confession of lechery is
an unburdening of secret guilt, but his declaration to
Danforth that they will both burn in hell is an attack on
himself as well as the judge: ‘A fire, a fire is burning! I
hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is
my face, and yours, Danforth!’ (p. 105, act 3). The fire is
an image of hell and punishment. Lucifer is represented
by a boot (brutality, violence, destruction) and, more
fearful, a face. Proctor sees his own and Danforth’s face
in the face of Lucifer.
s Proctor finally achieves self-acceptance and a sense
of belonging in his marriage. By refusing to sign the
confession at the end of the play Proctor is asserting
his right to judge himself. His third person dialogue
demonstrates that he sits in judgement on himself, ‘for
now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John
Proctor’ (p. 125, act 4). The word ‘shred’ indicates that
the goodness is small and fragmentary. However, Proctor
seems to have come to terms with himself. This is
achieved partly through his renewed sense of belonging
with Elizabeth. For Proctor, the most important sense of
belonging in the play is belonging in his marriage, not
belonging to his community.
 Syllabus Requirements

Elizabeth Proctor
s Elizabeth’s sense of belonging is connected to Proctor, and
she chooses him over belonging to society when she lies for
him in court. Elizabeth also has a burden of guilt: ‘It needs
a cold wife to prompt lechery’ (p. 119, act 4) indicates
that she regards herself as responsible for John’s straying.
She purges herself by allowing him to choose to hang.
Reverend Hale
s Hale’s sense of belonging to Salem society is challenged in
the play. The other character most guilt-ridden is Reverend
Hale. Having set the court in motion by declaring Tituba
to have dealt with the devil and sent her spirit out on
Abigail and the others, every subsequent accusation is
his responsibility. By the time Rebecca and Elizabeth
are arrested he is becoming concerned about where
things are headed and by the end of Act Three he has
denounced Abigail and quit the court. In Act Four he is
broken with guilt: ‘There is blood on my head! Can you
not see the blood on my head!!’ (p. 114, act 4). This is
traditional Christian imagery of blood for guilt. In Hale’s
language, the blood of others is on his head as a sign of
his guilt, his responsibility. Miller uses an exclamation
mark, then repetition with two exclamation marks.
This is an indication of the powerful emotion in Hale’s
words. He attempts to save the lives of Salem’s accused
by having them confess as a payment for his guilt, but
this does not allow him to belong again. Instead, he
becomes more guiltridden through his hypocrisy in
persuading good Christians to lie. He cannot belong to
a society that he sees as corrupt.

Belonging and Power

The powerful belong in The Crucible.
Reverend Hale
s Reverend Hale immediately belongs in Salem when he
arrives, and he sets about adopting a position of power. Once
he and the court have accepted the initial ‘confession’
and calling out of the girls, then they have the power in
the court, and they belong. As Hale loses power, which
occurs as he realises that the girls are lying, he also
loses his sense of belonging to Salem and its hypocritical
values. At the end he is utterly alone, crying out to
Elizabeth that she should go to Proctor and prevent him
from dying: ‘Go to him, take his shame away!’ (p. 126,
act 4). The irony is that Elizabeth has facilitated Proctor

4 • The Crucible 103

 Syllabus Requirements

making his own decision to die precisely by taking away

his shame.
Deputy-Governor Danforth
s Danforth has a strong sense of his own belonging and power.
His boastful question—‘And seventy-two condemned
to hang by that signature?’ (p. 80, act 3)—refers to his
own power to determine life and death. Just the same,
he is wary of Abigail’s power and does not challenge it,
or her belonging, as it could threaten his own.
Abigail Williams
s Once the court believes Abigail and the other girls, they
acquire great power and also a state of belonging. Abigail
Williams is powerful enough to terrify Mary Warren
and turn her evidence around completely. She is also
powerful enough to intimidate Danforth by pointing
out the fact that she could readily accuse him if she
chose to. ‘Let you beware, Mr Danforth’ (p. 96, act 3)
sends a shudder through Danforth and the sudden
realisation through the audience that if she accused him
of witchcraft it would put him in a position where his
own defence would become as impossible as that of
every other accused. In the end, Abigail opts out of the
whole thing and leaves town with Mercy Lewis. There
is little left in Salem to belong to following the social
destruction of the witch trials.

Belonging and the Truth

s Belonging in the play is never based on the truth. The truth
becomes a shared thing, something everyone agrees on.
It doesn’t matter whether it is based on fact or not.
People believe what they want to hear. For a society
based on Christianity and the rule of God’s law, there is
ironically little regard for the truth in the play:
• Parris, a representative of God who should be honest
and just, is dishonest very early in the play.
• It is a condition of belonging to the girls’ group that
the whole truth about what happened in the woods is
never told. Abigail: ‘We danced. And Tituba conjured
Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all’ (p. 26,
act 1). Here Miller uses short sentences to indicate
Abigail’s authoritarian status with the girls.
• Hale enters Salem wanting to find the devil, and he
thinks that he does.
• Danforth believes that the ‘hot fire’ they are burning
in the court ‘melts down all concealment’ (p. 81,

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 Syllabus Requirements

act 3). When things do come out, like Proctor’s

lechery, this is proof to Danforth that the court is in
the right. Unfortunately some concealment, Parris’s
and Abigail’s, does not come out.
• Even when Abigail runs off, Danforth continues to
hang people on her word. This shows that Danforth,
a symbol of belonging in Salem, has no regard for the
truth as a value.
s The truth is important to Rebecca Nurse who will not lie in
order to belong to society. She goes to her death because
she believes she will be damned for eternity if she lies
and confesses to things she didn’t do.
s The truth is important to Elizabeth Proctor, but her sense of
belonging to her husband and her love for him is stronger
than her value for the truth. She is, according to her
husband, a woman incapable of lying. Yet, to save him
from social disgrace she brings herself to lie to Danforth
that Proctor is not a lecher.

Belonging and Conscience

s Characters who belong are able to ignore their conscience;
those who act on their conscience are excluded. Abigail,
Parris and Danforth are examples of those who ignore
their conscience with Proctor, Rebecca and Hale
being those who act on their conscience at cost to
their belonging to society. Abigail appears to have no
conscience at all and she uses this absence to lie her way
into belonging. Parris has suppressed his conscience for
fear of it being found that his niece and daughter had
participated in ‘unchristian acts’ in the woods. Hale’s
conscience is such that he can no longer support the
court once he seriously doubts Abigail’s honesty and
the ‘guilt’ of characters like Rebecca and Elizabeth.
For exercising his conscience, he is excluded by Salem
society and he no longer belongs.
s The terrible irony is that conscience is a Christian notion,
here being abused in the name of Christianity. Danforth
says to Proctor in Act Four, ‘Your soul alone is the issue
here, Mister, and you will prove its whiteness or you
cannot live in a Christian country’ (p. 122, act 4). Here
Danforth is telling Proctor that he isn’t worthy of living
in a Christian country unless he signs a confession
that is a lie and then lies about other people as well by
saying he saw them with the devil. All of this, of course,
goes directly against Proctor’s conscience and his own
Christian beliefs (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’).

4 • The Crucible 105