The Crucible Homework P83-98

I. Quotations
1. "This is a clear attack upon the court!" - Reverend Parris (page 94)

• From here we can see that justice is no longer in the court. The judges' rationality was carried away by the pleasantness of power. As Governor Danforth had said "A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between." There is a sense of insecure in their voice - they are afraid to lose their power, they are afraid that they might be wrong! We cannot only judge those vengeful girls who accused a rival of witchcraft; those face-saving and fatuous authorities are also responsible for this tragedy. Those innocent women were victims of the power-greedy society - powerless girls wanted to gain powers; powerful authorities wanted to preserve powers.
  

2. "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!" - Giles Corey (page 98)

• Old Giles revealed the hidden secret of Putnam - this land-greedy man wants the land from his neighbor. Putnam is just one of the town people who wanted to benefit from the witch hunt. This shows us the ugly side of human - the ruthless selfishness. It is such an irony that when the court was hunting for the sins devil seeded, the real sinners were still out there.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Why did the judges keep denying the evidences that the witch trail was wrong?

2. What is Marry Warren going to say? Is she really on Proctor's side?