The Crucible

Seeing as though we read the book in class, I thought it would be interesting to watch the movie about it. It follows a pretty close storyline to the book itself, so I was quite happy to see that it stayed on point to the actual storyline. It takes place in a small town called Salem in Massachusetts Bay colony in 1692. It is a puritan based society that inflicts the worship of Christianity on all who live in the town. One night a group of town girls go out into the woods fooling around, dancing naked and roasting a mysterious pot of stew over a fire. The Minister of the town, Reverend Parris, catches these girls in what looks to be the practice of witchcraft which was highly forbidden during this time. Most of the girls run off and are later on asked to explain what exactly it was that they were doing.

Reverend Parris questions his niece Abigail if they were practicing witchcraft and she insures him that they were not. Upsettingly, Parris's daughter Betty would not speak and slept for days until one day she woke up and started freaking out about the Devil and witchcraft. Parris decided to call in an expert on this subject who could further evaluate the situation to figure out if the town's girls have been influenced by the Devil. This man’s name is Reverend Hale who soon comes to believe that many of the girls are haunted by the Devils spirit after Abigail and the other girls come out blaming several people whose spirits were with the Devil. This allowed them to cover up themselves and to use take advantage of some of the town’s power and get rid of people they disliked. Abigail had an intermarrital relationship going on with John Proctor, a local Farmer, until she was fired by his wife Elizabeth. In order to get back at his wife she tries to kill Elizabeth by accusing her of Witchcraft as well. John Proctor from there on does everything in his power to protect his wife's life. Now I know most of you already know what happens from here but I still think it is well worth seeing. Here's a little preview of the movie for you to watch: "The Crucible Trailer". In the long run this move might actually help you understand the book a little clearer.