The Crucible Unit Essay
You should have study guides on the readings listed below and your booklet should contain notes, summaries, and answers to questions regarding the following selections in our anthology:
"A Spectacle of Great Beauty" – p. 8
Biography of William Bradford – p. 38
"The History of PlymouthPlantation" – p. 39
"Types of Colonial literature" – p. 43
Biography of Cotton Mather – p. 52
"The Trial of Martha Carrier" – p. 53
Biography of Jonathan Edwards – p. 58
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" – p. 59
"A Witch Trial at MountHolly" – p. 84
"The Devil and Tom Walker" – p. 110
DIRECTIONS:Using these notes, answers, summaries, and study guides, write a six-paragraph essay using the CD:COM:COM format where the CD is an actual quote from one of the selections listed above and the COMs are your explanation of why this particular quote proves your thesis. You should have an Introductory paragraph, four Body paragraphs, and a Concluding paragraph. Each Body paragraph must have at least one quote (CD) with the 2 COMs of explanation.
Use our formal formatting: typed in Times New Roman 12 pt. font for everything, one-inch margins on all four sides, 4-line heading in the upper right hand corner (your name, my name, English period ?, and the date), and double spaced (skip-a-line).
Choose one of the following three prompts:
A. Explain how religion and superstition combined in the earlier selections in order to set the stage for the Salem witch trials shown in The Crucible. Describe how intolerance ruled their lives and how they used religion and superstition in different ways to deal with their fear.
B. Explain how the early settlers tried to live their lives in fear of the devil and a God who was not loving and forgiving. How did they describe the devil and how he infected and controlled others? Why didn't God just send the devil to back to hell and save humans from evil?
C. Discuss the pros and cons of a theocracy, especially for the early settlers. Is it possible and/or desirable to govern people’s spiritual lives as well as their physical lives? Who had the authority to decide whether or not witchcraft was being practiced in a particular instance? Who had the ultimate authority of life and death? How was it used?