

Reading questions for Act IV of The CrucibleĪn extra copy of class notes, should you be absent.

Reading questions for Act III of The CrucibleĪct IV Guided Reading Questions (DOCX 18 KB) Reading questions for Act II of The CrucibleĪct III Guided Reading Questions (DOCX 20 KB) Reading questions for Act I of The CrucibleĪct II Guided Reading Questions (DOCX 22 KB) The association of extreme heat with extremely challenging experiences can be found in many other expressions, such as trial by fire.Classroom News » English 11R » The Crucible - Arthur MillerĪn overview of the unit, including pertinent handouts and activities.Ī full text copy of The Crucible, for your use outside of classĪct I Guided Reading Questions (DOCX 19 KB)

Crucible is usually applied to a situation that tests a person’s character and perhaps changes them forever. However, crucible has been used to mean “a severe test” since the 1600s. The figurative use of crucible is closely associated with Miller’s play, which uses the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1690s as a metaphor for the persecution of supposed Communist sympathizers in the United States (known as McCarthyism) that was happening around the time the play was written. During the American gold rush, makeshift crucibles were used to process gold. In the Middle Ages, when the practice of alchemy was turning into chemistry, early scientists used different forms of crucibles to perform experiments with metals. The first part of the word may be based on the root cruci-, meaning “cross-shaped” (as in crucifix), but it’s not known for sure.Ĭrucibles have been used for at least hundreds of years. It comes from the Medieval Latin crucibulum, which meant “pot used for melting metals” or “night lamp,” but its ultimate origin is uncertain.

Crucible is first recorded in English in the 1400s.
