Crucible-Classwork

Reverend Parris
-> mid forties
-> paranoid
"He believd he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side" (3).
->widower
-> somewhat arrogant
"He felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without first asking permission" (3).
->uninterested in children
-> religious

Betty Parris
-> 10 years old
-> daughter of Reverend Parris
-> inert

Martha Corey
-> said to be a witch
"laid herself down on his chest and 'nearly suffocated him'."

This play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692. Europeans saw Salem as a "barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics" at this time. There were no novelists and the people did not have an opportunity to ever read newspapers even if they were readily available. The town was a very prayerful town. They did not celebrate Christmas; however, any type of time off of work meant more concentration on prayer.

The people of the town worked hard which kept the morals of the area from "spoiling". The workers had no time to fool around. However, many citizens would mind their neighbor's business which resulted in great suspicions among the town. Several were snobbish when it came to religion.