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What are the themes in The Crucible?

The Crucible - Themes

This GCSE English Literature quiz explores key themes in The Crucible, including hysteria, reputation and integrity, and how Miller uses them to question justice and community power.

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Fascinating Fact:

Collective hysteria is a central theme, as fear of witchcraft spreads rapidly and makes ordinary people accept extreme, irrational behaviour.

In GCSE English Literature, you need to track how themes develop across The Crucible. Hysteria, reputation, integrity and power are woven through key scenes, shaping characters’ choices and the play’s message about justice and courage.

Key Terms

Theme: A central idea that runs through a text, such as hysteria, reputation or courage in the face of pressure.
Hysteria: A state of intense fear and panic that spreads quickly through a group, leading to irrational and extreme behaviour.
Integrity: The quality of staying true to your moral principles, even when you are threatened, bribed or pressured to lie.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are the main themes in The Crucible for GCSE?

Key themes include hysteria, reputation, integrity, power, guilt and justice. For GCSE, you should show how these ideas appear in different acts, and how Miller uses them to criticise unfair trials and public fear.

How is hysteria shown as a theme in The Crucible?

Hysteria is shown when accusations are believed without proper proof, when the girls copy each other’s behaviour, and when the court values rumours over evidence. Ordinary people become willing to accept extreme punishments because they are terrified of being accused themselves.

How can I write about themes in a Crucible GCSE essay?

Choose one theme, select short quotations from key scenes, and explain how language, actions and stage directions present that idea. Then link your points to historical context and to Miller’s message about fear, power and moral responsibility.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are condemned despite being known for their good characters and upright lives. Their convictions for witchcraft convey which of the following lessons?

Invisible evil always infects the most upright citizens

Those with "good characters" are the most likely to be accused

In a climate of paranoia, no one is safe from accusation

All of the above

Observable behaviours are no defence against accusations which rely on irrationality and a belief in pervasive, invisible evil

2 .

In Act IV, the convicted are asked to confess to witchcraft in order to save their lives. To which of the following themes is this expectation most closely related?

Sinfulness

Hypocrisy

Authority

Hysteria

Hypocrisy reigns over the court, which cannot acknowledge that the innocent might have been convicted, and which urges a hypocritical confession even in the face of protestations of innocence. Hale at least suffers at his awareness of his own hypocrisy

3 .

When Proctor most needs Elizabeth to tell the truth and admit to his adultery, she lies to the judges. What does this tell the audience about Elizabeth?

She places love and loyalty to her husband above her personal righteousness

She is fearful of the consequences to her for telling the truth

She wishes to see Proctor suffer further for his adultery

She is not a very good woman, despite her upright appearance

John has utter faith in Elizabeth's inability to lie. He underestimates her love for him, which leads her to lie to the court in an attempt to protect his reputation

4 .

Where does the play show evil to be located?

In "foreign" practices, such as Tituba's singing and her attempts to speak to the dead

As a malignant and invisible force which can be invoked by witches

In the forest

In the hearts and minds of human beings

Evil is shown to be present in the petty grievances and wish to find a scapegoat for one's misfortunes, as well as in the deliberate and destructive lies of Abigail and in the cowed obedience of Mary Warren

5 .

The enormous courage which people can show in the face of irrationality, torture, injustice and death is one of the themes of this play. What gives characters such as Rebecca Nurse such courage?

Irrational hope for intervention from outside the town

Political beliefs

Religious belief

Education

Although the community's religious beliefs are at the root of the witchcraft trials and the hanging of the innocent, Miller also shows that the utter faith of the accused in an authority that transcends men such as Parris, Danforth, Hathorne, and the other judges gives them the courage to continue to assert their innocence in the face of death

6 .

Reverend Parris sends for Reverend Hale despite his reluctance to accept the possibility of witchcraft being involved in his daughter's illness. Which of the following is NOT correct?

Reverend Hale finds evidence of witchcraft despite his dismay at being called upon to fulfil this role in Salem

Reverend Hale finds evidence of witchcraft because he expects to find such evidence

Reverend Hale finds evidence of witchcraft because he strongly believes in the existence of witchcraft

Reverend Parris strongly suspects that witchcraft is involved, despite his fears concerning the danger to his reputation if evidence is found

Miller demonstrates a phenomenon known as "confirmation bias". The beliefs of Parris, Hale, and the Putnams strongly influence the outcome of the original investigation. Hale finds witchcraft because that is what he expects to find

7 .

Which of the following challenges the townspeople's idea that youth is paired with innocence?

Proctor's information, imparted to Danforth, that the young women had been dancing naked in the forest

Ruth Putnam's refusal to eat

Mary Warren's fear of Abigail, which prevents her from sticking to the truth

Tituba's confession in Act I

Danforth briefly doubts the truthfulness of the young women's testimony. Their youthfulness presents an air of innocence which is not compatible in his view with the activities Proctor mentions

8 .

Which of the following is true of John Proctor?

He believes himself to be a righteous man

He is unable to forgive himself for his failings

He blames his wife for his failings

He believes Abigail to be an innocent victim

Proctor recognises that he is weak and sinful, even in his willingness to confess in order to survive

9 .

The nature of group hysteria is a major concern of The Crucible. In which acts does the audience directly witness this hysteria?

Acts I and II

Acts I and III

Acts II and III

Acts III and IV

In Act I, we see the progression to hysteria ending in the first accusations. In Act III we see the hysteria build in intensity as it becomes directed towards Proctor

10 .

Which of the following is seen by those in authority as a threat to the community of Salem?

Litigation over deeds to land

Over-involvement in the affairs of others

Gossip

Not attending worship every Sunday

John Proctor's irregular appearance in the meeting house and his occasional work on Sundays leaves him vulnerable to accusations. Miller refers in his notes to the eventual "turn toward greater individual freedom". It is this turn which is being resisted by those in authority in the town

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)