THE NEW WORLD THE PURITANS “inherit” from the Wampanoag was a mysterious and dangerous one, and in the Mayflower Compact, we see the Pilgrim’s desire for conformity. A threat against one was a significant danger to all. For Arthur Miller in 1940s America, this is not the case. This, then, is the essential tension within the play : which is more important: that you stay true to national ideals, or an individual’s right to express freely his disagreement with those ideals? What should we do when the public’s desire for truth comes into conflict with our need for certainty in a morally ambiguous world?

MONDAY

Small group reading of nature/wilderness essays.
HW: First revision of your essay is due this Wednesday. Bring a hard copy, printed single-sided, double spaces, with an appropriate tittle and your name, the course name and instructor, and the date as a heading. Did you miss Friday’s documentary? You can watch that here.

TUESDAY

Discussion of Miller’s notes at the start of Act 1. Then performing the opening scene in groups.
HW: Read up to and including page 24 in our script, up to PUTNAM’s line, “Man, be quiet now!”

WEDNESDAY

Collecting and scanning essays. We will begin reading them in class today.
HW: Reading the second half of Act 1.

THURSDAY

Class discussion: what are the essential interests in act one? After reviewing these, we will read three more essays.
HW: Read up to page 57 in Act 2, up to MARY WARREN’s exit and line, “Good night.”

FRIDAY

Performing Elizabeth and Proctor’s scene in Act 2. The reading three more essays.
HW: Finish reading Act 2 for class on Monday.