is a providence [blessing], and no great chance; we are only what we always were, but naked now.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT III, SCENE 1Act III is a courtroom drama. We've been hearing a lot about this court; now we will see it in action. Arthur Miller has prepared us for the coming battle between the witch-hunters and their victims. We now know all the principal characters, where they stand and what they want. All the subplots have been laid out: 1) Parris and the "faction" bent on ousting him; 2) Thomas Putnam's greed for more land; 3) Ann Putnam's poisonous envy of Rebecca Nurse; 4) Hale's struggle with his conscience; 5) Abigail's deceitfulness and her designs on John Proctor, 6) The trouble in the Proctors' marriage; and 7) Mary Warren's dilemma of being caught in the crossfire. The outcome of all these plots will be decided in this act. As Mr. Hale once said, "You will witness some frightful wonders in this room, so please keep your wits about you." But everything's so complicated, how can we do that?NOTE: A courtroom drama is a lot like a football game. First of all, there are regulations: things nobody can do, things certain players can do but others can't, penalties for breaking these rules. There are yard lines, out-of-bounds lines, and goal lines. When the ball is snapped, everybody takes off in a different direction. If you've never seen a football game before, it must look like utter chaos. But at the end of each play, the ball is usually in a different place, and you can tell which way and how far it's been moved.It's hard to watch a game and not take sides. You don't watch a game just to see who wins, but to see if your team will win. And you want your team to win; you cheer when it does well, and your heart sinks when the other team does better.The longer you watch, the more you learn about the rules, almost without knowing it. Of course you want to know how well your team is playing, but you also become interested in h...
