ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

The Crucible Summary 69523 Views


Share It!


Description:

The broken-hearted Abigail takes her revenge. You might never want to break-up with someone again after this video, so make sure the next person is the right one!

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

The Crucible, a la Shmoop. Okay, in hindsight, I'm willing to admit that

00:08

my prank went a little too far.

00:10

It's all fun and games until you get your ex-lover executed. But you know what they

00:14

say about a woman scorned... It all started when my uncle, Reverend Parris,

00:19

busted me and the girls casting spells with our slave Tituba <TIT-too-buh>*.

00:22

Then my cousin Betty started acting all nuts, and the townsfolk started to whisper about

00:27

witchcraft.

00:28

Hey, they could say what they liked, as long as it didn’t get me grounded!

00:33

I had my own super-secret reasons to go gallivanting into the forest.

00:37

Tituba had magical powers, the kind that might help me bump off my rival, that Goody-two-shoes,

00:44

Elizabeth Proctor. …

00:45

Oh, don’t act shocked… Elizabeth totally had it coming. What a drip. The whole time

00:50

I was working for the Proctors, I couldn't figure out how a wimp like her caught a fox

00:55

like John.

00:55

I felt kinda sorry for him, what with Elizabeth being sick all the time, so I figured…why

01:02

not have a fling with the man of the house?

01:05

That little exploit got me fired…whoops…but I found another home with my uncle, Reverend

01:12

Parris.

01:14

I knew it was only a matter of time until John Boy left his lame-o wife and came running

01:18

into my arms.

01:20

I dug John so much that I even let him in on my little secret – that the gang and

01:26

I weren’t really under enchantment.

01:27

I thought he and I were having a touching moment. Then he told me it was over. Not gonna

01:34

lie, I was a little peeved about that one….

01:36

…but why get mad when you can get even, right?  

01:41

I knew I had to be cautious when witch hunter Reverend Hale came to town, because being

01:51

executed as an accessory to witchcraft wasn’t high on my list of priorities.

01:56

So naturally, my first move was to throw Tituba under the bus.

02:00

Then, when I noticed that my former minion, Mary Warren, was getting too cozy with Elizabeth,

02:06

making her a sweet little dolly. …

02:07

… I put on an Oscar-worthy show of being poked with a needle, voodoo-style. Bingo,

02:14

the investigators found Elizabeth’s new doll, and the trial was on! You have to admit,

02:20

that one was total genius.

02:22

I was starting to feel invincible...if I didn’t like somebody, I threw around the “W-word,”

02:28

and they were thrown in the slammer. It was fantastic.

02:31

There was a slight hiccup when Mary Warren turned stoolpigeon and testified about the

02:36

doll, but I was on top of it. I said that I saw Mary's spirit appear in the room as

02:40

a yellow bird.

02:42

Okay, not very original, but you try framing someone on short notice!

02:48

That got Mary in line again, and she named John as the one trying to recruit her to Team

02:53

Satan.

02:55

I thought John would be smart enough to keep his big yap shut, but he was so desperate

03:00

to save his precious Elizabeth that he actually admitted to adultery...

03:05

…not a great way to climb the Puritan social ladder.

03:09

John’s little confession nearly cost me my victim cred, but fortunately, it backfired

03:15

when Elizabeth lied to protect his reputation. Ha!

03:23

Watching them try to save each other was kind of sweet, in a “claw your eyes out and stomp

03:28

on them” kind of way. I decided I had to get over it, so I took

03:33

my uncle’s money and ran. It's hard to care about Massachusetts when you're sipping piña

03:38

coladas in Fiji.

03:39

Things might have worked out for John, too, if he hadn’t had this weird prejudice against

03:44

lying. All he had to do was admit to being a witch, and take a hit to his reputation.

03:50

But right up until the end, he refused to hand in a signed confession...

03:54

…and Elizabeth did zippo to convince him, since he was being all noble for her and the

04:01

kids. Ugh. They deserve each other.

04:04

I feel a little bad that he was hanged, but hey, that's what you get for dumping me!

04:09

Could you pass the sunscreen?

Up Next

Shakespeare on Love
17376 Views

We may all be fools when it comes to love, but thankfully none of us will accidentally switch places with our twin brother and fall in love with ou...

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...