Vocabulary Lists 13 and 14 Test Today
Group 5 and 6 Presentations are tomorrow.
Vocabulary List 15 Quiz is Thursday. Here are the flashcards.
Be prepared to evaluate claims made by characters throughout The Crucible and to analyze the validity of their reasoning. Today we did a quick review of the contrasting arguments made by Mrs. Putnam and Mrs. Nurse. Here are the syllogisms:
Mrs. Putnam
Major Premise: Afflictions are caused by either God or the devil/witchcraft.
Minor Premise: The girls (Betty and Ruth Ann) are afflicted.
Inevitable Conclusion: Therefore, the girls' affliction is caused by the devil/witchcraft.
Analysis: Though Mrs. Putnam chooses one of two tenets held by Puritans about the causes of afflictions, Mrs. Putnam reasons erroneously because she has based her major premise on her personal experience (the traumatic loss of losing seven unbaptized babies and her daughter going to Tituba to conjure the spirits of the dead babies). Her judgment is, therefore, biased.
Mrs. Nurse
Major Premise: Afflictions are caused by God or the devil; however, children often go through phrases in which they mischievously act out afflictions.
Minor Premises: The girls (Betty and Ruth Ann) seem afflicted.
Inevitable Conclusion: Their afflictions are not real; they are simply going through a "silly season."
Analysis: Though Mrs. Nurse's claim seems valid, it is flawed because she doesn't have all the facts. She basis her conclusion on wisdom gained from raising eleven children and twenty-six grandchildren. Though having "seen them all through their silly seasons," she makes a hasty generalization in which she applies her experience with children to the specific case of Betty and Ruth Ann without knowing all the facts. When she learns some of the facts, she changes her mind.
Mrs. Nurse (new line of reasoning)
Major Premise: Afflictions are caused by God punishing sinners.
Minor Premise: Mrs. Putnam sinned by sending her daughter to Tituba to conjure.
Inevitable Conclusion: The girls are afflicted by God as punishment for practicing witchcraft (conjuring).
Analysis: Now Mrs. Nurse's reasoning is directly contrasted with Mrs. Putnam's, which provokes Mr. and Mrs. Putnam's ire. They insist that the afflictions are the work of the devil and look for someone to blame. Mr. Putnam reacts to Mrs. Nurse's statement with hostility and resentment; Mrs. Putnam refuses to accept that personal sin could be the cause of her past experiences and ignores her role in the current affliction of the two girls.
