Bajo-Smith 1

Lauren Bajo-Smith

Ms. Storer

English 3 Honors American Literature

20 September 2019

Socratic Circle Reflection on ​The Crucible

I would rate my preparation as pretty strong for this Socratic circle, as I went back into
previously read Acts to confirm my ideas about our Socratic questions. In order to prepare for
the circle, I not only looked for evidence within the book, but I also used my post-it notes from
each section to make connections to previous ideas I had had before starting to Socratic circle
prep. I would rate my contributions as important and meaningful, as I was my circle’s facilitator
for the discussion. I was in charge of introducing, analyzing, and transitioning through the
questions discussed. Although I only contributed my personal opinion and ideas a few times, I
provided chances for other people to share their thoughts by addressing them about the question
being asked. I think that the teamwork my group displayed was decent, as everyone was
respectful and attempted to connect their ideas to one another, but I feel we could have improved
on overall participation. Everyone in my group had the opportunity to talk during the circle, but
not everyone took advantage of that opportunity. I think my feedback was helpful in giving my
partner better success as a facilitator; however, there is only so much you can give commentary
on when your partner’s main job is to read the Socratic questions. I think I could have personally
improved the Socratic circle by attempting to make some of the less talkative members discuss
the topics of the circle. My goals for the next Socratic circle are to contribute more of my
opinions and to help other students contribute and join the circle with their own opinions and
ideas.
I would rate our overall group’s preparation for this Socratic circle as pretty good because
the majority of our members prepared answers and opinions on the questions asked of us.​ I​
would rate the quality of the overall conversation of our inner circle as high because our group
successfully was able to deepen the understanding of the different people and events within ​The
Crucible. W ​ e were able to respectfully disagree and connect to each others’ ideas and
viewpoints. I would rate the level of teamwork as okay because not everyone participated, and I
felt that we all had ample time to contribute to each question. I would rate the quality of
feedback given as good because I feel that we were constructive without being harsh, and were
also able to complement the other group on any successes they had during the circle.
Reverend Hale’s character development over the course of the play, ​The Crucible,​ by
Arthur Miller is due to his realizations on community reputations, revenge and the human
tendency to deflect blame. In order to further back up and explain my thesis, I would discuss
Reverend Hale’s actions during the beginning, middle, and end of the play, and how they change
with the course of the play. Rev. Hale originally believed that there were witches in Salem, but
towards the end of the play, he realizes that the accusations were to take revenge on others in the
town. He also comes to the conclusion that the true villains blame everyone to deflect the blame
from themselves. I would use the events of the multiple trials of the Salem citizens as well as
Proctor’s concluding confession to analyze and reason about my thesis.
 Bajo-Smith 2

Prior to reading ​The Crucible​ as a class, I decided to read a summary of the text online.
When I read the summary and then read the play; I noticed there were quite a few characters who
shared a petty personality which is something that I have experienced in my life. Recently, I
played a volleyball game against a girl who had bullied me in middle school. We beat her team
in just 3 sets, and it was very satisfying. I had previously said before that there are also petty
people in my life, but when I said that I meant myself. I am the type of person who can hold a
grudge for a long time, so when Abigail wanted to kill Goody Proctor because she was in love
with her husband, I honestly could relate to her pettiness. I also can connect this play to a unit I
did on the novel ​Animal Farm​ my freshman year before I transferred to Mater Dei. In that class,
we read an article on the mob mentality, and how people were more likely to act irrationally
within a crowd. I feel this explains the climax of ​The Crucible,​ as the characters were able to
accuse each other when they were within groups. For example, Abigail was able to successfully
accuse Mary Warren when the other girls followed her lead. Overall I feel that ​The Crucible​ is a
novel that is a high quality read for high school students, as it allows us to recognize the people
throughout our lives who have some unsavory qualities, and when we should be honest to protect
and help other people.