The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The action begins in the home of Reverend Parris, whose daughter Betty lies unconscious and appears very ill. Around midnight the night before, Parris had discovered Betty, his niece Abigail, and Tituba, his black slave, dancing in the woods, causing Betty to swoon. The local physician is unable to determine the cause of Betty's illness. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam arrive and reveal that their daughter Ruth is also ill. There is talk in the village of an unnatural cause.

        Abigail warns her friend Mercy Lewis and the Proctors' servant Mary Warren, not to reveal that they were all casting spells in the woods. Betty wakes, and Abigail threatens the other girls with violence if they tell anyone that she drank blood and cast a spell in order to kill Goody Proctor. Betty loses consciousness again.

John Proctor and Abigail talk privately about their former relationship. Prior to the opening of the play, Abigail worked as a servant in the Proctor home. Elizabeth Proctor was ill at the time and Abigail took on more responsibility within the Proctor household. When Elizabeth discovered the affair, she dismissed Abigail. During their discussion, Abigail becomes angry with Proctor because he refuses to acknowledge any feelings for her.

        My personal reaction to Act One of The Crucible was that I was surprised most of the time. There were many reveals and twists and turns very early on. I thought it was going to be a very dramatic kind of story.
              I believe the author's intent was to write an allegory on the Salem Witch Trials. I observed a kind of cause and effect type of pattern of organization. Many problems in the story were caused by something.

In Chapter 28, Jem and Scout were walking back from the Halloween pageant where Scout accidentally messed up the food pageant by missing her cue. They decided to stay for the pageant even after Scouts misfortunate turn of events. While walking back to their home, Jem hears footsteps coming from behind them. Scout thought it was Cecil Jacobs. Jem asked Scout to stay quiet and move quickly. The “man” (Bob Ewell) attempted to harm Jem and Scout by almost killing Scout with a knife, and then Jem. A mysterious savior threw back Bob Ewell and carried Jem away towards their home. Scout followed him back to her house. Jem was harmed so Aunt Alexandra dialed Dr. Reynolds. After brief examination, he explained Jem was going to be alright but had a broken arm and was unconscious. In the end, Mr. Tate said Bob Ewell was found dead with a knife lodged into his rib cage after the incident.   

In Chapter 29, Mr. Tate asked Scout to explain what had happened. She briefly remembered what has just occurred.  Mr. Tate examined Scout’s pork costume and said the thing have blocked the impact from the knife, because the knife never went all the way due to the chicken wire. In the end, Scout pointed at the man in the corner that saved her life. While pointing out, Scout realized this was a man she has never seen before. She described him as a thin, tall, pale white man, with stained khaki pants and a denim shirt. She quickly fit the description of the man she has been longing to meet; A man she has never seen. “Hey, Boo., Scout softly said.

 I am puzzled by the thought of Bob Ewell doing something as malevolent as this, but I’d never thought I’d see the day when Arthur would come out! I find Jem and Scout to be very lucky in a situation like this. Arthur came just in time to save the day. Scout and Jem was about to be strangled and stabbed to death, but Arthur Radley came to the rescue and stabbed Bob Ewell. In this situation, I think this incident has changed Scouts perspective of Arthur Radley. In the beginning of the book, Jem and Scout thought of him as a crazy person. After this Chapter, Scout now seems to see Arthur as the hero who saved her life and now she has completed her dream of meeting him for the first time.

I believe the author’s intent in this chapter was to make the reader realize to not assume the worst in a person you have never met before based on other peoples perspective. This  is considered to be a coming of age experience for Scout in this these last chapter of the book. If I were to take notes on this section of the book, I would use the thought bubble to trace the events and draw up conclusions based on the reading.