The Crucible Act 2

When Cheever discovers Elizabeth's poppet and quizzes Mary Warren about it, Mary claims that Abigail was sitting beside her in court while she made the doll. From this, what we can infer?

Abby saw Mary make the doll and leave the needle in the stomach and thereby came up with a plan to implicate Elizabeth.

What does his forgetting this particular commandment tell us about John?

He feels guilty for breaking his marriage vows.

In addition to not attending service often enough, what is the other spot of "softness" the Reverend Hale sees in John Proctor's church record?

He hasn't had his child baptized.

Both Elizabeth and Reverend Hale have asked John to go into town and testify against Abigail, telling the court that she confessed to him that there was no real witchcraft. John is hesitant, however. Why? What might be his motives for not wanting to speak out?

He still feels fond of Abigail and doesn't want to condemn her. He is afraid that his affair with Abigail will be revealed. He is afraid of the court and the possibility that he, too, could be accused.

In Act 1, John Proctor and Abigail interact. In Act II this scene contrasts with when John and Elizabeth Proctor interact. Describe the contrast.

John and Abigail's relationship is full of heat, passion, and anger, while John and Elizabeth's relationship is strained and cold.

If you wanted to prove that Reverend Hale is beginning to doubt the authenticity of the trials, which evidence would be the strongest support for this claim?

Proctor: There are them that will swear to anything before they'll hang; have you never thought of that? Hale: I have. I—I have indeed. (It is his own suspicion, but he resists it).

Coming back from court, Mary Warren is tired and emotional. She weeps and talks about the court "with horror." Describe her reactions.

She is finally realizing the serious consequences of the girl's actions and feels compelled to justify her guilt.

Elizabeth lets her temper show a little in this scene, despite the bad timing and potentially dire consequences. What does she say that might later come to haunt her?

She says that Abigail should be "ripped out of the world."

Goody Good has escaped hanging by claiming that she is pregnant, despite being nearly 60 years old. Mary assures the Proctors that the doctor has checked Goody Good and confirmed the pregnancy. What can you infer from this?

The doctor doesn't believe in the trials.

In one of the famous speeches of the play, John Proctor says, If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem—vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! Proctor is pointing out that it is not just witches that might have cruel motives. What might accusers gain from crying witchcraft against their neighbors according to Proctor?

They get revenge.

When Reverend Hale asks John to demonstrate his piety by reciting the commandments, which one does John forget?

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

We end Act II with the following aside from John Proctor: Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away—. . . It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now. Aye, naked! And the wind, God's icy wind, will blow! Which of the following is the best paraphrase of this aside?

We have to make a clear choice between doing good or doing evil to one another. We, the members of this community, haven't changed—we are the same people we've always been—but this trial has made us see each other's weaknesses more clearly. And now those weaknesses will be further exposed by the adversity that is coming.