the crucible quiz
John Proctor summary
A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor's husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
What gift does Mary make for Elizabeth? How does this end up getting Elizabeth into trouble? What kind of irony is this?
A poppet(small rag doll). When Elizabeth receives the doll it still has a needle in it that Mary accidentally left in it while making it which Abigail saw. Later Abigail sticks a needle into her side right where she knew the needle was in the doll that Elizabeth now had. When Hale went to her house to arrest Elizabeth they saw the ragdoll had a needle in it and accused Elizabeth of sending out her spirit and stabbing Abigail. So the ragdoll was hard evidence that Elizabeth was a witch. This is situational irony because Mary made the poppet as a gift to Elizabeth but it actually ended up putting Elizabeth in jail.
Francis Nurse
A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
Reverend John Hale
A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris's daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
How does Abigail threaten Judge Danforth?
Abigail accuses judge danforth that after all shes done to be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a... after danforth says child, i don't mistrust you abigail starts to get angry and threatens judge danforth by saying, "let you beware, mister danforth-think you to be so mighty that the power of hell may not turn your wits?!-beware of it!"
What things are "suspicious" about Proctor and his family? a. Proctor does not go to church regularly b. Their youngest son has not been baptized. c. He could not remember all ten of the commandments d. b & c e. All of the above.
All of the above.
What new duty does Mary Warren have?
An official of the court
What does Ann Putnam claim in the play abuout her dead infant children?
Ann putnum claimed that her children were murdered by the devil through his followers in salem.
Why has Parris sent for Reverend Hale from Beverly?
Because Betty is sick and unnatural causes and witchcraft were suspected. Reverend Hale is an expert in witchcraft so they sent for him to investigate.
What does Giles Corey allege in his deposition about Thomas Putnam? How does this get Giles Corey in trouble?
Corey's deposition accuses mr. Putnam that he coldy prompted his daughter to cry witchery upon George jacobs that is now in jail. The proof was that Corey got it from an honest man who heard Putnam say it, the day his daughter cried out on Jacobs, he said she'd given him a fair gift of land. Corey did not mention what the name of his trusted source was and when Danforth asked for the name Corey refused because he knew that he would be brought in for questioning. Because Corey would not tell the name, Danforth states that he has no choice but to arrest Corey for contempt of this court.
What compromise, or deal, does Danforth offer to Proctor? What is Proctor's response?
Danforth offers a deal to proctor saying: I will let elizebeth be kept another month; and if she begins to show her natural signs , you shall have her living yet another year until she is delivered. Proctor's response was: I cannot. This was because he wanted to save his friends wives as well as his own.
Faulty Logic
Faulty logic is when a reasonable statement is made, but it is based on a false assumption.
Rebecca Nurse
Francis Nurse's wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.
How is the deposition Francis Nurse brings an example of situational irony? Explain carefully.
Francis nurses deposition was a testament where 91 people signing it declared their good opinion of Rebecca nurse, elizabeth proctor, and martha corey. When proctor gave judge danforth the list he called for all the people to be summoned and for questioning. This is situational irony because francis nurse just wanted to help and so did the 91 people that signed thinking that no harm would come to themselves. However now they are all going to be questioned and most likely some will be arrested.
Who is the first woman sentenced to hang for witchcraft? What are the three pieces of evidence against her?
Goody Osburn. The pieces of evidence against her were that when she was in the court she sent out her spirit and nearly choked Mary and all of them to death. The second piece of evidence was that after mary turned her away not giving her the food that she asks for goody Osburn mumbled and cursed mary and as goody Osburn walked away mary thought her guts would burst for two days after. The third piece of evidence was that she could not recite the ten commandments.
Miller colors the play with dialect, or specific regional speech. What do the following mean? Goody, Aye, and Sportin'?
Goody means a woman, old woman or housewife, of a lowly status: used as a title with the surname. Aye means yes. Sportin' means jesting or joking
John Proctor
Had an affair with Abigail Williams
What do Hale and Danforth want Elizabeth Proctor to do?
Hale and Danforth want elizabeth proctor to convince her husband john proctor to confess to witchcraft.
What does Hale attribute Proctor's willingness to hang to? What does Elizabeth attribute it to?
Hale attributes proctors willingness to hang to his pride, vanity, and shame. elizabeth attributes it to is john has his goodness noe and no one can take it.
What does Reverend Hale mean when he says,"there is blood on my head!"?
Hale says this because he feels responsible for the deaths of the innocent people who have been condemned especially john proctor and rebecca nurse because after hale had already started arresting and condemning people he found the witchcraft to be a hoax but it was to late and he himself was the one that let it prolong. he means by this quote that the blood of the innocent and soon to be condemned are his fault and responsibility.
Why does Cheever come to the Proctor's house?
He comes to arrest Elizabeth.
According to the stage directions, how does John Hale enter for the first time? Why do we need to know this?
He entered with books of religion in hand that he says are weighted with authority. He also said that they would need to study hard if it comes to tracking down the old boy(the devil). We also need to know this because they talk about the books without mentioning that they're books and if we did not know john hale had brought them in then that dialogue would not make sense.
What is John's response when Elizabeth asks him to do this?
He hesitates because he fears repercussions
Why was Elizabeth suspicious of John Proctor?
He lied about being alone with Abigail.
Why did Hale come to Proctor's house?
He wanted to question them about their Christian home.
What is the deciding factor in Elizabeth's arrest?
Her possession of the doll with a needle in it
exposition
In 1692 Salem Reverend Parris's daughter Betty becomes unexplainably ill.
climax
In a moment of frustration, to save his wife and others John Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail to the court.
Elizabeth Proctor
John Proctor's wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
What confession does Proctor make in open court? How does Danforth test the truth of this confession?
John confesses that he is a lecher and that Abigail and him had an affair 8 months ago. To test the truth of the confession Danforth has Elizabeth enter the court, who proctor says cannot lie. Danforth has proctor and abigail stand facing towards him, back toward elizabeth, and are not allowed to take their eyes off of danforth or turn their heads so that none of them could converse. Then he questions Elizabeth about why she dismissed Abigail as her servant. Not knowing if john had confessed or not, Elizebeth begins to explain how abigail and proctor had relations, however, when asked if john proctor had ever commited the crime of lechery she said no, which was a lie, to protect john. So now Elizabeth was removed from the courtroom and will be condemned.
This act contains much irony. Explain how the following is ironic: John Proctor's confession and Judge Danforth's testing of it-
John proctor confession and judge danforth testing of it was situational irony because john confessed to show that abigail was not who she portrayed to be and to free elizabeth however when danforth brought elizabeth in and questioned her she lied to keep johns affair a secret, which ended up put john in jail and along with elizabeth and abigail untouched. It's also ironic because Abigail wants Elizabeth condemned so that she could be with John; however now she just caused him to go to jail and possibly be condemned as well so the whole reason she started the rumors of witchcraft is gone. This is also situational irony. There is also dramatic irony in the sense that Elizabeth didn't know if John had confessed or not but we as readers did know that he confessed.
Why does John Proctor not want to attend Reverend Parris's church services?
John proctor does not like reverend parris and does not want to attend reverend parris's church services because he only preaches of hellfire and bloody damnation and he hardly ever mentions god.
As act 3 opens, who is being questioned and on what charge
Martha Corey is being charged on reading fortunes.
Toward the end of Act II, Giles Corey reveals that two more women were accused of witchcraft. Who were they?
Martha and Rebecca
Why—I made it in the court, sir, and—give it to Goody Proctor tonight...why, I meant no harm by it, sir.
Mary
What happens to John Proctor at the end of the act?
Mary says that proctor is the devils man he comes by her at night and every day to saign her name, and he'll murder her if his wife hangs, and that he says we must overthrow the court. Mary states that he wakes her up every night, his eyes like coals and his fingers clawher neck and she signs. Because of this, Judge Danforth orders marshal to take proctor and corey to the jail.
Give one example of faulty logic in Act 2
One example of faulty logic is that if you don't know your ten commandments you're a witch. Hale uses this as one of the tests to determine if someone is a witch or not, for example in court goody osburn is asked to recite her ten commandments, which she did not do, so she was found guilty. This is faulty logic because if i was told to ricit the bill of rights i would not know what to say, someone could also not mentally be able to remember things like that, and in a situation such as john proctors he felt guilty that he committed adultery so he didn't ricit all ten commandments even though he knew all ten, therefore this is a faulty way of determining if someone is a witch or not. Miller uses a lot of figurative language in Act 2, saying things in a roundabout way.
What is the setting of Act 2? How much time has passed since Act 1?
Proctors house, eight days later.
What are Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse each accused of?
Rebbecca nurse was charged for murder, for the marvelous and supernatural murder of goody Putnam's babies. Martha Corey was charged for bewitching a pig with her books and killing it.
Which characters helped start the investigation, but now condemns it
Rev. Hale
Abigail Williams
Reverend Parris's niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.
Now that he has returned, what is Reverend Hale advising the condemned to do?
Reverend hale returns to salem and advises the condemned to confess to witchcraft or their crimes to save their lives
What does Reverend Parris reveal about his niece Abigail?
Reverend parris reveals that abigail ran away with mercy lewis and stole 31 pounds from his strongbox. He also tells he believes they are aboard a ship.
Where and when is the opening scene of the play set?
Salem Massachusetts spring of the year 1619. In a bedroom in reverend samuel parris's house.
Give 2-3 traits and general information for the following characters.
Samuel Parris - paranoid and power hungry. He is the reverend of Salem and is unliked by many. Father of betty and uncle to Abigail. He does not want to leap to the conclusion of witchcraft. Thomas Putnam - greedy and selfish. He is a wealthy landowner who is a very influential citizen of Salem because land was equal to power at that time period. Husband of Ann Putnam. He urged Parris to declare there was witchcraft in Salem and bring reverend hale to investigate. Rebecca Nurse - wise, sensible, old. she is a prominent and respected elder in salem. She urges Parris to send reverend hale back back as soon as he comes and is not in favor of witchcraft.
Ann Putnam
Sent her daughter to conjure the dead
why does Elizabeth think that Abigail wants to kill her?
She believes Abby wants to take her place as John's wife.
What was the "evidence" against Sarah Good?
She confessed to witchcraft
Why doesn't Mary want to testify about the doll?
She is afraid of Abigail
What does Elizabeth do when called upon to testify
She lies
How did Abigail convince the court that Mary "was sending her spirit out"?
She pretended that Mary had taken the form of a yellow bird and was about to swoop down
What will happen to Proctor if he tries to discredit Abby or tell everyone she's lying?
She will tell that she and John Proctor had an affair.
situational irony
Situational Irony occurs when an event or situation contradicts the expectation of the reader and/or characters.
What is Mary Warren now prepared to tell the court?
That she never saw any spirits and the girls were lying.
What is the setting of Act III?
The Salem meeting house serving as the court
What are the three ways Hale questions the Proctor on his religious faith? What is Proctor's response to each question?
The first question was why Proctor rarely went to church on the sabbath day, Proctor answers this question with the excuse that his wife was sick this winter and when he didn't go to church he prayed in his own home. The second question hale asked was why were only two of his 3 sons baptized, proctor answered by saying that he did not like mister Parris and did not want him to touch his babies because he could not see any light of god in Parris. The last question was if Proctor knew his ten commandments and to recite them, which he did but he only recited 9 leaving out adultery because he couldn't bring himself to lie about the fact that he had an affair with Abigail.
Reverend Parris
The minister of Salem's church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
How would you describe the mood at the end of this act? What might this mood foreshadow about future events in the town of Salem?
The mood at the end of this act was chaotic and hysterical due to people shouting out random names and things that supposedly happened because of fear and because other people were doing it. This mood may be foreshadowing that the rest of town is going to fall into mass hysteria and continue to accuse random people of witchcraft just because other people are doing it.
On what charge(s) was Rebecca Nurse arrested?
The murder of Goody Putnam's babies
What is the setting of Act 4?
Three months later in a cell in Salem jail.
What does John Hale do to show his disapproval at the end of the act?
To show his disapproval of john and corey's arrest john hale yells, "i denounce these proceedings! I quit the court! And he leaves.
Verbal Irony
Verbal Irony is when a person says or writes one thing, but means another. Sarcasm is often considered this type of irony.
What happens when John Hale interrogates Tituba?
When john hale interrogates tituba she denies any association with the devil but then abigail starts making up stuff to implicate her and then parris and putnam threaten tituba's life. When Tituba realizes she could die she confesses that the devil comes to her with 4 people and tells her to kill mister parris but she says no. Then she starts naming people that she has seen with the devil then Abigail starts naming people then Betty wakes up and names people.
Miller uses a lot of figurative language in Act 2, saying things in a roundabout way. Explain what these phrases mean:
Your justice would freeze beer (3); This phrase said by Proctor to Elizabeth is saying that Elizabeth is colder than the temperature needed to freeze beer, which is colder than what is needed to freeze water. He says this because after Proctor and Abigail's affair Elizebeth had become emotionally cold. My wife is the very brick and mortar of the church (12); This phrase is saying that Rebbeca nurse is the very person holding the church together. It is emphasizing how important she is to the church I will fall like an ocean on that court (15) This phrase is saying that the proctor will use all his might and force when Elizabeth is on trial to save her. He says this to reassure Elisabeth that he would bring her home and that she should not fear anything.
What gift did Mary Warren give Elizabeth?
a poppet
Tituba
a slave from Barbados conjures spirits with girls in the woods
"I have been near to murdered every day because I had done my duty pointing out the devil's people."
abigail
According to Elizabeth what happened to Giles Corey?
according to elizabeth giles corey died because He would not answer ay or nay to his indictment(confess to witchcraft); if he denied the charge they'd hang him and auction out his property. So he stood mute and died Christian under the law. he was pressed with great stones upon his chest until he plead ay or nay, but he did not and instead said more weight and died.
After Proctor confesses, what does Danforth want him to do? What does Proctor ultimately decide?
after proctor verbally confesses danforth wants proctor to testify that he saw rebecca nurse with the devil or anyone and sign his name on his testimony to being involved in witcraft and the devil. however proctor will not testify he saw anyone with the devil and refuses to sign his name because he wants to protect his names reputation and thinks that the verbal confession to danforth is enough. proctor will not sign therefore he is condemned. because proctor would rather die with honesty than live with lies
Abigail Williams
an orphan, lives with her uncle
The court bid me search your house, but I like not to search a house. So will you hand me any poppets that your wife may keep here?
cheever
What is Giles Corey charged with
contempt of court
"...a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it; there be no road between."
danforth
Betty Parris
daughter of a Salem minister; unresponsive in bed
A killer is hiding in the attic of an abandoned house a group of teenagers seek shelter in.(dramatic, verbal, or situational)
dramatic irony
dramatic irony
dramatic irony is when the audience knows more about the events in a story than the characters do.
"I came to think he fancied her. And so one night I lost my wits and put her out on the highroad"
elizebeth
I cannot think the devil may own a woman's soul, when she keeps in an upright way as I have. I am a good woman.
elizebeth
"I may shut my conscience to it no more - private vengeance is working through this testimony!"
hale
Rev. John Hale
has great knowledge of witches
What could postpone Elizabeth Proctor's execution?
her pregnancy
I come of my own, without the court's authority. I know not if you are aware, but your wife's name is - mentioned in the court.
john hale
You will not judge me more Elizabeth. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband any more.
john proctor
Putnam
land owner who holds many grudges
character conflicts
parris and proctor, abigail and elizabeth, abigail and proctor, goody putnam and rebecca nurse, putnams and parris, elizebeth and proctor
Hathorne asks Mary Warren to prove that she is telling the truth by :
pretending to faint
Why does Proctor decide to confess?
proctor decides to confess after talking with elizabeth. john confesses because by confessing he can stay alive for elizabeth and his kids and since he confessed to adultery and made amends already he can start over his relationship with elizabeth.
According to Giles Corey, Putnam had his neighbor accused to
purchase his land at an auction
Mercy Lewis
ran naked in the forest
How do the hangings of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor differ from the past executions?
rebecca nurse and john proctor are respected and large parts of this community whereas the past executions have been people who are more outcasts and people who many don't like or care for. the execution of outcasts isn't going to bring up many suspicions about whether or not they're actually witches, however, the execution of a trusted, respected, and loved citizen is going to bring up some red flags and cause people to start not believe in the accusations of witchcraft and begin to revolt against it.
On the way to a hit and run accident scene, the ambulance hits a man walking his dog. (dramatic, verbal, or situational)
situational irony
Why does Mary Warren withdraw her claim that the girls are frauds?
the other girls accuse her of witchcraft
Why does Proctor confess to having an affair with Abigail?
to discredit Abby's claims against others including his wife
Where did Elizabeth first ask John to go?
to into Salem and tell the authorities Abigail is lying
A dog is said to be as "friendly as a rattlesnake." (dramatic, verbal, or situational)
verbal irony
Mary Warren
was in the forest, but only looked
Rebecca Nurse
well respected, "godly" woman
What is dramatic irony
when the readers know more than the characters in the story
Rev. Hale quits the court because he:
won't prosecute his good friend, Proctor
