Reading Guide:
THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller Essential Questions:
As you read and discuss this text, keep in mind…
•
How does a collective fear affect the group or
individuals?
•
Is hypocrisy a natural human flaw?
•
What constitutes true authority?
•
What is the proper application of authority?
•
How can people deal with sin and guilt?
•
What responsibility does the individual have to
speak out against social injustice and community
wrongs?
•
Is it possible for the logic and rationalism of law
and justice to be effective in the face of the
emotionalism of fear and hysteria?
•
In what ways can appearances misrepresent
reality?
•
What are the consequences of revenge, both for
the individual and for society as a whole?
•
Though the play is set three hundred years ago,
how does it carry meaning for our lives today?
Pre-Reading:
Directions: Before you read Act II, on a separate sheet of paper complete the following…
¨ Title this paper: Personal Response: The Crucible Act II
¨ Subtitle the first side this paper: Before Reading
¨ Before Reading Prompt: Choose one of the following prompts for which you write a PERSONAL
RESPONSE (minimum 1 page written / ½ page typed)
Write about a time when…
1. You or someone you know was judged unfairly.
2. You asked to be forgiven for a wrong you’d done but were not.
3. Jealousy – your own or someone else’s – caused a problem for you.
4. Honesty – your own or someone else’s – played a role in a conflict in your life.
5. Your emotions in a particular situation clouded your judgment.
English III
C. Sawada
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Reading Guide:
THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller Active Reading: ACT II
Annotation Directions:
While you read, think about and respond to the following questions. These questions will help draw your
attention to important details as well as support your understanding as you read. However, you should
NOT limit your annotations only to these notes and questions. Make notes of your own thoughts and
reactions to the text as you read. Annotating the text is a requirement and will be checked periodically.
Annotations are responses written IN the text NOT on a separate sheet of paper. If you are using a school
copy of the text, use sticky notes to complete your annotations. The purpose of this practice is to enable
you to see and study your understandings, thoughts and interpretations side-by-side with the text.
1. Mark Elizabeth Proctor’s report to her husband about the trials, and explain what she wants him to
do there.
2. Note John's response to her prodding and explain why you think he responds this way.
3. Note the gift that Mary gives Elizabeth. Explain what this is.
4. What was the "evidence" against Sarah Good?
5. Why doesn't Proctor want Mary to go back to court?
6. What ominous revelation does Mary Warren make about Elizabeth’s reputation? How does this
disclosure serve to make the quarrel between Elizabeth and Jon even more heated?
7. What things are "suspicious" about Proctor and his family? Note where you see this.
8. Note where John Hale questions Proctor and his wife about their religious faith. How do the
Proctors answer each of the questions and allegations?
9. On what charge(s) was Rebecca Nurse arrested? What does Miller expect us to remember from
Act I in connection with each set of charges?
10. What theological argument does Joan Hale use to explain the causes of the events in Salem?
11. Note and explain the significance of the needle in the "poppet."
12. What conflict does John Proctor face at the end of the act?
Post-Reading:
Directions: Return to your Before Reading Personal Response. On the backside of the paper complete the
following…
¨ Subtitle the first side this paper: After Reading
¨ Respond to the same prompt, but this time, write as one of the characters. Be sure to utilize
specific information that happened in the text as well as write in that character’s voice. (minimum
1 page written / ½ page typed)
English III
C. Sawada
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Reading Guide:
THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller Honors Extension: “The Birthmark” by Nathanial Hawthorne
To enrich your reading of The Crucible, you will also be reading short stories by Nathanial Hawthorne with
similar themes and issues. To accompany your reading of Act II, read the short story, “The Birthmark.”
Annotation Directions:
Read the story straight through first. Then go back and read closely annotating as you do.
While you read, think about and respond to the following questions. These questions will help draw your
attention to important details as well as support your understanding as you read. However, you should
NOT limit your annotations only to these notes and questions. Make notes of your own thoughts and
reactions to the text as you read. Annotating the text is a requirement and will be checked periodically.
Annotations are responses written IN the text NOT on a separate sheet of paper. If you are using a school
copy of the text, use sticky notes to complete your annotations. The purpose of this practice is to enable
you to see and study your understandings, thoughts and interpretations side-by-side with the text.
1. The birthmark is a symbol. What does it symbolize? Mark the text where you see support of the
birthmark as a symbol (should cite several instances).
2. Note where Aylmer creates a plant that quickly grows, blooms into a flower, and then dies in the
hands of Georgiana. In the margin, explain what this plant and its quick demise symbolize?
3. Aylmer’s assistant, Aminadab, laughs twice at the end of the story. Mark both of these moments.
Why is he laughing that second time? (It might help if you can figure out what Aminadab
symbolizes in the story.) 4. Study and analyze the last three sentences of the story. Explain what the narrator is saying in
simpler language? Second, what theme or commentary is the narrator making about Aylmer or
about humankind in general?
5. After you read, go back and find at least three moments that foreshadow Georgiana’s death.
Identify them and briefly explain how they hint at her demise.
After reading the short story, “The Birthmark” and Act II of The Crucible, complete the following writing
task:
PROMPT:
Both “The Birthmark,” and The Crucible Acts I-II raise the issue of obsession with perfection. Write an essay
analyzing how this theme in established and developed through the characters of each work. Be sure to
provide specific evidence. Do not merely summarize the plot of each text.
English III
C. Sawada
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