Before you start the play…
Go to pages 217-219 and http://www.qwiki.com/reference or google ―qwiki reference‖ and find out Who, What, When,
Where, Why, How…for each of the following:
Arthur Miller –
Why he wrote The Crucible
Red Scare
Senator Joe McCarthy
McCarthyism
Hollywood’s Blacklist
And by the way, what is a crucible anyway? Find two different definitions, the root word and its meaning, and the
etymology
Character List
John Proctor - 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Putnam’s accuse her of witchcraft and
she refuses to confess.
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.
Judge Danforth - The Deputy Governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and
scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is
accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in con-tempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.
Thomas Putnam - A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing
Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth
by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived.
The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
Ruth Putnam - The Putnam’s’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after
Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night.
Tituba - Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request.
Mary Warren - The servant in John Proctor’s household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl,
easily influenced by those around her.
Betty Parris - Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the
other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.
Martha Corey - Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.
Ezekiel Cheever - A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined
to do his duty for justice.
Judge Hawthorne - A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials.
Herrick - The marshal of Salem.
Mercy Lewis - The servant in Thomas Putnam’s household. Mercy belongs to Abigail’s group of girls.
Acts I and II:
1. As the play opens Rev. Parris is questioning his niece. What is he questioning her about and what exactly is his real
concern? Give two examples that Proctor, Putnam, and Corey give for why Parris is an ineffective minister.
2. Explain in detail the relationship of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams.
3. One of Arthur Miller’s major subjects in the play is the nature of authority. Comment on how Samuel Parris, Thomas Putnam, John
Hale, and Rebecca Nurse are linked with the idea of authority in Act One.
4. Exactly why is Rev. Hale in Salem?
5. a) Why does Abigail Williams accuse people at the end of Act I?
b) Why does Betty Parris accuse people?
c) How does Hale confuse Tituba? What is the significance of their conversation?
6. A playwright has three major tools for presenting the facts of a play: antecedent action, exposition, and present action. Antecedent action is
that which occurs before the play opens. Exposition is that part of the play which is not presented dramatically, such as stage directions.
Once antecedent action and exposition have been isolated, all else may be regarded as present action, which is presented dramatically.
What facts are presented in Act One by means of antecedent action?
a) List the conflicts in the exposition Act I. Which do you think is the major conflict? Give reasons for your answers.
7. The major gain of expository character description is insight into motivation. Briefly state what insight is gained into the motivation of
the major characters, Parris, Abigail, Tituba, Thomas and Ann Putnam, John Proctor, Francis and Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale and
Giles Corey through exposition in Act One:
8. Why doesn't John Proctor tell the court immediately what he knows concerning what has been happening?
9. Give three reasons for Elizabeth's suspicions concerning her husband and explain Elizabeth's statement: "John, if it
were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not?" and explain John's response.
10. Explain why Mary Warren thinks Elizabeth should speak civilly to her?
a) Explain what Mary Warren means when she exclaims, ―I saved her life today"?
11. Present Action: When Elizabeth is taken away in chains, John Proctor tries to convince Mary Warren to testify
against Abigail. a) What does Mary Warren warn him will happen if he testifies against Abigail?
b) What does he eventually decide to do and why?
c) What tempo is established by the pattern of character entrance in Act Two? What is the overall effect of handing the events of Act Two through
character entrance into the Proctor home?
d) Compare and contrast the setting of Act Two with that of Act One. How are the two settings different? How are they similar in atmosphere or
mood?
e) The scenes in this act are calculated to produce a rising curve of suspense or tension revolving around
Elizabeth's safety. How does the introductory conversation between John and Elizabeth establish suspense? How does the scene with
Mary increase the tension? What further increase in suspense results from Hale's visit and the reasons for it? Where does the tension
peak in Act Two?
f) Although the play presents many conflicting forces and characters, the end of Act Two hints that the most important conflict, leading
up to the climax of the play, will take place between two specific characters—a protagonist and an antagonist. Who are these characters?
What hints can you detect in Act Two about the resolution of the conflict?
Acts III and IV:
12. Hale and Proctor a) Why does Rev. Hale come to the Proctor's home? What does this scene reveal about Hale's
role in the trial?
b) What does Proctor tell Hale about why the children were ill? How does he claim to know?
c) What event begins to change Hale's opinion about the arrests? How does he feel about the court?
d) What two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented against Proctor?
13. Discuss the phrase "Do that which is good, and no harm shall come to thee." Irony?
14. Accusations: a) How are these two ideas connected: 1) Walcott buying a pig. 2) Martha Corey being accused of
witchcraft.
b) What accusation does Giles Corey make about Thomas Putnam?
c) What proof does he have?
d) What is he then asked to do because of that accusation?
d) Why does he refuse, and what happens to him because of that refusal?
15. Legal Maneuvers: a) Explain how Danforth decides to test John's accusation of Abigail and discuss the irony of
what happens. Make sure you summarize the events regarding Danforth, Elizabeth, and Proctor.
b) Act Three is the most legalistic act in the play, filled with claims and counterclaims. Many of the arguments and decisions in the Salem
court depend on faulty logic and result in a perversion of justice. Miller wants the audience to see parallels between many of these actions
and the events of the McCarthy witch-hunts of the 1950's. For example, Danforth's order to arrest 'for examination' those who signed the
deposition in favor of Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, and Elizabeth Proctor might be regarded as parallel to the notorious guilt-byassociation smears of the McCarthy period.
a) When Danforth rejects Hale's request that legal counsel present Mary Warren's deposition, how is the governor's logic faulty?
b) What do you think about the propriety of Danforth's insistence that Giles Corey name the anonymous informant who accused Thomas
Putnam?
c) How might John Hale be said to identify the major underlying problem with the court's justice when he says, ―There is a prodigious fear of
this court in the country‖?
16. What does John Proctor mean when he says, ―God is dead"?
Although this act centers on the subjects of hypocrisy and hysteria in the court proceedings, we are also presented with several examples of
courage and the assertion of integrity. How are the following characters linked with the subject of courage in this act?
a.
Mary Warren:
b.
John Proctor
c.
Giles Corey:
d.
John Hale:
17. Opening of Act: a) Why does Arthur Miller open Act Four with a scene of madness:
b) What is the setting of Act Four? How much time has elapsed since the end of Act Three?
c) Where do Tituba and Sarah Good tell Marshal Herrick they are going?
d) The scene in the jail with Herrick, Sarah Good, and Tituba can been seen as comic relief—for a moment the tension and seriousness of the
play is reduced. Do you think there might also be a serious purpose in this scene? If so, what is it?
e) What does Samuel Parris report about Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis? Why Is Parris afraid for his personal safety? What is Danforth's
reaction? What inner conflict may this news rouse in Danforth? How does this conflict affect the course of his decisions in Act Four?
f) Why is Danforth especially nervous about rumors concerning events in Andover? What are his reasons for receiving no pleas for pardon or for
postponement of the executions? What are the reasons he does not relent?
Hale: a) Discuss why Rev. Hale returns to Salem.
b) According to John Hale, what is the present condition of the countryside? How might his description of the countryside be regarded as symbolic of the
moral and spiritual desolation that has afflicted Salem?
c) What philosophical conclusions has Hale arrived at as a result of the Salem ordeal?
18. Elizabeth and John
a) What news does Elizabeth bring to John about Rebecca? Giles?
b) What are the reasons John offers for considering confession? Why does Proctor refuse to sign his confession? What details of the confession
procedures convince Proctor that it is evil and cause him to recant?
c) In the critical scene between Elizabeth and John Proctor, we gain insight into John's actions at the climax of the play. How are Elizabeth and
John both tortured by guilt? Why does Elizabeth reuse to influence John's decision?
d) What is the importance regarding the structure of the play of the appearance of Rebecca Nurse just when John Proctor is struggling to make the
most important decision of his life?
19. What is meant by "There is blood on my head"?
20. Discuss the irony in ―if it is a lie I cannot accept it.‖
21. Discuss "I am John Proctor! You will not use me!"
Characters: A static character is one portrayed as relatively fixed and unchanging throughout a play; he or she does not change
significantly. A dynamic character, on the other hand, changes significantly as a result of events, conflicts, or other forces. Thomas
Putnam, Rebecca Nurse, Tituba, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams are among the static characters in The Crucible. In
what ways might the following characters be regarded as dynamic?
a.
John Proctor
b.
Elizabeth Proctor
c.
Giles Corey:
d.
Mary Warren:
e.
John Hale:
IRONY in The Crucible
Directions: Complete the following statements and identify whether it is an example of verbal, situational, or dramatic
irony.
1.
Proctor is known for his ―good name,‖ yet
2.
The Puritans believed that ―children should be seen, not heard,‖ yet the girls
3.
Giles Corey was a talkative man, yet
4.
One of the accusers is named Mercy Lewis, yet
5.
Elizabeth is portrayed as an honest woman, yet when questioned by Judge Danforth
6.
Danforth says, ―…the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through
the children,‖ yet
7.
In Act IV, Sarah Good and Tituba are considered insane, yet Salem
8.
Proctor says, ―Good! Then her saintliness is done with‖ in reference to Abigail,
9.
Abigail and the girls are motivated by evil intentions, yet the court
10.
Judge Danforth accuses Elizabeth of being hard-hearted toward her husband’s impending death, yet
11.
Proctor recites his Ten Commandments, yet
Symbols
Crucible
Stones
Poppet
Forest
Trials
Pregnancy
Archetypes
The Temptress
The Fall
Battle between Good and Evil
The Scapegoat
The Outcast
Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity
Haven vs. Wilderness