The Crucible Act I Quiz-Study Guide
1.What is Reverend Parris upset about at the opening of Act I?
2. From the comments of Parris in Act I, what is his concern for his daughter seems primarily based
on?
3. In Act I, how does Reverend Parris’s belief in the supernatural affect his response to his
daughter’s illness?
4. What can be inferred from Act I about the attitude of Puritans toward their slaves?
5. Thomas Putnam’s attitude toward Reverend Parris is one of…?
6. This passage is from the background information at the opening of Act I. For what detail that
comes out later in Act I does this information prepare you?
Long-held hatreds of neighbors could now be openly expressed, and vengeance taken, despite the
Bible’s charitable injunctions. Land-lust which had been expressed before by constant bickering
over boundaries and deeds could now be elevated to the arena of morality. .
7. How does Mrs. Putnam justify sending Ruth to Tituba?
8. Mrs. Putnam’s comments suggest that her primary motivation in hunting for witches is?
9. How would you best describe Abigail Williams’s character?
10. From Act I, it can be inferred that the Puritans associated the forest with…?
11. From the scene in which the girls are alone, what can be inferred as the basis of Abigail’s
influence over the other girls?
12. How would you describe John Proctor’s words and actions in Act I?
13. Considering Tituba’s state of mind when she began naming names, what can you infer about her
motivation?
14. Why does Reverend Parris send for Reverend Hale?
15. Given this piece of information from the stage directions, what can readers conclude about
Tituba’s behavior at the end of Act I?
She enters as one does who can no longer bear to be barred from the sight of her beloved, but she is
also very frightened because her slave sense has warned her that, as always, trouble in this house
eventually lands on her back.
The Crucible Act II Quiz-Study Guide
1. What is the setting of Act II of The Crucible?
2. How would you best describes the relationship between John and Elizabeth
Proctor at the opening of Act II?.
3. When Elizabeth says to Proctor, “The magistrate sits in your heart that judges
you,” she means that Proctor…..?.
4. Proctor’s comment to Mary Warren, “It’s strange work for a Christian girl to
hang old women,” implies that he thinks Mary’s behavior is….?
5. How would you characterize Mary Warren?
6. What is Mary’s motive in giving the “poppet” to Elizabeth?
7. When Mary says that the crowd parted for Abigail like the sea for Israel, she
makes…what?
8. When Hale appears at the Proctors’ door, he is described as “different now—
drawn a little, and there is a quality of deference, even of guilt, about his
manner now.” What accounts for this change?
9. Hale’s interview with Proctor reveals Hale to be…?
10. What is Proctor’s attitude toward Parris?
11. Why does Proctor forget the commandment forbidding adultery?
12. When Rebecca Nurse is charged, Hale is troubled. What does he intend to
point out by this allusion to the story that the Devil was once an angel?
An hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.
13. In anger, Proctor calls Hale “Pontius Pilate.” Proctor’s intention is to…?
14. What is implied about human nature by the number of accusations that are
brought forth?
15. Proctor believes that Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft because…?
The Crucible Act III Quiz-Study Guide
1. What can the audience infer from Judge Hathorne’s questioning of Martha Corey at
the beginning of Act III?
2. Hathorne’s comments to Giles Corey and Francis Nurse imply that he wants to arrest
them because
3. Francis Nurse tells the judges that the girls are frauds. Hathorne’s response is, “This
is contempt, sir, contempt!” What is this an example of?
verbal irony/ dramatic irony/ sarcasm/foreshadowing
4. What is Proctor’s main purpose in bringing Mary Warren to court?
5. During the presentation of the evidence, Proctor’s behavior toward Danforth can
best be described as….?
6. Which character represents the tactic of making personal attacks on the integrity of
witnesses?
7. As the action proceeds, the allusion to the story of Raphael and Tobias becomes
ironic because….?.
8. Which type of figure is represented by Ezekiel Cheever?
9. Why is Parris’s charge of conspiracy effective?
10. What motivates Hale’s attempt to intervene on behalf of Proctor?
11. What development causes Mary Warren to recant her confession and rejoin Abigail
and the other girls?
12. Why is the phrase “out of her infinite charity” in the following passage an
example of verbal irony?
MARY WARREN, screaming at him: No, I love God; I go your way no more. I love
God, I bless God. Sobbing, she rushes to ABIGAIL. Abby, Abby, I’ll never hurt you
more! They all watch, as ABIGAIL, out of her infinite charity, reaches out and
draws the sobbing MARY to her, and then looks up to DANFORTH.
13. What is a consequence of Mary’s going back to the side of the girls?
14. What does Proctor mean when he tells Danforth, “God damns our kind especially,
and we will burn, we will burn together”?
15. Which of the following pairs of categories would not be useful for organizing the
characters in Act III?
Christians and non-Christians/ accusers and accused
believers in witchcraft and nonbelievers in witchcraft/liars and truth tellers
16. What character does not fit into one of these categories: accuser, accused, court
official?
John Proctor/Mary Warren/Reverend Hale/Giles Corey
The Crucible Act IV Quiz-Study Guide
1. The setting of Act IV is?
2. What can the audience infer from the brief scene involving Tituba, Sarah Good, and
Herrick that opens Act IV?
3. Parris hopes that Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor will confess because he believes
that…?
4. What idea about the law is conveyed by Danforth’s determination to proceed with the
executions immediately?
5. Danforth treats Parris with contempt because…?
6. What is ironic about calling the confessions of witchcraft “coming to God”?
7. What lesson has Elizabeth Proctor learned during her three months’ imprisonment?
8. Why does Hale want Proctor to confess to witchcraft?
9. When Proctor refuses to condemn others to save himself, his behavior contrasts most
strongly with the behavior of
Parris/ Hathorne/ Danforth /Corey
10. The climax of Act IV occurs when….?
11. Which theme is reflected by Proctor’s decision to tear up the confession?
12. Proctor’s determination to preserve his good name speaks to the McCarthy era of the
1950’s in that…?
13. A theme represented by Danforth’s behavior is that….?
14. After Proctor is taken off to execution, Parris urges Elizabeth to go to her husband in
order to….?
15. Which idea about the play is applicable today?
-Superstitions of colonial America are no longer an issue.
-Belief in the supernatural is ipso facto dangerous.
-Government is overly concerned with religious issues.
-Fear and suspicion can lead to perversions of justice.