Characters
The protagonist of the play. He is characterized by an internal conflict between guilt over his affair with Abigail Williams and the need to maintain his integrity.
John Proctor
What information does Mary Warren reveal in her testimony?
That Abigail and the other girls are pretending to be bewitched
What will delay Elizabeth’s hanging?
Her pregnancy
Danforth tells Proctor, “The pure in heart need no lawyers”. This is an example of
Irony
Identify the speaker:
"It's not a trick! I-I used to faint because I - I thought I saw spirits."
Mary Warren
Reverend Parris’s niece. She is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed. She leads the accusations.
Abigail Williams
Why can't Mary Warren pretend to faint when she is asked by the court?
She has lost the emotional energy and collective atmosphere of hysteria that fueled her earlier pretense
What is Proctor’s fate at the end of the act?
He is arrested
What type of irony occurs when Elizabeth Proctor—not knowing that her husband has openly confessed to adultery—lies to protect his good name?
Dramatic
Identify the speaker:
"This man is killing his neighbors for their land!"
Giles Corey
John Proctor's wife. She fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with the girl. She is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
Elizabeth Proctor
What causes Mary Warren to take back her testimony and accuse John Proctor?
Fear and pressure from the court make her change sides to protect herself
What does Reverend Hale do at the end of the act?
He denounces the court
Proctor says, “I have made a bell of my honor! I have rung the doom of my good name.” This metaphor suggests that Proctor…
Has sacrificed his entire reputation.
Identify the speaker:
"But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between."
Deputy Governor Danforth
The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately retracted her confession.
Mary Warren
Of what does Giles Corey accuse Thomas Putnam?
Killing his neighbors for their land
When John Proctor says, "God is dead," what is he trying to express?
His frustration and loss of faith in the court’s justice
What type of irony occurs when John Proctor states the following about Abigail: "Mr. Parris discovered them himself in the dead of night! There's the "child" she is!
Verbal
Identify the speaker:
"Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware it!"
Abigail Williams
The presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind. He is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
Deputy Governor Danforth
What is Giles Corey charged with?
Contempt of court
In what form does Abigail Williams claim Mary Warren's spirit attacks her
A yellow bird
What type of irony occurs when Proctor announces that "God is Dead"?
Verbal
Identify the speaker:
"We cannot blink it more. There is a prodigious fear of the court in the country."
Reverend Hale