Puritan Values
List three Puritan values
Community
Hard Work
Family
Education
Predestination
Which character is known for losing seven children in infancy?
Who is Ann Putnam?
Reverend Parris's obsession with protecting his reputation reflects this government body during McCarthyism?
What is the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)?
Who is speaking in the following quote:
“She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!”
Why is this quote significant to the play?
Who is Abigail Williams?
This quote shows that Abigail has a vendetta against Elizabeth Proctor, which will be obvious through her actions throughout the play.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as this kind of extended metaphor for McCarthyism:
What is an allegory?
This is the type of government in Puritan times.
What is a theocracy?
This object is found in Elizabeth Proctor's house and is used as "evidence" against her.
What is a poppet (doll)?
In Salem, the girls accuse others with "spectral evidence." During McCarthyism, people were accused with this kind of proof.
What is little or no evidence (rumors, suspicion)?
Who is speaking in the following quote:
“I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.”
Why is this quote significant to the play?
Who is John Proctor?
This quote starts the revelation that Proctor is not going to church. His inconsistent attendance, and utter dislike of Parris, will come back to be a fatal issue as the play progresses.
What is Salem, Massachusetts in 1692?
Puritans believed hard work proved this about a person's spiritual life.
What is they were favored by God?
To protect her husband's name and reputation, Elizabeth makes this crucial mistake in court.
What is lying about John's affair with Abigail?
This character's insistence on honesty mirrors those who resisted McCarthy's pressure to accuse others.
Who is Rebecca Nurse?
Who is speaking in the following quote:
“The devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should fine no bruise of hell upon her.”
Why is this quote significant to the play?
Who is Reverend Hale?
Reverend Hale is one of the only people with pure intentions in Salem. He starts his investigation wanting real, true evidence before deciding if witchcraft is in Salem, but he quickly gets manipulated. This shows how rampant the hysteria has already gotten.
What is dramatic irony?
This Puritan belief - that God has already chosen who is saved - fuels the fear and suspicion in The Crucible.
What is predestination?
John Proctor decides to go to his death rather than give the court this.
What is a false confession (or his signed name)?
The forest in The Crucible represents the unknown and the Devil, paralleing this "unknown threat" in the 1950s.
What is communism?
Who is speaking in the following quote:
“Twelve are already executed… Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part… I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not merit the resolution of the statutes.”
Why is this quote significant to the play?
Who is Judge Danforth?
This quote highlights how unwilling Danforth is to see logic and reason when it comes to the trials. He does not want to harm his own reputation, and he would rather sentence people who are against the court to death and contemplate the accusations are fraudulent.
The court's reliance on accusations without evidence explores this theme.
What is justice vs. injustice?
In Salem, a person's actions reflected not only on themselves but on this larger unit.
John Proctor chooses death because he wants to die with this intact.
What is his integrity (or his name)?
Reverend Hale's late regret reflects those in the 1950s who did this after realizing the injustice of McCarthy's methods.
What is spoke out against McCarthyism?
Who is speaking in the following quote:
“A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything. I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you see her what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, and put her out on the highroad.”
Why is this quote significant to the play?
Who is John Proctor?
John is willing to sacrifice is reputation and reveal in open court that he had an affair in order to save his wife's life. His guilt and shame over the affair is finally becoming public record.
The noose that hangs over many characters symbolizes this Puritan fear.
What is death/punishment (or loss of reputation)?