Character Quotes
Puritan / Crucible History
Character descriptions
General / Plot questions
Crucible themes and Puritan Society
100

What Character said: 

"What ails you, Betty! Your mama's dead and buried."

What is Abigail Williams?

100

This term describes the fear of communism that spread throughout the United States during the Cold War.

What is the Red Scare?

100

I am a young woman who had an affair with a married farmer. I accuse people of witchcraft and want his wife out of the way so I can be with him.

Who is Abigail Williams?

100

What object does Mary Warren make in court and give to Elizabeth Proctor?

What is a poppet?

100

How does the play show that power can be abused?

What is characters use accusations and religious authority to control or harm others?

200

What Character said: "Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small." 


What is Reverend Hale?

200

This U.S. senator became famous for making accusations that communists had infiltrated the American government.

Who is Joseph McCarthy?

200

I am a respected older woman known for my strong faith and good reputation. My arrest shocks the community because many people believe I would never practice witchcraft.

Who is Rebecca Nurse?

200

What commandment does John Proctor forget when Reverend Hale asks him to recite the Ten Commandments?

What is the commandment against adultery?

200

Characters accuse others partly because they fear being suspected themselves. Which theme does this demonstrate?

What is fear can lead people to act dishonestly or irrationally?

300

What Character said: "Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem."


What is John Proctor?

300

This political ideology, associated with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was viewed by many Americans as a threat. You did not want to be accused of this during the 1950s

What is Communism?

300

I am an old farmer whose wife was arrested after being accused of witchcraft. I am also known for challenging the court's authority and questioning the accusations. I am also looked at first when things go missing 

Who is Giles Corey?

300

Proctor refuses to attend church regularly partly because he disagrees with Parris's leadership and resents this demand and topic of conversation at meetings

What is Parris's insistence on material status, including a gold candlestick for the church? Parris rarely mentions God anymore.

300

The court accepts the needle in the poppet as evidence against Elizabeth despite the questionable circumstances. What does this reveal about Salem's justice system?

What is the danger of accepting accusations without reliable evidence?

400

What Character said: "There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark... Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more."


What is Thomas Putnam?

400

The Puritans split from the _________ and they believed in _____________( a term used to describe the belief that God has already and unchangeably decided who will be the saved and who will be the "damned" 

What is The Church of England and Predestination 

400

I am a court official who arrives at the Proctors' home with a warrant. After discovering a poppet with a needle inside, I help arrest Elizabeth.

Who is Ezekiel Cheever?

400

In Act 1, how does Hale's tone change while confronting Tituba about what happened in the woods? What may his tone shift suggest?

Hale: Woman, have you enlisted these children for the Devil? Tituba: No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil! Hale: Why can she not wake? Are you silencing this child? Tituba: I love me, Betty! Hale: You have sent your spirit out upon this child, have you not? Are you gathering souls for the Devil? Hale: Tituba. You must have no fear to tell us who they are, do you understand? We will protect you. The Devil can never overcome a minister. You know that, do you not? ... You are God’s instrument, put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us. You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us cleanse our village.


What is Reverend Hale's tone shifts from Strict, Stern, Powerful, accusatory, threatening Ect... to understanding, protective, light-hearted, reassuring Ect 

What is his tone shift suggests that he is willing to manipulate Tituba with fear and promises of protection to get the confession he wants. He prioritizes obtaining a confession over discovering the truth.

400

How do fear, rumors, and accusations work together to create mass hysteria?


What is fear spreads rumors, rumors create suspicion, and suspicion leads people to accuse others without reliable evidence?

500

What Character said: " ... Your Justice would freeze beer!"

What is John Proctor?

500

Why is the title The Crucible appropriate for the play?

What is a crucible is a severe test or trial that reveals people's character under pressure; it also suggests a situation in which intense conditions produce dramatic change?

500

I am a young servant in the Proctor household. I participate in the witch trials, gain a sense of authority in court, and give Elizabeth a poppet that later becomes evidence against her.

Who is Mary Warren?

500

After Elizabeth is arrested, John Proctor turns to Hale, fuming with anger and shouts: "Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!" What is Pontius Pilate a biblical allusion to, and what is its function?

What is Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor who authorized Jesus’s crucifixion. In the Bible, Pilate symbolically washes his hands to distance himself from responsibility for Jesus’s death. John Proctor compares Hale to Pilate because Hale is helping legitimize the witch trials and cannot escape responsibility for the harm they cause simply by claiming he is doing his duty.

500

Name 3 of the 15 Puritan code of ethics

What is 

  1. God comes before everything.

  2. One should fear God and His punishments.

  3. One should always work hard.

  4. Men are above women.

  5. Women should always marry and bear children.

  6. Vanity is sinful.

  7. Religious differences should not be tolerated.

  8. One should strive to live a simple life.

  9. People must conform to maintain order.

  10. People must work together for the good of the community.

  11. There is no time or place for leisure.

  12. Children should be seen and not heard.

  13. One should repress individual emotions.

  14. Education is important (in order to understand God).

  15. Any activity not done for God is sinful.