Acts 1 and 2 of the CRUCIBLE

1. Why has Reverend Parris sent for a doctor as the play begins?

1. Betty is sick and cannot wake

2. What advice does the doctor send back?

2. Not to look at witchcraft as the cause

3. What does Parris question his niece Abigail about?

3. What were the girls doing in the forest

4. What is Parris’ main concern?

4. His reputation in the village and having his congregation remove him as minister

5. What did Parris see in the woods the previous night?

5. Dancing, taking off their clothes, Tituba singing over a kettle

6. What has Elizabeth Proctor said about Abigail, according to Rev. Parris?

6. Elizabeth Proctor does not want to sit next to someone who is “soiled” so she isn’t coming to church

7. What reason does Abigail give for her dismissal from the Proctors?

7. She says Elizabeth treated her like a slave

8. What rumors have circulated the town about Betty Parris?

8. Betty was seen flying over Ingersoll’s barn

What proof later occurs that "proves" that she is a witch?

“She raises her arms as though to fly, and streaks for the window, gets one leg out”

9. Why did Mrs. Putnam contact Tituba?

9. To get her to speak to the dead and find out the cause of the death of her babies

10. Whom does Abigail accuse of conjuring spirits at this point?

Tituba and Ruth

11. When the girls are alone, what does Betty Parris reveal about what happened in the woods?

11. Abigail drank blood

12. What threat does Abigail make to the other girls?

12. To stab then in the night

13. What happened in the past between John Proctor and Abigail?

13. An affair

How does each of them feel about it now?

Proctor regrets it but Abigail refuses to end it because she still loves him

14. How is Rebecca Nurse characterized in the play? Who is her literary foil (opposite)?

14. Reasonable, rational, devout — Ann Putnam

15. How does John Proctor feel about Reverend Parris?

15. Doesn’t like him

Find an example to support your claim.

“There are many many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.

16. What is the dispute between John Proctor and Giles Corey?

16. Corey sued Proctor for defamation; Proctor accused Corey of burning the roof off his house then had to pay Corey for damages since the court decided in Corey's favor

17. Why is Reverend Hale in Salem?

17. He is an expert in demonic arts and is there to find Satan and remove him from the village

18. What does Giles Corey reveal to Reverend Hale?

18. He can’t say his prayers when his wife is reading “strange” books

What do you think “books” might represent?

Authority and power in the church, but women reading books represents a subversive or suspicious activity

19. When Abigail is questioned by Reverend Hale, who does she blame?   — What proof does she offer?

19. Tituba - She removes her clothes and dreams corruptions

20. What ultimatum is Tituba given?

20. Confess or die

21. Who does Tituba accuse of being a witch?

21. Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn

22. How is Tituba’s confession an example of double irony?

22. She confesses to something that is not true and claims that she wants to kill Parris within her lie

At the beginning of this act, John Proctor says, "It is winter in here yet." Why is this pertinent to what is going on?

Proctor comments on the coldness between them. Elizabeth has been cold, unloving, and distant. Proctor says she hasn’t forgiven him after he confessed to adultery

Why has Mary Warren disobeyed her employers and gone to Salem?

She is an official of the court and has to go every day

What did Abigail Williams reveal to John Proctor? Elizabeth reminds him of this

That the girls were only playing and it had nothing to do with witchcraft

Why hasn’t Proctor told the court what he knows? What does Elizabeth attribute his not telling to?

He can’t believe the courts believe the girls’ foolishness,He wants to avoid becoming directly involved with the trials because he has a guilty conscience

What lie did John Proctor tell to Elizabeth which makes her more suspicious of him?

He said he was in a room with Abigail and others while it was actually just the two of them

What news does Mary Warren reveal to John and Elizabeth about the trials?

Sarah Osburn will hang, 39 people are in jail, Sarah good will live because she confessed

What does Mary Warren mean when she says, "I saved her life today!"?

Elizabeth’s name was mentioned in the courts but Mary Warren covered for her good name

What does Elizabeth realize when she finds out that she has been accused?

She concludes that Abigail is behind the accusation so that Elizabeth will be executed and Abigail can marry Proctor

What does Elizabeth ask John to do?

Go to the court and tell about Abigail’s confession

How does John Proctor respond to questions about why he has not been to church?

He does not see the “light of God” in Reverend Parris

What does Reverend Hale ask Proctor to do?

Recite the 10 Commandments

Discuss the meaning of "Adultery, John."

Proctor fails to remember the commandment forbidding adultery because of his guilty conscience

What information does John Proctor reveal to Reverend Hale?

Abigail and the girls were dancing in the woods, not doing witchcraft

What does Reverend Hale want John to do with this information?

Testify in court

Why does Elizabeth say that she doesn’t believe in witches at this point?

Because if she herself was accused while being such a good Christian, witches must not exist

What news does Giles Corey reveal to the Proctors and Reverend Hale?

Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse had been charged for witchcraft

What has Rebecca Nurse been accused of?

Killing Goody Putnam’s babies

Why has Martha Corey been accused?

Killing pigs after she sells them

Explain why Cheever is both astonished and afraid when he finds the poppet with the needle in it?

Abigail was found with a needle in her belly

Why does Mary Warren warn John about testifying against Abigail?

Abigail will charge Proctor with adultery, a crime that could result in death