| Reverend Parris | the minister of Salem, Massachusetts; the witch scare began with his daughter’s mysterious illness |
| Betty Parris | 10 years old; Rev. Parris’ daughter; one of the initial accusers |
| Tituba | the Parris’ slave from Barbados |
| Abigail Williams | Parris’ niece and chief among the accusers; formerly a servant in the Proctor household |
| Susanna Walcott | accused of witchcraft |
| Mrs. Ann Putnam | bitter woman ho sides with the accusers; mother of Ruth; 7 children of hers have died |
| Thomas Putnam | enemy of Rev. Parris; always eyeing land |
| Mercy Lewis | the Putnam’s servant; one of the accusers; friend of Abigail |
| Mary Warren | The Proctor’s servant; one of the accusers; replaced Abigail |
| John Proctor | prominent landholder and farmer in Salem; had affair with Abigail; later taken to jail for witchcraft |
| Rebecca Nurse | prominent citizen of Salem; famous for her virtue and charity; later hung for witchcraft |
| Giles Corey | prominent landholder in Salem; married to Martha; arrested for withholding evidence |
| Reverend John Hale | another minister from Beverly, Mass.; famous for his study of witchcraft and witches |
| Elizabeth Proctor | John’s wife; pregnant while John in jail; supposedly never lies but did to try to save her husband |
| Francis Nurse | Rebecca’s husband; argues over land with Putnam |
| Ezekiel Cheever | town constable |
| Marshal Herrick | town jailer; often drunk |
| Judge Hawthorne | the inflexible judge in the witch trials; distant ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Deputy Governor Danforth | presiding officer of the court |
| Sarah Good | one of the condemned |
| Hopkins | a guard in the jail |
| Act I: What purpose does the overture serve? | To introduce the characters and also compare the Puritans and the 1950’s America |
| Act I: What does the “spareness” of the Puritan setting reveal about the lives of the townspeople of Salem? | The Puritans lived simple lives with no fancy furniture |
| Act I: What Puritan primary fear is apparent in the philosophy, “In unity still lay the best promise of safety”? | Everyone is the same; if someone were to be different they were seen as working with the devil in some way |
| Act I: Explain the significance of the forest to the Puritans. | Dangerous; the Native Americans often killed animals in there and were scared of interacted with them |
| Act I: Explain the irony in the Puritans’ pilgrimage to Salem to escape persecution. | They left England to gain freedom; but in the new world they persecuted all those who were different; no freedom |
| Act I: When Abigail enter, she is described as “a strikingly beautiful girl…with an endless capacity for dissembling.” What does the phrase “endless capacity for dissembling” suggest? | She lies all the time and she is not trustworthy whatsoever |
| Act I: When Susanna exits, Abigail makes a confession to Parris, which she recants near the end of Act I. What is her confession, and why does she change her mind? | She confesses that there is no witchcraft. All she did was dance in the woods. Later Tituba is blamed for bewitching the girls. |
| Act I: Based on his words, what seems to be Parris’ motivation for inadvertently causing the hysteria? | His only concern is for keeping his reputation clean. |
| Act I: Explain the relationship between Abigail and Elizabeth Proctor. | Elizabeth fired Abigail for not doing her job very well and Abigail wanted to kill Elizabeth so she can have John all to herself. |
| Act I: What are the Putnam’s motivations for his actions in Salem? | Thomas acts out of greed; argues over land with Proctors |
| Act I: Explain the dramatic irony when Parris says, “I know that you-you least of all, Thomas, would ever wish so disastrous a charge laid upon me.” | Putnam wants to ruin Parris; but Parris believes that he is his main support guy |
| Act I: What role did Ann Putnam play in the dancing in the forest? | She asked her daughter, Ruth, to conjure the spirits of her seven dead children. |
| Act I: Explain briefly how Putnam coerces Parris to declare witchcraft. | The congregation will love him if he destroys the Devil in Salem; again, trying to save his reputation |
| Act I: What does Betty’s information about dancing in the forest reveal about Abigail’s true motivation? | Abigail drank chicken’s blood to try to murder Elizabeth Proctor |
| Act I: What does the threat of a “pointy reckoning” reveal about Abigail’s true nature? | Abigail physically threatens the other girls; we learn that she is the driving force of plot and hysteria |
| Act I: What does Miller mean by: “A Proctor is always marked for calumny”? | Proctor openly goes against the status quo; society protects themselves from people like him by making up stories about him |
| Act I: Describe Mary Warren’s personality. | Submissive; wants to tell the truth; often compared to a mouse |
| Act I: Contrast Proctor’s verbal excuse about why he has come to Parris’ house with what his actions indicate may be his true motivation for coming. | Proctor says he is just seeing what Parris is up too but he doesn’t talk to anyone but Abigail; his really only came to talk to her |
| Act I: Explain Proctor and Abigail’s relationship. | Had an affair while Abigail was working for the Proctors. |
| Act I: What does Abigail say that leads Parris, Putnam, and Mrs. Putnam to believe Betty is bewitches? | Abigail tells them that Betty screamed because she heard the church singing |
| Act I: Describe Rebecca Nurse physically and by reputation. | 72 years old; highly reguarded in society |
| Act I: What three grudges could the Putnam’s have against the Nurses? | Nurses have 300 acres of land-Putnam believes that some of the land is rightfully his own. The Nurse’s had been some of the people who kept Putnam’s relative from getting the minister position |
| Act I:In Proctor’s argument with Rev. Parris, the theme of authority arises. What are the two points of view? | Parris: He is the final authority on what is good for the soul and what isn’tProctor: Individual heart and conscience are his authority |
| Act I: Describe Giles Corey both physically and personally. | 83 years old; muscular;crank and nuisance but also innocent and brave |
| Act I: What is Rebecca’s solution to Betty’s and Ruth’s ailments, and why does this solution anger Ann Putnam? | Rebecca had 11 kids with 26 grand-kids; she says that they will stop playing when they get tired; Ann has lost 7 children and takes Rebecca’s phrase as an insult |
| Act I: What is Reverend Hale’s motivation? | Dedicated his whole life to studying and searching for witches and is determined to find one |
| Act I: In terms of indirect characterization, why is it significant that Hales recognizes one of the characters by reputation? | He says Rebecca Nurse is as a good soul should be; shows how he reputation is based on her goodness |
| Act I: What question does Giles ask Hales that shows his comical, innocent personality? | Giles asks Hale why his wife reads “strange books”; he is opening persecution for his wife Martha |
| Act I: What effect does Miller create by lowering the curtain for this act during the girls’ cries of witchcraft? | Leaves us thinking that everyone is a suspect |
| Act I: What motivates Abby and Betty to begin denouncing everyone? | Abby is redeeming herself through confession; Betty is caught up in the hysteria of the situation and following Abby’s lead |
| Who was in the forest? | Tituba, Abigail, Betty, Mercy, Mary, Ruth |
| What really went down in the woods? | Tituba was performing traditional Barbados rituals; Ann Putnam told Ruth to conjure up her dead siblings; Abigail wanted to ask Tituba for help with getting rid of Elizabeth; the girls danced and chanted to Barbados culture; Abby drank chicken blood to try to kill Elizabeth; Mercy Lewis was naked at some point |
The Crucible: Characters and Act I
March 1, 2020