Name: _______________ Period: ______
The Crucible-Arthur Miller (11)
Information Quest
1. Who were the Puritans? Give three facts about their lifestyle and/or beliefs.
2. When and where did the Salem Witch Trials occur?
3. How many people were hanged?
4. Who was Giles Cory?
5. Who was Abigail Williams?
6. Who was Tituba?
7. Who was Reverend Parris?
8. What started the suspicion of witchcraft?
9. How long did the persecution last?
10. Define the term: crucible. Predict how it might apply to the text we will read.
11. Define Communism. (briefly) What was American society’s feeling about communism after WWII?
12. Who is Joseph McCarthy? What was his connection to literature and film?
Name: _______________ Period: ______
The Crucible-Arthur Miller (11)
Information Quest
1. Who were the Puritans? Give three facts about their lifestyle and/or beliefs.
2. When and where did the Salem Witch Trials occur?
3. How many people were hanged?
4. Who was Giles Cory?
5. Who was Abigail Williams?
6. Who was Tituba?
7. Who was Reverend Parris?
8. What started the suspicion of witchcraft?
9. How long did the persecution last?
10. Define the term: crucible. Predict how it might apply to the text we will read.
11. Define Communism. (briefly) What was American society’s feeling about communism after WWII?
12. Who is Joseph McCarthy? What was his connection to literature and film?
To My Dear and Loving Husband
Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, I love let’s so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
(5)
(10)
1867
In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased
August, 1665, Being a Year and Half Old
[1]
Anne Bradstreet
Farewell dear babe, my heart’s too much content,
Farewell sweet babe, the pleasure of mine eye,
Farewell fair flower that for a space was lent,
Then ta’en away unto eternity.
Blest babe, why should I once bewail thy fate,
Or sigh thy days so soon were terminate,
Sith thou art settled in an everlasting state.
(5)
[2]
By nature trees do rot when they are grown,
And plums and apples thoroughly ripe do fall,
And corn and grass are in their season mown,
And time brings down what is both strong and tall.
But plants new set to be eradicate,
And buds new blown to have so short a date,
Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate.
1867
(10)
Name: _______________ Period: ______
Anne Bradstreet – poetry interpretation
______ 1. The author’s tone on the poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband” is
a) hurt and resentful
b) arrogant and condescending
c) loving and sincere
d) joyous and excited
______ 2. In line 11, the word persevere means to
a) continue
b) escape
c) separate
d) give up
______ 3. The lines My love is such that rivers cannot quench, Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense
means
a) the narrator feels that her husband owes her more love than he is willing to give her
b) the narrator’s desire for her husband’s love will never be satisfied and she can never repay her
husband for his love for her
c) the narrator feels that another man will love her more than her present husband, and that she must
leave him to find out
d) the narrator feels as if her husband loves her more than she loves her husband
4. Explain your interpretation of the last line of the poem: That when we live no more, we may live ever.
______ 5. What does the author mean by the line, “Farewell fair flower that for a space was lent.”?
a) She is saying that she never had the chance to say goodbye to her granddaughter as she wished she
could have
b) She is saying that her grandchild was uprooted by death, as a flower is
c) She is saying that there was not enough space on this Earth for her granddaughter’s personality
d) she is saying that her grandchild’s place on Earth was only temporarily granted by God
______ 6. The author’s comparison of her grandchild’s life and death to nature is an example of
a) foreshadowing
b) alliteration
c) personification
d) metaphor
______ 7. What affect does the author’s comparison of her grandchild’s life and death to such natural elements
as trees, fruits, grass, and plants have on your understanding of the poem?
a) the cycle of nature parallels the natural cycle of life, as determined by God
b) everything in nature dies naturally, yet her grandchild was taken from her unnaturally
c) her granddaughter will be buried in a peaceful, naturally beautiful place
d) she sees her granddaughter in nature and it is a painful reminder
.
______ 8. In “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a
Year and Half Old,” the speaker of the poem is
a) venting her rage at God for the death of her grandchild
b) memorializing her grandchild so that people will remember her forever
c) attempting to understand and accept the untimely death of her grandchild
d) expressing her relief about the merciful death of her sick and suffering grandchild
Name: _______________ Period: ______
Conflict – The Crucible
Conflict is at the heart of plot, which is an essential element of drama and fiction. Use the following questions
to clarify your understanding of conflict.
Describe the following types of conflict, and give examples from both The Crucible and from life.
1. Person vs. person
2. Person vs. nature
3. Person vs. society
4. Person vs. self
5. Which side is most likely to win when the conflict is between person and society? Explain why you think this
is true.
6. Which conflict would you find to be the most challenging to try to solve? Explain your answer.
Name: _____________________ Period: ______
The Crucible – quiz (11)
Character Identification (6 pts. each)
Write the name of the character who most accurately fits the description provided. Refer to the word bank.
1. ____________________ He is anxious about the effect his daughter and niece’s association with witchcraft
will have on his reputation.
2. ____________________ Her motivation for encouraging the witch hunt is her anger at having lost all but on of her
children.
3. ____________________ She is manipulative and dishonest, and intimidates the other girls into lying.
4. ____________________ He independent minded; he also feels guilty for his former acts of adultery.
5. ____________________ She is a slave woman accused of conjuring spirits and cavorting with the devil.
Abigail Williams
Goody Putnam
John Proctor
Mary Warren
Tituba
Reverend Parris
Multiple Choice (5 pts. each)
Write the most accurate response in the space provided.
______ 6. Based on your understanding of the plot, it can be inferred that the Puritans associated the forest with
a) evil, danger, and disorder
b) God’s presence and positive influence
c) the purity of the natural world
d) peace and wondrous beauty
______ 7. Proctor’s comment to Mary Warren, “It’s strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women,” reveals that he
thinks Mary is
a) cruel
b) hypocritical
c) cowardly
d) irrational
______ 8. It is ironic that John Proctor forgets the commandment forbidding adultery because
a) he has never properly learned the ten commandments
b) he believes it is an unjust commandment
c) he is paranoid
d) he is guilty of breaking this commandment
______ 9. Identify the most accurate description of John Proctor’s attitude toward Reverend Parris.
a) he respects Reverend Parris’s devotion to God
b) he differs with Reverend Parris on issues of church doctrine
c) he trusts Reverend Parris to make sound moral decisions on behalf of the community
d) he worries about Betty and Abby’s safety in Reverend Parris’s care
______10. Elizabeth Proctor tells the court that
a) her husband did not have an affair
b) her husband did have an affair
c) she is crazy and suffering from a mental illness
d) she is afraid of her husband
______11. The climax of the plot occurs when
a) Elizabeth Proctor is arrested
b) John Proctor admits to his past affair with Abigail
c) Elizabeth lies in court to protect John
d) John refuses to sign the confession and tears it up
______12. Identify which is not on of the motivations for the Salem’s witchcraft hysteria.
a) grief over family loss
b) greed over land disputes
c) fear of an unknown influence
d) ethical pursuit of justice
______13. Which of the following themes does John Proctor’s decision to tear up the confession reveal?
a) Personal honor determines a person’s self-worth.
b) Forgiveness should be granted to both the guilty and the innocent
c) The American justice system demonstrates true evil
d) It is always more responsible to be a nonconformist than a conformist.
______14. Identify which of the following is not one of the ways that the Salem Witch Trials parallel the McCarthy hearings
of the 1950’s.
a) people were accused of criminal activity based on weak or absent evidence
b) people confused the boundaries between religion and politics
c) people were encouraged to accuse others to avoid appearing guilty
d) people acted and reacted based on fear and ignorance
______15. Of the following ideas, which do The Crucible and its related historical context reveal is most applicable to
today’s society?
a) Superstitions of colonial America no longer interfere with daily life.
b) Belief in the supernatural is dangerous and ignorant.
c) The government is excessively concerned with religious issues.
d) Fear and suspicion can lead to perversions of justice.
Short Answer (15 pts. each)
Respond to both of the following question with a 2-3 sentence explanation. Include specific details in
connection to the The Crucible.
A) Identify a situation in today’s society that is similar to the witch-hunt in The Crucible and during the McCarthy era. Explain
who or what was feared, and describe the reaction to the situation.
B) Explain how The Crucible demonstrates the following conflicts:
 Man versus self (an internal conflict)
 Man versus society (an external conflict)
Name: _____________________ Period: ______
The Crucible – Film assignment (11)
1. What are Abigail Williams, Tituba, Betty, and the other girls accused of doing, and where are they accused of
doing it?
2. What is Reverend Parris’s main concern when his daughter Betty and niece Abigail are connected with
witchcraft?
3. Who is Goody Putnam and what is her major grievance? (What does she repeatedly refer to throughout the
story?)
Identify three facts about the following characters:
4. Abigail Williams5. Tituba6. Mary Warren7. John Proctor-
8. How does John Proctor feel about Reverend Parris, and vice-versa?
9. Why does Abigail accuse Goody Proctor of witchcraft?
10.When asked to recite the ten commandments, which does John Proctor forget? Why is this significant?
11.In court, why does Elizabeth Proctor lie, and state that her husband never had an affair?
Identify the scene that best represents the climax of the plot (everything in the story has lead up to this point; it
is the point of no return!).