The Crucible
PRE-READING LEARNING STATIONS
English III – Mrs. Mavrikos
Directions:​ After reading “Puritanism: The Puritan Code of Ethics,”
answer the following questions.
1. How do these ethics compare to your own personal ethics, or moral
guidelines?
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2. Choose one difference between the Puritan code of ethics and your own, and
explain.
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3. Choose one similarity between the Puritan code of ethics and your own, and
explain.
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Directions:​ After reading “McCarthyism,” answer the
following questions.​
1. What was the political climate of the 1940s and 1950s?
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2. The name of the committee that held the McCarthy hearings was
called the _________________________.
3. What did committee members wish to find out?
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4. What does the term ​McCarthyism​ refer to?
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5. _____ Those accused of being Communists often did which of the following?
a. lost their careers
b. were jailed as witches
c. stood up to McCarthy
d. were censured by the Senate
6. _____ The author of “McCarthyism” explains that those labeled as communist
sympathizers were:
a. deported to Communist countries
b. unable to continue working
c. removed from power
d. censured by the Senate
7. Make Connections: ​Why do you think it took Salem until the late 1950s to
apologize for their role in the witch trials of 1692?
Directions​: After reading “Literary Analysis: American Drama,”
answer the following questions​.
1. In drama, a play that recounts the downfall of a main character is called a
_______________. On the other hand, a play that is light and humorous in
tone and that usually ends happily is called a _______________.
2. As in fiction, the plot of a play consists of five stages:
a. _______________
b. _______________
c. _______________
d. _______________
e. _______________
3. At the heart of the plot is a _______________, or struggle between opposing
forces.
4. _______________ and _______________ are divisions of the action of a
play.
5. As in fiction, the _______________ of a play is the central character. The
_______________ is a character who opposes the central character.
6. Some plays also include a _______________ that is, a character who is less
important but who provides a striking contrast to another character.
7. The_______________ is a list of the names of all the characters in a play.
8. Much of what happens in a play is revealed through _______________, or
conversation between characters.
9. Playwrights sometimes include additional speech devices, such as:
a. _______________
b. _______________
c. _______________
10. _______________ are italicized instructions that provide information about
details such as setting, props, lighting, or a character’s entrances and exits.
Directions:​ After reading “Arthur Miller,” answer the
following questions.​
1. Arthur Miller was a _______________ who was born in
the year __________.
2. What happened to Miller during his life that inspired his play, ​The Crucible?​
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3. Miller wrote ​The Crucible ​to warn against _______________ and to plead for
_______________ and _______________.
4. Which famous film star was Miller married to? _______________________
Directions:​ Read the article "​ Revisiting the 1692 Incident
That Led To 20 Killed in Salem, Massachusetts"​ and answer
the following questions. Write the answer on the line provided.
1. _____ What is the MOST likely reason the author included the
information about the Christians' beliefs about the Devil?
a. to show why so many people were willing to believe the accused
women were witches
b. to show how unusual a "witchcraft craze" was in a religious community
c. to show why the English rulers William and Mary started a war with France
d. to show how religious beliefs can change throughout history
2. _____ Select the paragraph from the section "The Hangings" that suggests the court
realized that it had been wrong to jail and hang those accused.
a. On May 27, 1692, Governor William Phipps assembled a special court. The first
case brought to the court was Bridget Bishop. When asked if she had committed
witchcraft, Bishop responded, "I am as innocent as the child unborn." The
defense must not have been convincing. Bishop was found guilty and, on June 10,
became the first person in Salem to be hanged.
b. Five days later, respected minister Cotton Mather wrote a letter begging the court
not to allow statements about dreams and visions. The court largely ignored this
request. Between July and September, 18 people were sentenced and hanged.
c. In response to Mather's plea and his own wife being questioned for witchcraft,
Governor Phipps decided to stop further arrests. He released many accused
witches and dissolved the special court on October 29. Phipps eventually
pardoned all who were in prison on witchcraft charges by May 1693. However,
the damage had been done. Twenty suspected witches were killed, several people
died in jail and nearly 200 people had been accused of practicing "the Devil's
magic."
3. _____ Which of the following sentences from the article BEST supports the idea that
the court was willing to believe those accused were guilty even without evidence?
a. All three women were brought before the local judges and questioned for several
days, starting on March 1, 1692.
b. Judges even questioned Sarah Good's 4-year-old daughter, Dorothy, and her
timid answers were interpreted as a confession.
c. Bishop was found guilty and, on June 10, became the first person in Salem to be
hanged.
d. Twenty suspected witches were killed, several people died in jail and nearly 200
people had been accused of practicing "the Devil's magic."
4. _____ According to the article, how did the court's thoughts about witchcraft change?
a. The court realized that the way they had conducted the trials was not accurate,
and that there were probably more witches in Salem than they had thought.
b. The court realized that the three girls who began the accusations were too young
to legally testify against the witches, making the trials accurate but unlawful.
c. The court realized that they had made mistakes during the trial, causing the
colony to pay money to the families of those who had been accused of witchcraft.
d. The court realized that they did not have enough evidence to accuse people of
witchcraft, and began research in order to find new evidence against witches.
Directions:​ Watch the ​EdPuzzle​ video “Salem Witch Trials”
and respond to the following questions. Write the answer on the
line provided.
1. _____Which of the following was ​not​ one of the women
accused of tormenting young girls?
a. Tituba
b. Sarah Good
c. Sarah Osborne
d. Bridget Bishop
2. _____ Who did Tituba say forced her to practice witchcraft (aside from the
Devil)?
a. Betty Parris and Abigail Williams
b. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne
3. _____ Which of the following​ did not occur ​to Sarah Good in prison?
a. She met a young Puritan and married him
b. Her husband turned against her
c. Her daughter testified against her
d. She had a baby
4. _____ Whose wife was accused which caused the trial to suspend?
a. The Governor of Maryland
b. The Governor of Massachusetts
c. The King of England
5. Why do you think the girls began accusing others of witchcraft?
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