What has been going on between the
close of Act I and the opening of Act II?
 A court has been convened to try people on charges of
witchcraft.
What role has Abigail Williams been
playing in the proceedings?
 Abigail leads a group of girls who are prosecution
witnesses.
Why does Elizabeth want John to go to
Salem?
 To tell the court that Abigail is a fraud.
Why might Proctor have previously
hesitated to tell the court what Abigail
told him about witchcraft?
 Proctor may have hesitated because he knows his sin
of lechery would come out.
What does this hesitation suggest
about his character?
 His moral superiority is a façade/he doesn’t want to
embarrass his family.
What does the court accept as evidence
that someone is a witch?
 If the girls are hysterical when the accused faces them,
the person is guilty.
Which characters seem to consider this
evidence valid? Which do not?
 Valid—Mary Warren, Hale, Cheever
 Invalid—John, Elizabeth, Giles, Francis Nurse
What, do you think, accounts for their
differences of opinion?
 Families of the accusers consider the evidence valid,
those from families that have been accused disagree.
Personal motives and private beliefs about witchcraft
may account for the different opinions.
Why does Hale come to the Proctor’s
house?
 Elizabeth’s name has been “somewhat mentioned” in
the court.
How does Hale seem to feel about his
own judgment and the courts? Explain.
 Hale hopes to assure himself that the Proctors are not
guilty, but he believes the court is doing God’s work.
What is used as evidence against
Elizabeth Proctor?
 She possesses a poppet with a needle in its belly after
Abigail discovers a needle in her own belly.
 She says that Abigail “must be ripped out of the world.”
What, according to Elizabeth Proctor, is
Abigail’s motivation for accusing her of
being a witch?
 Abigail desires for Elizabeth to hang so that she can
marry John Proctor.
What does Reverend Hale mean when he
says, “. . . If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then
nothing’s left to stop the whole green world
from burning?”
 If someone who is truly moral and good can be tainted
by these proceedings, then they all will be tainted.
What does Mary Warren confess in
relation to Elizabeth and the poppet,
and John and Abigail?
 Mary Warren confesses that she is the one who stuck
the needle in the poppet for safekeeping
 Mary also confesses that she knows about the
relationship between Abigail and John Proctor.
How does Proctor react to Mary Warren’s
fears and her claim that Abigail will charge
Proctor with lechery?
 Proctor is determined to expose Abigail’s lies.
What do you think Proctor means when
he says “. . . we are only what we
always were, but naked now?”
 He and Abigail are still frauds, but the pretense will be
stripped away, and the truth known.
How do the lies that are spoken and the
truth that is revealed in Act II compare
with those of Act I?
 The lies told and the truths revealed in Act I relate to
the denials and false accusations of witchcraft.
 In Act II they deal with responses to actual charges of
witchcraft.
How might truth and lies relate to the
development of the plays themes?
 Given the chance, some people will lie about others to
protect themselves, while others will not.
 Or, when character is tested, some people show
strength while others are cowardly.
Integrity/Courage
“If you think that I am one, then I say there are none.”
(Elizabeth, 1072)
“John – I think I must go with them.” (Elizabeth, 1077)
Revenge
“Oh, the noose, the noose is up!” “She wants me dead,
John, you know it!” (Elizabeth, 1066)
“Abigail Williams … testify it were your wife’s familiar
spirit pushed it in.” (Cheever, 1075)
Guilt
“But I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed.
Confessed! (Proctor, 1064)
“… begrudge me not my anger!” (Proctor, 1068)
“My wife will never die for me!” (Proctor, 1079)
Fear
“I cannot charge murder on Abigail.” (Mary Warren,
1078)
“She’ll kill me for sayin’ that!” (Mary Warren, 1079)