The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Before
1.___ Confessing to a crime you didn’t commit in order to avoid
After
1.____
punishment is wise.
2.___ The difference between right and wrong is clear.
2.___
3.___ It is better to die for what you believe in rather than
to lie to save your life.
3. ___
4.___ There is only one correct way to interpret the Bible.
4. ___
5.___ That which doesn’t destroy us only makes us stronger.
5. ___
6.___ It’s more difficult to forgive yourself if the
person you have hurt doesn’t forgive you.
6. ___
7.___ Courage means doing something even though
it can be difficult and fearsome.
7. ___
8.___ A person is innocent until proven guilty
8. ___
9.___ Beliefs in opposition to common values
should be illegal.
9. ___
10.___ Justice is best determined in a court of law
10. ___
READING ASSIGNMENT SHEET - The Crucible
Assignments
Pre-Reading
1.“Upon the Burning of Our house”
2. “Salem and Puritanism”
3. Webquest
4. “The Cold Within”
Act I to Hale's Entrance (3-32)
1. Pre-Reading Act I Journal (Personal perspective)
2. Vocabulary work
3. Study Questions
Hale's Entrance to End of Act I (33- 48)
1. Post-Reading Act I Journal (Character’s perspective)
2. Comix assignment
3. Build-a-paragraph Act I
4. Quiz date: ____________
Act II to Giles’s Entrance (49-70)
1. Pre-Reading Act II Journal (Personal perspective)
2. Vocabulary work
3. Study Questions
Giles’s Entrance to End of Act II (71-82)
1. Post-Reading Act II Journal (Character’s perspective)
2. Comix assignment
3. Build-a-paragraph Act II
4. “Half-Hanged Mary”
5. Quiz date: ____________
Act III to the Girls’ Entrance (83-102)
1. Pre-Reading Act III Journal (Personal perspective)
2. Vocabulary work
3. Study Questions
Girls’ Entrance to End of Act III (102 -120)
1. Post-Reading Act III Journal (Character’s
perspective)
2. Build-a-paragraph Act III
3. Quiz date: ____________
4. Review: Timeline Assignment
Act IV (120-145)
1. Pre-Reading Act IV Journal (Personal perspective)
2. Vocabulary work
3. Study Questions
4. Post-Reading Act IV Journal (Character’s
perspective)
5. Build-a-paragraph Act IV
6. Quiz date: ____________
By the end of the play:
1. Is your character chart complete?
2. Major Assessment: Argument essay
Due Date
I completed this on…
Notes and Reminders
THE CRUCIBLE – A Play by Arthur Miller: CAST
Character
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3M
4
5
6
7
8
9
10M
11
12M
13
Narrator/Stage directions
Overture 3-8
14-15 Introduce Putnam
20-21 Introduce Proctor
25-26 Introduce the Nurses
32-36 Introduce Hale (4p)
40-41 Introduce Giles
Tituba 8
Revered Parris 8
Abigail Williams 9
Susanna Walcott * 9
Mrs. Ann Putnam 12
Thomas Putnam 13
Mercy Lewis * 16
Mary Warren 18
Betty Parris 19
John Proctor 21
Rebecca Nurse * 25
Reverend John Hale 36
Giles Corey 25
1
2M
3M
4
5m
6
7
8
9
Stage directions p. 49
Elizabeth Proctor 49
John Proctor 49
Mary Warren 55
Reverend Hale 63
Giles Corey 70
Francis Nurse 70
Ezekiel Cheever * 72
Marshal Herrick * 77
Actor
Notes
ACT I (3-48 = 45 pages)
ACT II (49-81 = 32 pages)
Act III (83-120 = 37 pages)
1
2
3
4m
5M
6m
7m
8
9
10M
11
12
13
Stage directions 83
Judge Hathorne 83
Martha Corey 83
Giles Corey 84
Deputy Gov. Danforth 84
Reverend Hale 84
Revered Parris 85
Marshal Herrick 86
Francis Nurse 86
John Proctor 87
Mary Warren 89
Cheever 90
Abigail 102
14
15
16
Mercy Lewis 108
Susanna Walcott 109
Elizabeth Proctor 112
ACT IV (121-145 = 24 pages)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Stage directions 121, 123
Marshal Herrick 121
Sarah Good 121
Tituba 121
Deputy Gov. Danforth 132
Judge Hathorne 124
Cheever 124
Revered Parris 125
Reverend Hale 129
Elizabeth Proctor 131
John Proctor 134
Rebecca Nurse 139
Upon the Burning of Our House - July 10th, 1666 by Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow neer I did not look,
I waken'd was with thundring nois
And Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice.
That fearfull sound of fire and fire,
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spye,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my Distresse
And not to leave me succourlesse.
Then coming out beheld a space,
The flame consume my dwelling place.
It's purchased, and paid for too
By him who hath enough to doe.
A Prise so vast as is unknown,
Yet, by his Gift, is made thine own.
Ther's wealth enough, I need no more;
Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store.
The world no longer let me Love,
My hope and Treasure lyes Above.
And, when I could no longer look,
I blest his Name that gave and took,
That layd my goods now in the dust:
Yea so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own: it was not mine;
Far be it that I should repine.
He might of All justly bereft,
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruines oft I past,
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spye
Where oft I sate, and long did lye.
Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest;
There lay that store I counted best:
My pleasant things in ashes lye,
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sitt,
Nor at thy Table eat a bitt.
No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lye;
Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity.
Then streight I gin my heart to chide,
And didst thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the skye
That dunghill mists away may flie.
Thou hast an house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent tho' this bee fled.
Text notes:
Line 5: fire and fire, Fire! and Fire!
Line 11: beheld a space, watched for a time
Line 14: I blest his name that gave and took, see Job
1:21
Line 24: Sate, sat
Line 40: Arm of flesh, see 2 Chron. 32:8; Isa. 9:18-20;
Jer. 17:4-7
Line 42: Dunghill mists, see Ezra 6:9-12.
Line 43: House on high erect, see 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb.
11:10
Line 48: Enough to doe, ie. enough to do it
Line 52: Pelf, property, possessions
Line 54: Treasure lyes Above, see Luke 12:34
African churches accuse kids of witchcraft
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 18, 2009
Katharine Houreld, The Associated Press
EKET, Nigeria – The 9-year-old boy lay on a bloodstained hospital sheet crawling with ants, staring blindly
at the wall. His pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his
throat as an exorcism. It spilled as he struggled, burning his face and eyes.
SUNDAY ALAMBA/The Associated Press
Jane (left) and Mary are two of the kids accused of witchcraft in Eket, Nigeria. Jane's mother tried to saw
off the top of her skull. Mary's mom doused her in caustic soda.
A month later, he died.
Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors
and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of
"witch children" reviewed by The Associated Press, and 13 churches were named in the case files.
Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their
congregations take literally the biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft,
head of the nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.
Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which can be triggered by the
death of a relative or the loss of a job, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's
Fund.
"When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional
beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change ... and children are defenseless."
The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently, partly because of a rapid
growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say that about 15,000 children have
been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade, and about 1,000 have been murdered.
In the past month, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed, and another three were set
on fire.
Nigeria is one of the heartlands of abuse, but hardly the only one: The U.N. Children's Fund says tens of
thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa.
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 7
Nwanaokwo said he knew the pastor who accused him as Pastor King. Officials of the church, Mount
Zion Lighthouse in Nigeria, confirmed that a Pastor King worked for them but then denied that they
knew any such person.
Bishop A.D. Ayakndue, the head of the church in Nigeria, said pastors were encouraged to pray about
witchcraft but not to abuse children.
"We pray over that problem very powerfully," he said. "But we can never hurt a child."
Sam Itauma of the Children's Rights and Rehabilitation Network said it is the most vulnerable children –
the orphaned, sick, disabled or poor – who are often denounced.
"Even churches who didn't use to 'find' child witches are being forced into it by the competition," Itauma
said. "They are seen as spiritually powerful because they can detect witchcraft, and the parents may
even pay them money for an exorcism."
Katharine Houreld,
The Associated Press
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 8
PURPOSE:
To learn about the historical times and attitudes
of people living in Puritan Salem, Massachusetts, the setting of
The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
SKILLS:
Annotation
Reading Comprehension
Identification of Main Ideas Summarization
Highlighting
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read the following article.
2. Annotate the text.
3. Create a subtitle for each paragraph.
Salem and Puritanism
The government of Salem in 1692 was a Puritan
theocracy. In other words, the town was under the
unbending authority of the church. The leaders of the
church, and especially the minister of the church,
were very powerful figures, comparable to our
elected officials. A person who was not a member in
good standing of the church was not allowed to live
in the community. All citizens were expected to
conform to the teachings of the church at all times
and to know its catechism, which contained the
written statements of the church’s beliefs.
Subtitle for paragraph: _____________
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Annotation comments: _____________
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 9
Puritan theology was largely based on the teachings of
John Calvin. Calvin was one of a group of theologians
who protested against the Roman Catholic Church’s
departure from the Bible as the ultimate authority.
Based on their reading of Saint Paul in the New
Testament, they particularly disagreed with the Roman
Catholic emphasis on earning your salvation through
good deeds on earth. These protesters, or Protestants,
believed that salvation could not be earned. The only
way to get to heaven was to be chosen by God and to
have faith that He would save you from eternal
damnation. Some people were predestined, or chosen
to be saved, while others were not. While good works
would not earn your salvation if you had not been
chosen, believers desired to do good works on earth
and thus follow the example set by Jesus Christ. Good
works were visible signs of your commitment to God.
Subtitle for paragraph: _____________
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Annotation comments: _____________
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At the time of the Reformation most of Europe was
ruled by a theocracy of its own; that of the Roman
Catholic Church. The Protestants were compelled by
their beliefs to disregard many of the practices of the
Catholic Church, including buying indulgences and
approaching God only through a priest. The church was
not pleased with this rebellion against its authority, and
the Protestants were greatly persecuted. Many of them
left Europe and settled in America to escape this
persecution and practice their religion in peace. This was
the case with the colony at Salem.
Subtitle for paragraph: _____________
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Annotation comments: _____________
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 10
Miller himself has asserted that the community created
by such a system was crucial to the survival of the
colony against great odds. The settlers of Salem had to
deal with attacks from Indians, harsh winters,
unyielding soil, and many other hardships. Similar
colonies that were not bound by common ideology
eventually failed; the Virginia Colony is a good example.
In contrast, the people of Salem were united in the
strong bonds of a persecuted minority. Their religion
required them to act honorably towards their fellow
men and to help each other. They were expected to
meet regularly at the Meeting House. A strong work
ethic was also part of their theology. All of these things
contributed to their survival.
Subtitle for paragraph:
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Annotation comments:
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Despite the advantages of such a system, however, The
Crucible vividly shows it can lead to the loss of any sense of
proportion. The Puritans had taken Calvinist theology
several steps beyond what Calvin had in mind. While a
man’s good deeds could not earn him salvation, they were
often used in Salem to determine the quality of his
religious life and thus his standings in the community.
While Calvin asserted that each man was responsible for
his own salvation, the Puritans often took it upon
themselves to determine the state of another man’s soul.
There was a great emphasis on avoiding damnation, and
public confession and “coming back to God” after sin was
actively encouraged.
______________________________
Subtitle for paragraph: _____________
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Annotation comments: _____________
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 11
Given the importance of good deeds and hard work, as
well as the harsh conditions of life in early America, there
was little time for pleasure. Many of the pleasures we
take for granted, such as dancing, were deemed frivolous
and were not permitted. Every facet of life was touched
by the rigid teachings of the church, which were strictly
enforced. Failure to conform met with harsh penalties, the
most severe of which was death by hanging. Just as the
Catholic Church had persecuted the Protestants for failing
to conform to their rules, so the Protestants persecuted
those who did not conform to theirs. There was no room
in Salem for free speech. The Bible was the only authority
that was recognized, and any teaching not found there
was considered not only false, but dangerous. Espousing
views not taught by the Bible could lead others away from
God, and thus imperil many souls, not just one. Witchcraft
was especially dangerous, as its goal was to draw people
away from God and into conspiracy with the devil. It was
not, however, the only sin punishable by death in Salem.
Evidence shows that many who confessed to be Quakers
were also hanged. The Puritans would not tolerate even
the discussion of an idea contrary to their belief system. It
was this atmosphere of repression and fear of punishment
that ultimately led to the mass hysteria of the Salem
Witch Trials. In short, the system became so important as
to completely overrule reason.
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 12
Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, and McCarthyism
WEB SEARCH
PURPOSE:
To develop background information to understand of this literature
unit
SKILLS:
Internet Research
Critical Thinking
DIRECTIONS:
Use the key vocabulary in your internet searches to find responses
to the questions listed below. These questions will help you find
information about the Salem Witch Trials (1692), McCarthy Era of
the 1950’s, House Un-American Activities Committee, and the Red
Scare, and playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005).
SOURCES:
You must cite the sources for each of your answers.
KEY VOCABULAR
The Crucible
Arthur Miller
Salem Witch Trials
Senator Joseph McCarthy
Allegory
Censure
Red Scare
Communism
Hollywood Blacklist
Hollywood Ten
Y:
House on Un-American Activities Committee
1) *Use www.maps.google.com, to locate Salem, Massachusetts. *How far is it from Randolph High
School? *How long would it take to drive there?
2) *What happened to people who were accused of practicing witchcraft in 17th century New
England? **Why was witchcraft viewed as a problem in Puritan society?
3) *How many people were executed during the Salem Witch Trials? *How many men were
executed? *How many women were executed? **Why do you think there was a difference in
numbers?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 13
4) *Identify two of the victims. **Explain why each victim may have been targeted. **How are
the two connected?
5) *Who were the two girls whose behavior began the series of events that led to the Salem
Witch Trials? *What was alleged to have caused the girls' strange behavior?
6) *What was the form of government in the Massachusetts colony in the late 17th century when
the accusations of witchcraft were made? **What were the daily responsibilities of a man
during that time? **What were the daily responsibilities of a woman? **What held the society
of Salem together during that the late 17th century?
7) *What was the most infamous trial during the Salem Witch Trials and who was on trial? *What
were the events surrounding her being charged with witchcraft?
8) *Who was Tituba and what role did she play in the Salem Witch Trials?
9) *What was the difference between being "afflicted" with witchcraft and being "accused" of
witchcraft during the time of the Salem Witch Trials? **Which was worse? **Explain your
answer.
10) **Why did the trials end? *What happened in Salem after the trials were over?
11) *What position in the U.S. government did Joseph McCarthy hold in the 1940’s and 1950’s?
12) *During the “Red Scare” in the United States during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, who was
the target of Joseph McCarthy’s infamous list? **Explain why were these people targeted?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 14
13) *Compare the events of the Salem Witch Trials to what happened during the McCarthy era of
the 1950s? **Why do you believe the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were accused? **Why
do you believe the victims of the McCarthy era were accused?
14) *What was the U.S. Congress’s final response to Joseph McCarthy’s actions in December 1954?
*What happened to him after he was discredited?
15) *Who was Arthur Miller? **Why do you think he wrote his famous allegorical play, The Crucible,
published in 1953?
16) *What is a “crucible”? **Why do you think Arthur Miller chose “The Crucible” as the title of his
play? **What could the crucible symbolize?
17) *What was the Hollywood Blacklist? *Identify three well-known people who were blacklisted.
*According to McCarthy, why did they pose a threat to the United States?
18) **Why is the McCarthy Era in United States history often compared to the Salem Witch
Trials?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 15
Name:________________
Period:______________
Date:___________
Directions: Read the following poem and follow the instructions on the next page.
The Cold Within
By James Patrick Kinney
Six humans trapped by happenstance
in black and bitter cold
Each possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
the first woman held hers back
For on the faces around the fire
She noticed one was black.
The next man looking 'cross the way
Saw one not of his church
And couldn't bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
And the last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
The logs held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof of human sin,
They didn't die from the cold without,
They died from the cold within.
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 16
PURPOSE:
To determine the meaning of the poem and relate it to The Crucible and ourselves.
SKILLS:
Reading Comprehension
Identification of elements of a poem
Making Inferences
DIRECTIONS: Reread and annotate the poem, The Cold Within, by James Patrick Kinney, which appears
on the previous page. Identify and discuss the following:
 Connotations of title
 References to title
 Images and imagery
 Repeated word or phrases
 Structure of the poem (stanzas, rhythm, rhyme, etc)
 Diction and Tone
 Themes
 Circle words you are not familiar with. Determine their meanings.
After reading the poem, reflect on how it makes you feel (mood) and what it makes you think about
(relate to your experiences, other people or literature, or society as a whole). Then, free write about
your thoughts, feelings, ideas, reactions, and anything else it brings to your mind.
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 17
EXPLICIT AND INFERENTIAL INFORMATION:
What is explicitly stated by this author?
What can you infer about his feelings towards human nature?
Explicit (on the line) statements about human
Inferences (between the lines) about human
nature
nature
Write a topic sentence which gives a clear statement about your findings:
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Ms. Kray
The Crucible 18
Ms. Kray (chart adapted from Kristy)
American Literature
The “Let’s Keep Things Straight in The Crucible” Chart
Directions: Continue to fill out this chart as you read the book, and write down the page numbers where
you find the information:
Character
General
Act I
Act II
notes/impressions
nervous, paranoid man (9)
daughter, Betty, is sick in
*Reverend Parris (9)
coma-like state; won’t
preach at first to calm the
community down but
eventually gives in to say a
psalm (___)
What is he most afraid
will happen to him?
Why is he so
frustrated with his
niece Abigail?
*Abigail Williams
(8-9 +)
17 yr. old girl; Proctor’s former
lover and employee;
mischievous (a dissembler); still
obsessed with Proctor
*Thomas Putnam (1415+)
What are his
frustrations in life?
*Ann Putnam (12 +)
Why is she so
unhappy?
*Mary Warren (18)
Ms. Kray
gives Mrs. Proctor a
“poppet” or doll that she
made in court that day (__)
The Crucible 19
*Mercy Lewis (16)
*Betty Parris
*Rebecca Nurse (25-26 kind, sensitive old woman in
very good standing with the
+)
accused of being a witch for
the murder of babies and
jailed (__)
community of Salem in general
(except Putnams b/c she was
midwife and husband had land
disputes)
*Reverend John Hale
*Elizabeth Proctor
Ms. Kray
“expert” on witchcraft; really
believes in witches, the Devil,
demons, etc and in his heart
wants to do the “right” thing;
deeply troubled by the
incidents in Act II
N/A
sent to jail for witchcraft
(__)
The Crucible 20
*John Proctor (20-21
+)
* Tituba (8)
*Giles Corey (40)
Judge Hathorne (Act III
– p.85)
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 21
The Crucible: ACT I
Let’s Write!
ANTICIPATION – PERSUASIVE WRITING: Choose one of the following to write 1-2 well-constructed
paragraphs.
1. Do you believe in ghosts? Has anything scary ever happened to you? Do you have your own
opinions on why inexplicable things happen?
2. Write a personal opinion response of at least one to two paragraphs (persuasive). Ghosts or
spirits do/do not exist. Support your opinion with personal experience (a scary experience you
have had) or research. Always cite your sources.
3. Research the concept of hysteria. Write at least one paragraph discussing your findings. Please
define the word and give at least one example of hysteria.
PURPOSE:
Writing journals are a way of sorting out all the jumbled, confusing thoughts racing
around in our heads—especially when something makes us angry or delighted. This also
helps us to make think critically, make connections with the characters, events, and
themes found in the literature and make it relevant and meaningful to our own lives.
SKILLS:
Reading Comprehension
Writing
Critical Thinking
JOURNAL ENTRY STANDARDS:
Either handwritten or typed
20 SENTENCE MINIMUM
DIRECTIONS:
1. Beginning of each act: From your point of view, complete a journal entry relating to your choice
of the assigned prompt.
2. End of each act: For homework, write a second journal entry from the point of view of a
character in The Crucible. Discuss the same question as you did for the beginning of the act, but
you should explain the character's experience from his or her point of view. Discuss evidence
provided in The Crucible, including the emotions, thoughts, and motivations you believe fit the
character’s personality.
JOURNAL PROMPTS:
ACT ONE: Write about a time when . . .
1. You thought you might be in trouble and you lied to avoid it.
2. You were among a group of people who had trouble getting along . . . what were the underlying
problems or motivations among them?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 22
3. Rumors were flying . . . did someone try to dispel them?
4. Your emotions prevented you from making a good choice.
5. You found yourself "in over your head" because of a bad choice you made.
6. You made a bad choice that you wish you could go back and change
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 23
The Crucible Act I Vocab
Pre-Reading Vocabulary – Part I
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any
clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the
underlined words mean in the space provided.
1. But we never conjured spirits.
2. There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?
3. Abominations are done in the forest—
4. But Betty collapses in her hands and lies inert on the bed.
5. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that
he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.
6. In Proctor's presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly -- and a Proctor is always marked for
calumny therefore.
7. That is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, Goody Nurse, a prodigious sign!
8. It's somewhat true; there are many that quail to bring their children—
9. Why, we are surely gone wild this year. What anarchy is this?
10. This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of
the specialist whose unique knowledge has at least been publicly called for.
Part II: Determining the Meaning
Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
1. ___ conjured
2. ___ faction
3. ___ abominations
4. ___ inert
5. ___ hypocrites
6. ___ partisan
7. ___ calumny
8. ___ prodigious
9. ___ quail
10. ___ anarchy
Ms. Kray
A. to lose courage; decline; fail; give way
B. unable to move or act
C. summoned by oath or spell
D. false statements knowingly made to injure someone
E. small group, usually contentious, within a larger group
F. people who say they believe one way, but whose actions show they
believe another
G. political disorder and confusion
H. things that elicit great dislike or abhorrence
I. extraordinary; marvelous
J. militant supporter of a party, cause, faction or idea
The Crucible 24
Part I: Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.
Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you
think the underlined words mean in the space provided.
11. Evidently we are not quite certain even now whether diabolism is holy and not to be scoffed at.
12. And it is no accident that we should be so bemused.
13. . . . he is called up and damned not only by our social antagonists but by our own side, whatever
it may be.
14. I have no doubt that people were communing with, and even worshiping, the Devil in Salem, and
if the whole truth could be known in this case, as it is in others, we should discover a regular and
conventionalized propitiation of the dark spirit.
15. How could it be the Devil? Why would he choose my house to strike? We have all manner of
licentious people right here in the village!
16. You cannot evade me, Abigail. Did your cousin drink any of the brew in that kettle?
17. On their ecstatic cries, the curtain falls.
Part II: Determining the Meaning
Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
11. ___ ascertain
12. ___ diabolism
13. ___ bemused
14. ___ antagonists
15. ___ propitiation
16. ___ licentious
17. ___ evade
18. ___ ecstatic
Ms. Kray
A. appeasement
B. in a state of exalted delight
C. find out; detect
D. having no regard for accepted rules or standards
E. witchcraft; sorcery
F. escape or avoid by cleverness or deceit
G. confused
H. adversaries; opponents
The Crucible 25
STUDY QUESTIONS – ACT I
1. *What did Parris discover Betty and Abigail doing in the forest?
2. What motivated Abigail to “dance in the woods?”
3. What is the real reason behind Abigail’s dismissal from the Proctor’s service? (12)
4. * What did Ann Putnam hope her daughter Ruth would do in the woods? (15-16)
5. *What does Betty claim Abigail did when she drank the blood? (19)
6. *What is John Proctor guilty of? (22-23)
7. Why does Rebecca Nurse have enemies if she is such a nice person? (25-28)
8. *What does Goody Nurse suggest is the reason for Betty’s delirium? (27) What does this indicate about
Rebecca’s character?
9. * What complaint does Proctor make regarding the way Reverend Parris delivers his sermons? (28-30)
10. What evidence is there that Reverend Parris is greedier than the average Reverend? (28-30)
11. What is the symbolism in Hale’s books being “weighted with authority?” (36)
12. Figurative Language: When Hale says he’s “tracking down the Old Boy” what does he mean? (37)
13. * Why is Giles concerned about his wife? (40) Why would the people of Salem not be allowed to read
a novel?
14. Why does Tituba start naming particular people of witchcraft when questioned by Rev. Hale?
Take an educated guess. (44)
15. *What did Goody Osburn supposedly do? (47)
16. Why does Mrs. Putnam believe Tituba when she accuses Goody Osburn? (47)
17. How do Hale and Parris differ in their approaches with Tituba?
18. *What does Hale hope for at the end of Act One? (48)
19. Name a puritan belief about how one’s personal moral failure can affect the community.
20. What major themes do you see emerging in the play?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 26
Act I The Crucible Conversation Comic Assignment
Example Comic:
PURPOSE:
To adapt the setting and conflicts of the play to simulate a situation we might encounter
in our everyday lives today.
SKILLS: Critical Thinking
Writing
Reading Comprehension
STANDARDS: Your comic strip must have . . .
1. at least three (3) panels
2. at least two (2) characters
3. at least three (3) lines of dialogue
DIRECTIONS:
1. IDENTIFY: Choose a significant conversation between two characters in Act One. You should
paraphrase and change the words to reflect today’s language, as long as the general idea or conflict
remains the same.
2. CREATE: Go to www.makebeliefscomix.com and create your comic.
3. IMPORTANT: You must print out your comic for credit. It will not save.
4. In the empty space below your comic, write one paragraph explaining why you chose that
conversation and why it is important to the story so far.
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 27
Build a Paragraph: Act I
Claim:
Evidence (Reference to the text):
Act I (28-29)
Proctor says
“I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation.
Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you
hardly ever mention God anymore.”
Explanation:
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 28
The Crucible: ACT II
Journal Directions: At the beginning of each act, complete a journal entry (20 SENTENCE MINIMUM).
Then for homework at the end of each act you must write another journal entry (20 SENTENCE
MINIMUM). However, for the second journal entry, discuss the same question except this time you must
discuss it as if you are a character in The Crucible, explaining that character's experience. Discuss the
examples provided in The Crucible and include emotions, thoughts, and motivations that you believe the
fit the character.
ACT TWO- JOURNAL: Write about a time when . . .
1. You or someone you know was judged unfairly.
2. You asked to be forgiven for a wrong you'd done but weren't.
3. Jealousy (your own or someone else's) caused a problem for you.
4. Honesty (your own or someone else's) played a role in a conflict in your life.
5. Your emotions in a particular situation clouded your judgment.
Pre-Reading Vocabulary – Part I
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any
clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the
underlined words mean in the space provided.
1. Proctor, holding back a full condemnation of her: It is a fault, it is a fault, Elizabeth--you're the mistress
here, not Mary Warren.
2. I am only wondering how I may prove what she told me, Elizabeth. If the girl's a saint now,
I think it is not easy to prove she's fraud, and the town gone so silly.
3. Her strangeness throws him off, and her evident pallor and weakness.
4. Elizabeth, perplexed, looking at the doll: Why, thank you, it's a fair poppet.
5. Mary Warren, with an indignant edge: She tried to kill me many times, Goody Proctor!
6. Aye, but then Judge Hawthorne say, "Recite for us your commandments!"--leaning avidly toward
them--and all of the ten she could not say a single one.
7. I only hope you'll not be so sarcastical no more. . . . I--I would have you speak civilly to me, from this
out.
8. Woman, am I so base? Do you truly think me base?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 29
Part II: Determining the Meaning
Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
1. ___ condemnation
A. bewildered; puzzled; confused
2. ___ fraud
B. expressing mocking or contemptuous remarks
3. ___ pallor
C. severe reproof; strong censure
4. ___ perplexed
D. having low moral standards; contemptible; inferior
5. ___ indignant
E. enthusiastically
6. ___ avidly
F. deliberate deception for unfair or unlawful gains
7. ___ sarcastical
G. extreme paleness
8. ___ base
H. filled with an anger aroused by something unjust or unworthy
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 30
STUDY QUESTIONS: ACT II
1. *How many days have passed from the end of Act I to the beginning of Act II? (49)
2. *What has Salem developed to handle the situation? (52)
3. *What does Elizabeth want John to do? Why is John apprehensive? (53)
4. *Why are Elizabeth and John arguing? (54-55)
5. *What gift does Mary Warren give to Elizabeth? (56)
6. How does Sara Good get away with not being sentenced to death by hanging while Goody
Osburn is? (56)
7. What was the "evidence" against Sarah Good? (57-58)
8. *What is John Proctor’s argument against what the court is doing?
9. Why doesn't Proctor want Mary to go back to court? (58-59)
10. Why does Elizabeth assume that Abigail wants her dead? (60-61)
11. *About what does Hale question the Proctors? (64-65)
12. *What does Proctor claim is the reason he does not go to church often? (65)
13. *List four things that are "suspicious" about Proctor and his family. (64-67)
14. Elizabeth denies that she believes in Witchcraft even though the gospels claim it exists. What
does this say about Elizabeth? (69-70)
15. * On what charge(s) was Rebecca Nurse arrested? (71)
16. * What is the real reason Martha is charged? (72)
17. *Why does Cheever come to the Proctor house? (73)
18. *How does Abigail incriminate Elizabeth? (73-74)
19. Conflict: What will happen to Proctor if he tries to discredit Abby?
20. *Why doesn't Mary want to testify about the doll? (80)
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 31
Build a Paragraph: Act II
Claim:
Evidence (Reference to the text):
Act II (66-67)
Proctor: The Commandments.
Hale: Aye.
Proctor: looking off, beginning to sweat: Thou shalt not kill.
Hale: Aye.
Proctor, counting on his fingers: Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods, nor
make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain; thou shalt have no
other gods before me. With some hesitation: Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.
Pause. Then: Thou shalt honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not bear false witness. He is stuck. He
counts back on his fingers, knowing one is missing. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Hale: You said that twice, sir.
Proctor, lost: Aye. He is flailing for it.
Elizabeth, delicately: Adultery, John.
Explanation:
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 32
The Crucible: ACT III
Journal Directions: At the beginning of each act, complete a journal entry (20 SENTENCE MINIMUM).
Then for homework at the end of each act you must write another journal entry (20 SENTENCE
MINIMUM). However, for the second journal entry, discuss the same question except this time you must
discuss it as if you are a character in The Crucible, explaining that character's experience. Discuss the
examples provided in The Crucible and include emotions, thoughts, and motivations that you believe the
fit the character.
ACT THREE - JOURNAL
Write about a time when . . .
1. You (or someone you observed) was on a "power trip."
2. You were frustrated by the blatant lies someone was telling that everyone believed.
3. You sacrificed a principle that is important to you for a person that is important to you.
4. You (or someone you know) were asked to "name names" or implicate others in a problematic
situation.
Pre-Reading Vocabulary
Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any
clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the
underlined words mean in the space provided.
1. How do you dare come roarin' into this court! Are you gone daft, Corey?
2. Giles Corey, sir, and a more contentious-3. And how do you imagine to help her cause with such contemptuous riot? Now be gone.
4. Mary Warren, hardly audible: Aye.
5. But if he hide in anonymity I must know why. Now sir, the government and central church demand of
you the name of him who reported Mr. Thomas Putnam a common murderer.
6. This is a court of law, Mister. I'll have no effrontery here!
7. . . . I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may
doubt it.
Part II: Determining the Meaning Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
1. ___ daft
A. quarrelsome
2. ___ contentious
B. audacity; insulting boldness
3. ___ contemptuous
C. a sensation of misgiving or uneasiness
4. ___ audible
D. crazy; foolish; stupid
5. ___ anonymity
E. able to be heard
6. ___ effrontery
F. scornful; disdainful
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 33
7. ___ qualm
G. secrecy; having an unknown or unacknowledged name
Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any
clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the
underlined words mean.
1. In which she swears that she never saw familiar spirits, apparitions, nor any manifest of the Devil.
2. He charges contemplation of murder.
3. She glances at Abigail, who is staring down at her remorselessly.
4. That were pretense, sir.
5. She is transfixed--with all the girls, she is whimpering open-mouthed, agape at the ceiling.
6. Will you confess yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet?
Part II: Determining the Meaning
Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
1. ___ manifest
A. the act of pretending
2. ___ remorselessly
B. loyalty
3. ___ contemplation
C. something apparent to the sight or understanding
4. ___ pretense
D. thoughtful observation or meditation
5. ___ transfixed
E. mercilessly; having no pity or compassion
6. ___ allegiance
F. rendered motionless with terror, amazement or awe
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 34
STUDY QUESTIONS: ACT III: Deeper Discussion and Analysis
ACT 3 Scene 1:
 Miller states in Act One that these were a people who felt “that they held in their steady hands the
candle that would light the world.” The Puritans clung to principles, and they attempted to live and die
by them. This system of moral absolutes and life values is not, however, corrupt in itself. It is the
perversion of these values that becomes dangerous and even evil; the rejection of reality in favor of a
system. The false accusation of witches where no witches exist is a mockery of the spiritual values the
Puritans upheld.
1. Are there characters in the play who value religion AND reason and lead a balanced life?
The play’s strong emphasis on truth, as seen in the characters of ________________________
____________________________________________shows a sympathy for the Puritan beliefs,
rightly and reasonably applied.
2. * What are the stage directions regarding lighting in Act 3 and Act 4?
3. How does Miller use lighting as another dimension to the symbolism in the novel?
4. *Why is Giles Cory so upset? (84-85)
5. *What is Parris's argument against Proctor? (88)
6. *How do Cheever and Parris degrade Proctor? (90-91)
7. *When Danforth hears that Elizabeth is pregnant, what does he allow? (92)
 Remember that political authority and religious authority are one and the same in Salem, and
Danforth upholds what he strongly believes is the unarguable truth.
8. *How did Proctor’s plan of presenting the testimony of 91 people backfire? (93-94)
9. * Danforth measures his worth by the number of people he has jailed and sentenced to death.
How does Danforth respond to those challenging the accused? (84, 85, 87, 88, 92, 93, 97, 98, 100
+)
10. ". . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road
between." Explain the importance of Danforth's statement. (94)
11. * What quote did Proctor use to help Mary remain brave? (95) How could this quote be ironic?
12. * How does Hale approach the accusations? (91, 94, 98 +)
13. What motivates Danforth’s choices? Why does he act the way he does? What will the Salem
witch trials do for Danforth’s career as a judge?
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 35
 Clearly the proceedings are taking place in a realm far beyond reason. Corey’s accusation offers a
convincing, though cold-blooded, motive; a rational explanation to replace the supernatural one.
14. * Describe what happens to Giles. (95-98)
15. How is the precariousness of goodness in this world underlined by the court’s actions in Act
Three?
16. *How and why does Putnam use his daughter? (96)
17. *The second attempt to sway the judges is offered by Francis Nurse, who openly accuses
Danforth of being deceived. What happens to Corey and Nurse? (96-97)
 Any evidence that conflicts with the girls will not be heard. It becomes clear that only the girls
themselves can save the victims of this madness. When Mary Warren arrives and denounces the
proceedings as mere pretense, she undermines the very foundation of the court system. Rather than
believe the girl, the entire group is charged with attempting to overthrow the power of the court, which
is entirely based on the contention that “the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children” (88).
 The significance of Mary’s arrival is not lost on Parris. His position at the center of the proceedings is
in jeopardy and he is not pleased. He attempts to undermine the effect of any testimony by warning the
judges that Proctor is “mischief” (88). The trials have become a means for Parris to solidify his shaky
position in Salem.
18. How do Parris’ actions change in Act 3 from the beginning of the play?
19. How is Hale changing? How did he feel about the court system earlier in the play and now?
What happens to his power and influence upon the court?
Act III, Sc. 2
 Elizabeth’s claim that she is pregnant brings the theme of truth to the foreground of the play (92).
Elizabeth is one of the beacons of truth that has not been overcome by the darkness of the lying all
around her. Proctor insists, “if she say she is pregnant, then she must be! That woman will never lie, Mr.
Danforth” (92). For all the coldness and disappointment of the Proctor’s relationship, Elizabeth’s honesty
is unquestioned by her husband.
20. Contrast Elizabeth’s and John’s relationship to “honesty” up to this point in the play.
 Elizabeth’s pregnancy presents John with a decision. Danforth offers to let her live another year and
have the child. The offer will save her life; however, in making the offer, Danforth is asking him to give up
any further attempt to show that the proceedings are fraudulent (92). Proctor must again make the
difficult decision to either remain uninvolved or do what he can to make the truth known. Admirably, he
chooses to fight for the truth and thus recognizes his responsibility to the society of which he is a part.
21. Danforth states that “no uncorrupted man may fear this court” (98). Is this true? Prove your
answer with evidence from the text.
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 36
 When Hale first interrogated Proctor in his home, there was no room for any evidence save the
condition of Proctor’s soul. He wholeheartedly assumed that he could make a sound judgment based on
his Christian character alone. Now, however, he is beginning to see that the truth of the matter is
beyond the scope of such issues as knowing the catechism and plowing on Sunday.
22. Why does Hale assert that Proctor should return to the court with a lawyer to present his
evidence? (99)
23. What does Danforth’s denial of Hale’s request for a lawyer to represent Proctor show? (100)
Act III, Sc. 3
 When Abby is confronted with Mary’s confession of pretense, we see another case of one person’s
word against another’s. Neither girl’s assertions can be proved definitively, one way or another.
Frustrated by his failure to convince with reason alone, Proctor realizes that the only way to promote the
truth is to play the judge’s own game. He therefore begins to illuminate weaknesses in Abby’s Christian
character. She laughs during prayer; she dances naked in the woods.
24. * What is Proctor trying to show by naming Abigail’s offenses against Puritanism? (104-105)
 Parris reacts to these charges against his niece in a curious way. Rather than defend Abigail, he
immediately defends himself. “Excellency, since I come to Salem this man is blackening my name.”
Parris’ involvement in the proceedings has been exclusively to protect his own reputation; his own good
name. His paranoia leads him to imagine insults where none are intended. Although in Act One Parris
told Abby he thought he saw one of the girls naked, here he flatly denies it. He is less interested in telling
the truth than in keeping any wrongdoing of his niece’s from surfacing. (105)
25. * Why do you think Mary Warren was able to faint in the courtroom, but not when she is being
interrogated? (106)
 Mary Warren, the weakest of the girls and the most likely to be intimidated, finds she cannot stand up
to the power of Abigail. Despite Proctor’s reassurance that no harm will come to those who tell the
truth, she is deathly afraid of Abby. Having been one of the accusers of the court, Mary witnessed many
sentences of death by hanging. When Abby turns against her and accuses her of sending her spirit out,
she knows what will become of her. She lacks the courage and the strength necessary to be an individual
against a powerful majority.
 When Proctor sees Mary falter, he uses the one weapon he still holds. He admits to his lechery and
surrenders his good name. (110)
26. What is proctor giving up and what is he gaining by admitting to his lechery?
27. *What stunt does Abigail pull to defer the blame away from herself? (108-109, 114-115)
28. *How does Elizabeth’s testimony backfire? (113)
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 37
29. The woman who cannot lie tells a lie. She was doomed either way. Why does Elizabeth go against
her nature, her own individuality, and lie if she believes in telling the truth? (112-113)
 Ironically, the one member of the community who tried so hard to remain uninvolved in the witchhunt has become its central focus. This is a turning point in the play. Proctor, the principle enemy of the
witch-hunt, has become its ultimate victim. He is dangerous to the proceedings precisely because he
does not believe in them. In order for the epidemic to continue, Proctor must be removed.
30. * Of what does Mary accuse Proctor? Why do you think she does this? (118)
 The sequence is also climactic for Hale. By the end of Act Three Hale has completely denounced the
hearings. Shaken by the injustice that he sees before him, he tries to right the wrong. By this point,
however, he has no influence. Danforth tells him “I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale!” (119)
31. At this point in the play it seems that Danforth comes close to perceiving the truth. Does
Danforth have a breakthrough at this point? Why or why not?
32. * What does Hale do at the end of Act III? (120)
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 38
Build a Paragraph: Act III
Claim:
Evidence (Reference to the text):
Act III (110)
Proctor says
“A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her
what she is. . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her
softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance. . . .”
Explanation:
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 39
The Crucible: Act IV
Journal Directions: At the beginning of each act, complete a journal entry (20 SENTENCE MINIMUM).
Then for homework at the end of each act you must write another journal entry (20 SENTENCE
MINIMUM). However, for the second journal entry, discuss the same question except this time you must
discuss it as if you are a character in The Crucible, explaining that character's experience. Discuss the
examples provided in The Crucible and include emotions, thoughts, and motivations that you believe the
fit the character.
ACT FOUR – JOURNAL Write about a time when . . .
1. You pretended to be something or someone you are not.
2. You became totally disillusioned with someone or something that you believed in.
3. You were afraid to admit you were wrong.
4. You gave up something or someone important to you for a principle.
Pre-Reading Vocabulary
Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any
clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the
underlined words mean in the space provided.
1. Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more.
2. . . . reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.
3. If retaliation is your fear, know this--I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and
an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes.
4. Is he yet adamant?
5. Giles is dead. He looks at her incredulously.
6. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they's hang him surely,
and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died Christian under the law.
7. I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public?
Part II: Determining the Meaning
Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.
1. ___ beguile
A. statement of criminal charges
2. ___ reprieve
B. a law, decree or edict
3. ___ statutes
C. performing of penance
4. ___ adamant
D. disbelievingly
5. ___ incredulously
E. postponement of punishment
6. ___ indictment
F. firm in purpose or opinion; unyielding
7. ___ penitence
G. delude; cheat; divert
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 40
The Crucible: Review: Timeline Assignment
Instructions: Cut out each one of the following events and glue them on a piece of construction paper
along a timeline in order of occurrence.
Abigail is stabbed in the belly with a needle
Elizabeth lies
Proctor and Abigail do the hanky-panky
John Proctor hangs
Reverend John Hale examines Betty
Mary Warren gives Elizabeth a poppet
Deputy Gov. Danforth arrives in Salem
The girls were caught dancing naked in the woods
Rebecca Nurse is convicted of witchcraft
Giles Corey was pressed to death
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 41
STUDY QUESTIONS: ACT IV
1. *Why is Hale spending time with the prisoners? (123)
2. *Why does Abigail run away? (126)
3. *What does Parris suggest to Danforth? Why does he suggest it? (127-128)
4. *Explain Danforth's reason that a pardon would not be just. (127)
5. What does Danforth reveal about himself on page 129? How so?
6. *According to Hale, what has happened to Salem? Why will this lead to rebellion? (130-131)
7. *What reason does Hale give for returning to Salem? (131)
8. *What argument does Hale give Elizabeth so she could help John justify signing the confession?
Directly quote some of his words. (132)
9. *Who still has not confessed? (134)
10. *What does Giles’s death reveal about his character? (135)
11. Proctor says, "My honesty is broke, Elizabeth, I am no good man." (136). Explain.
12. *Why does Elizabeth blame herself for John’s adultery?( 137)
13. *Why will Proctor not name names? (141)
14. *Why does John Proctor want to keep his signed confession rather than it become public? (142143)
15. "I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" Explain. (143)
16. *What did Proctor do after he signed the confession? Why? (144)
17. "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (145). What does Elizabeth mean?
Review: Now let’s play The Crucible Jeopardy Game!
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 42
Build a Paragraph: The Crucible Act IV
Claim:
Evidence (Reference to the text):
Act IV (143)
Proctor says
“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!
Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have
given you my soul; leave me my name!”
Explanation:
Ms. Kray
The Crucible 43
HALF-HANGED MARY ~Margaret Atwood~
Up I go like a windfall in reverse,
a blackened apple stuck back onto the tree.
("Half-hanged Mary" was Mary Webster, who was accused of witchcraft in the
1680's in a Puritan town in Massachusetts and hanged from a tree - where,
according to one of the several surviving accounts, she was left all night. It is
known that when she was cut down she was still alive, since she lived for another
fourteen years.)
old bone-faced goddess, old original,
who once took blood in return for food.
UNDERLINE the basis for your answer in the poem.
7pm
their own evil turned inside out like a glove,
and me wearing it.
What happens at
7pm?
What happens at
9pm?
9pm
The bonnets come to stare,
the dark skirts also,
the upturned faces in between,
mouths closed so tight they're lipless.
I can see down into their eyeholes
and nostrils. I can see their fear.
I didn't feel the aimed word hit
and go in like a soft bullet.
I didn't feel the smashed flesh
closing over it like water
over a thrown stone.
You were my friend, you too.
I cured your baby, Mrs.,
and flushed yours out of you,
Non-wife, to save your life.
1. What types of
people were
vulnerable to
these kinds of
charges during
this period?
Help me down? You don't dare.
I might rub off on you,
like soot or gossip. Birds
of a feather burn together,
though as a rule ravens are singular.
Oh yes, and breasts,
and a sweet pear hidden in my body.
Whenever there's talk of demons
these come in handy.
8pm
3. How is she
similar to a flag
being raised?
The men of the town stalk homeward,
excited by their show of hate,
Rumour was loose in the air
hunting for some neck to land on.
I was milking the cow,
the barn door open to the sunset.
I was hanged for living alone
for having blue eyes and a sunburned skin,
tattered skirts, few buttons,
a weedy farm in my own name,
and a surefire cure for warts;
2. Define
"trussed".
Trussed hands, rag in my mouth,
a flag raised to salute the moon,
In a gathering like this one
the safe place is the background,
pretending you can't dance,
the safe stance pointing a finger.
What happens at
8pm?
The rope was an improvisation.
With time they'd have thought of axes.
I understand. You can't spare
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4. Who are "the
bonnets"? Why
are they afraid?
5. What favors had
she done for these
women?
6. What could
happen if they try to
help her? What
would "rub off"?
anything, a hand, a piece of bread, a shawl
against the cold,
a good word. Lord
knows there isn't much
to go around. You need it all.
10pm
Well God, now that I'm up here
with maybe some time to kill
away from the daily
fingerwork, legwork, work
at the hen level,
we can continue our quarrel,
the one about free will.
Is it my choice that I'm dangling
like a turkey's wattles from this
more than indifferent tree?
If Nature is Your alphabet,
what letter is this rope?
What happens at
10 pm?
My throat is taut against the rope
choking off words and air;
I'm reduced to knotted muscle.
Blood bulges in my skull,
my clenched teeth hold it in;
I bite down on despair
8. How is Death like
a crow? A judge? A
dark angel?
or like a judge
muttering about sluts and punishment
and licking his lips
Why is the word
“sluts” here?
or like a dark angel
insidious in his glossy feathers
whispering to me to be easy
on myself. To breathe out finally.
Trust me, he says, caressing
me. Why suffer?
What is free will?
7. What are her
feelings toward
God right now?
How do you
know?
A temptation, to sink down
into these definitions.
To become a martyr in reverse,
or food, or trash.
If God is all powerful, all seeing, and
all present, and if He is perfect, then
how do we account for injustice and
evil in this world?
Look up the word “insidious”
9. What is she trying
to convince herself to
do?
To give up my own words for myself,
my own refusals.
To give up knowing.
To give up pain.
To let go.
Does my twisting body spell out Grace?
I hurt, therefore I am.
Faith, Charity, and Hope
are three dead angels
falling like meteors or
burning owls across
the profound blank sky of Your face.
12 midnight
Death sits on my shoulder like a crow
waiting for my squeezed beet
of a heart to burst
so he can eat my eyes
2am
Out of my mouth is coming, at some
distance from me, a thin gnawing sound
which you could confuse with prayer except that
praying is not constrained.
What happens at
midnight?
Or is it, Lord?
Maybe it's more like being strangled
than I once thought. Maybe it's
a gasp for air, prayer.
Did those men at Pentecost
want flames to shoot out of their heads?
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Look up “Pentecost” in
order to understand this
stanza.
Did they ask to be tossed
on the ground, gabbling like holy poultry,
eyeballs bulging?
no longer a simile for God.
Wrong address. I've been out there.
Time is relative, let me tell you
I have lived a millennium.
As mine are, as mine are.
There is only one prayer; it is not
the knees in the clean nightgown
on the hooked rug
10. What two different
kinds of prayers is she
I want this, I want that.
talking about? What is
Oh far beyond.
HER prayer?
Call it Please. Call it Mercy.
Call it Not yet, not yet,
as Heaven threatens to explode
inwards in fire and shredded flesh, and the angels caw.
I would like to say my hair turned white
overnight, but it didn't.
Instead it was my heart:
bleached out like meat in water.
Also, I'm about three inches taller.
This is what happens when you drift in space
listening to the gospel
of the red-hot stars.
Pinpoints of infinity riddle my brain,
a revelation of deafness.
3am
Wind seethes in the leaves around
11. Why is the wording
me the tree exude night
here so deliberately
birds night birds yell inside
awkward here? What is
my ears like stabbed hearts my heart
the poet trying to show
stutters in my fluttering cloth
us?
body I dangle with strength
going out of me the wind seethes
in my body tattering
the words I clench
my fists hold No
talisman or silver disc my lungs
flail as if drowning I call
on you as witness I did
no crime I was born I have borne I
bear I will be born this is
12. What does she see
a crime I will not
as her only crime? What
is the significance of the
acknowledge leaves and wind
repetition of the word
hold onto me
"born/borne"?
I will not give in
6am
14. Why is the sun
no longer a simile for
God?
At the end of my rope
I testify to silence.
Don't say I'm not grateful.
Most will have only one death.
I will have two.
8am
When they came to harvest my corpse
(open your mouth, close your eyes)
cut my body from the rope,
surprise, surprise:
I was still alive.
Tough luck, folks,
I know the law:
you can't execute me twice
for the same thing. How nice.
13. How long has she been hanging?
I fell to the clover, breathed it in,
and bared my teeth at them
Sun comes up, huge and blaring,
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15. How might the
townsfolk have felt when
they found her still alive?
in a filthy grin.
You can imagine how that went over.
My audience is God,
because who the hell else could understand me?
Who else has been dead twice?
Now I only need to look
out at them through my sky-blue eyes.
They see their own ill will
staring them in the forehead
and turn tail
Before, I was not a witch.
But now I am one.
The words boil out of me,
coil after coil of sinuous possibility.
The cosmos unravels from my mouth,
all fullness, all vacancy.
16. Why does she say this?
Later
My body of skin waxes and wanes
around my true body,
a tender nimbus.
I skitter over the paths and fields
mumbling to myself like crazy,
mouth full of juicy adjectives
and purple berries.
The townsfolk dive headfirst into the bushes
to get out of my way.
17. How do the
townsfolk feel about
her now? Why?
My first death orbits my head,
an ambiguous nimbus,
medallion of my ordeal.
No one crosses that circle.
Having been hanged for something
I never said,
I can now say anything I can say.
Holiness gleams on my dirty fingers,
I eat flowers and dung,
two forms of the same thing, I eat mice
and give thanks, blasphemies
gleam and burst in my wake
like lovely bubbles.
I speak in tongues,
my audience is owls.
18. How have things
changed since her
hanging? How has
she changed? What
is her mental state?
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