The Crucible
Act One Packet
Name_________________________________
Miss Hasselmo
English Enrichment 9
2015- 2016
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Act One Vocabulary
TERM
DEFINITION
Abominations
Anarchy
Ascertain
Bemused
Calumny
Conjured
Crucible
Diabolism
Dissembling
Ecstatic
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Evade
Faction
Inculcation
Ingratiating
Licentious
Partisan
Prodigious
Propitiation
Quail
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Act One Study Guide Questions
Answer all questions on a separate piece of loose-leaf paper. Do not rewrite the question.
1) Describe the setting at the beginning of the play. What does this tell us about the Puritans?
2) Parris says, "Oh, Abigail, what proper payment for my charity! Now I am undone!" What does
that mean?
3) What is Mary's argument to Abby?
4) Describe John Proctor.
5) What happened between Abigail and John Proctor prior to the opening of the play?
6) How do Abigail and Proctor interact with each other? What do they say?
7) What was the "sign" that Betty was bewitched?
8) Identify and describe Francis and Rebecca Nurse.
9) Explain the political relationship between the Putnam and Nurse families.
10) What is Rebecca's explanation of the girls' behavior?
11) Who has Parris called for assistance with Betty? Why? What effect does this have on the other
characters?
12) “There are wheels within wheels in this village and fires within fires." Explain what this says
about the members of Salem. Are things are simple as they may seem?
13) What is Proctor's reason for his not regularly attending church?
14) Giles says, "Think on it now, it's a deep thing, and dark as a pit." To what is he referring literally
and symbolically?
15) What do Putnam and Proctor argue about? What does this show?
16) Who is Rev. John Hale, and why does he come to Salem?
17) To what did Tituba confess? Why?
18) What do the girls do at the end of Act One? Why?
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Important Quotations
For each assigned quote please do the following:
A.
In 1 sentence, identify who is speaking the quote and who they are speaking to.
B.
In 2 sentences, identify the context of the quote (what’s going on during the scene).
C.
Write 3 sentences about why this quote is important to our understanding of the
speaker.
D.
Write 3 sentences about this quotes importance to the scene as a whole (what effect
does it have on the other characters or the plot?)
EXAMPLE: “Now tell me true, Abigail. And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you, for now my
ministry’s at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life. Whatever abomination you have done,
give me all if now, for I dare not be taken unaware when I go before them down there” (pg. 1239).
A. Reverend Parris is the speaker of this quote. He is speaking to his niece Abigail.
B. Reverend Parris is upset that his daughter Betty seems to be in a coma. He caught Abigail,
Betty and several other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba his slave. He thinks that they may
have been doing something inappropriate and that is why Betty is sick.
C. This quote is important because it shows us that Reverend Parris is a very paranoid man.
He accuse Abigail of doing something inappropriate because he does not want people think
poorly of him. He is worried that he will lose his job if she is found guilty of witchcraft or
something like it. He wants to be prepared to face his followers because he knows they
already do not like him. He is very worried about his reputation.
D. This quote is important to the scene because it gives us information about Parris’
personality and what he cares about. It also starts the discussion about possible witchcraft
being to blame for Betty’s problem. Furthermore, it shows that Abigail has lied in the past in
order to escape blame. This shows us that she may lie more in the future to avoid getting in
trouble.
1. “And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I
will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder
you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to
mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never
seen the sun go down” (pg. 1244).
2. “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” (pg. 1250)
3. "They [the books] must be [heavy]; they are weighted with authority." (pg. 1255)
4. “Martha, my wife. I have walked at night many a time and found her in a corner, readin’ of a book.
Now what do you make of that?” (pg. 1257).
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Act One Conflicts
Throughout the play characters constantly get into conflicts with each other. Use this chart below to
record information about each conflict in Act One.
Character Name
Conflict Details
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Act One Timeline
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