Crucible Act III
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Critical Reading
Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
____
1. In the opening of Act III of The Crucible, what wrong premise underlies Hathorne's argument in the following
exchange?
HATHORNE'S VOICE: Now, Martha Corey, there is abundant evidence in our hands to show that you have
given yourself to the reading of fortunes. Do you deny it?
MARTHA COREY'S VOICE: I am innocent to a witch. I know not what a witch is.
HATHORNE'S VOICE: How do you know, then, that you are not a witch?
a. He assumes that Martha Corey knows she c. He suggests that Martha Corey's ignorance
is a witch and is lying about it.
of being a witch is evidence that she is
one.
b. He asserts that Martha Corey reads
d. He assumes that a witch would not know
fortunes when, in fact, she does not.
he or she was a witch when, in fact, guilty
people always know they are guilty.
____
2. Why does John Proctor bring Mary Warren to court in The Crucible, Act III?
a. to prove he does not believe in witches
c. to save Elizabeth from judgment
b. to prove the court is not a just court
d. to show that Parris is a fraud
____
3. Based on both the direct and indirect characterization in The Crucible, Act III, how is Judge Danforth
different from Judge Hathorne?
a. Danforth often seeks Hathorne's approval c. Danforth is less concerned with the good
while Hathorne stands firm in his
name of the court than Hathorne is.
convictions.
b. Danforth has deep misgivings about the
d. Danforth is higher in rank and has more
conduct of the court, while Hathorne does
authority and severity than Hathorne does.
not.
____
4. Which of these characters in The Crucible, Act III, unknowingly does harm by cooperating in an unjust
process?
a. Ezekiel Cheever
c. John Proctor
b. Mary Warren
d. Reverend Parris
____
5. Why is Giles Corey's refusal to name names important in The Crucible, Act III?
a. It shows him to be guilty of nonc. It shows that he does not have as much
cooperation.
knowledge as he thought.
b. It shows that he is the one who acts
d. It shows that the court has asked him a
honorably, not the court.
question too difficult to answer.
____
6. In The Crucible, Act III, why does John Proctor tell Francis Nurse, "I wish you had some evil in you that you
might know me!"?
a. He wishes Francis Nurse were not so
c. He wishes he had never met Francis
good, because he makes Proctor look bad.
Nurse, because he knows that Nurse hates
him.
b. He wishes Francis Nurse were evil so that d. He wishes Francis Nurse were more like
he would be arrested.
him so that Nurse could understand him
better.
____
7. In The Crucible, Act III, why is Elizabeth's denial that John is lustful an example of irony?
a. She says it to protect John but ends up
c. She says it because she does not know he
condemning him.
has been unfaithful.
b. She says it to keep herself from being
d. She says it to prove that Abigail is
embarrassed in public.
unimportant to John.
____
8. In The Crucible, Act III, why does Mary Warren change her testimony and join Abigail and the other girls?
a. She is tormented by Danforth's questions c. She is disgusted by Proctor's admission of
and accusations.
his relationship with Abigail.
b. She is frightened when Abigail pretends to d. She is afraid that Abigail will no longer be
be attacked by Mary's spirit.
her friend.
____
9. Throughout The Crucible, Act III, why is Abigail's testimony an example of dramatic irony?
a. The audience is unaware of Abigail's true c. The audience realizes that Abigail has
character.
become a better person.
b. The audience is aware of Abigail's true
d. The audience expects Abigail to accuse
character, but Danforth is not.
Mary of witchcraft, but she does not.
____ 10.
In Act III of The Crucible, Danforth makes the following argument:
But witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime, is it not? Therefore, who may
possibly be witness to it? The witch and the victim. None other. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse
herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims.
On what faulty premise is Danforth's argument based?
a. the premise that witchcraft always has a
c. the premise that a witch may have
victim
multiple victims
b. the premise that witchcraft is an invisible d. the premise that the victim of a witch will
crime
always tell the truth
Vocabulary
____ 11. Which word best replaces contentious in this sentence: "The contentious witness was told to stop disagreeing
with the judge"?
a. respectful
c. argumentative
b. frightening
d. pale
____ 12. Which of the following words is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to incredulously?
a. trustfully
c. primarily
b. spitefully
d. legally
____ 13. In which of the following settings would you most likely encounter a deposition?
a. church
c. courtroom
b. stadium
d. laboratory
____ 14. Which word is CLOSEST in meaning to effrontery?
a. intelligence
c. seriousness
b. rudeness
d. buffoonery
____ 15. A contentious person is someone who is prone to
a. helpfulness.
c. laziness.
b. disagreements.
d. accidents.
____ 16. Which of the following is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to imperceptible?
a. noticeable
c. stubborn
b. unbreakable
d. permanent
____ 17. Which of the following would be most typical of an author who craves anonymity?
a. The author appears frequently on
c. The author delivers numerous public
television talk shows.
lectures throughout the year.
b. The author's picture appears on the back d. The author writes under a pen name.
cover of his or her books.
Critical Reading
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 18. What can the audience infer about the character of Judge Hathorne based on his questioning of Martha Corey
at the beginning of Act III of The Crucible?
a. He cares more about an honest pursuit of c. He is dogmatic and seems to presume that
the truth than he does about proving the
an accusation of witchcraft is proof of
guilt of those accused.
guilt.
b. He is gullible and softhearted.
d. He is suspicious of nearly everyone but is
also reluctant to pass judgment.
____ 19. In Act III of The Crucible, when Francis Nurse tells the judges that the girls are frauds, Hathorne exclaims,
"This is contempt, sir, contempt!" Why is Hathorne's remark an example of dramatic irony?
a. Hathorne says the opposite of what he
c. Hathorne speaks of contempt in its legal
means.
sense, but Nurse also has contempt for the
girls in a more general sense.
b. Hathorne believes that he is right, but the d. Judges are supposed to be wise and fair,
audience knows that he is wrong and that
but it turns out that Judge Hathorne is
his misjudgment will have deadly
neither wise nor fair.
repercussions.
____ 20. What is Proctor's main purpose in bringing Mary Warren to court in Act III of The Crucible?
a. to strengthen her character
c. to save his wife from condemnation
b. to discredit Reverend Parris
d. to demonstrate the illegality of the court's
proceedings
____ 21. During the presentation of the evidence in Act III of The Crucible, Proctor's behavior toward Danforth can
best be described as
a. crafty.
c. evasive.
b. defiant.
d. respectful.
____ 22. In Act III of The Crucible, which character employs arguments that are merely personal attacks on the
integrity of witnesses?
a. Herrick
c. Hathorne
b. Danforth
d. Parris
____ 23. As the action of Act III of The Crucible proceeds, John Proctor's allusion to the story of Raphael and Tobias
becomes ironic because
a. the events in Salem contradict the message c. the events in Salem show that the
of the story.
characters have misunderstood the story.
b. the story is revealed to be false.
d. certain characters twist the meaning of the
story to suit their own purposes.
____ 24. Based on his characterization in The Crucible, Act III, what kind of person is Ezekiel Cheever?
a. a vengeful person hoping to bring harm to c. a naive person who harms others by
his enemies
cooperating in an unjust process
b. a proud and loyal person who refuses to
d. a self-promoting public figure who
incriminate others
misuses the power of office
____ 25. In The Crucible, Act III, why is Parris's charge of conspiracy an effective argument even though he fails to
prove it?
a. It gives a plausible explanation for the
c. It feeds Danforth's sense of his own
divisions in the parish.
importance.
b. It appeals to Danforth's fears of
d. It plays on Danforth's personal antagonism
subversion.
toward Giles Corey and Francis Nurse.
____ 26. What motivates Hale's attempt to intervene on behalf of Proctor in Act III of The Crucible?
a. Hale's admiration for the Proctors
c. Hale's questioning of Danforth's integrity
b. Hale's commitment to the truth
d. Hale's dislike of Parris
____ 27. In Act III of The Crucible, what development causes Mary Warren to recant her confession and rejoin Abigail
and the other girls?
a. John Proctor's confession of his
c. the confusion about Elizabeth Proctor's
relationship with Abigail
"poppets"
b. Judge Danforth's persistent questions
d. Abigail's pretending to be attacked by
Mary's spirit
____ 28. In the following passage from Act III of The Crucible, why is the phrase "out of her infinite charity," which
appears in the stage directions, an example of verbal irony?
MARY WARREN, screaming at him: No, I love God; I go your way no more. I love God, I bless God.
Sobbing, she rushes to ABIGAIL. Abby, Abby I'll never hurt you more! They all watch, as ABIGAIL, out of
her infinite charity, reaches out and draws the sobbing MARY to her, and then looks up to DANFORTH.
a. It says the opposite of what the playwright c. It emphasizes Abigail's unexpected ability
really wants readers to understand about
to be forgiving under stress.
Abigail's true nature.
b. It presents a piece of information about
d. It reveals Abigail's weakening condition,
which the audience viewing the play is not
which no one has expected.
aware.
____ 29. In The Crucible, Act III, what does Proctor mean when he tells Danforth, "God damns our kind especially,
and we will burn, we will burn together"?
a. We who commit wrongs knowingly are
c. Danforth will suffer damnation if he
the most guilty of all.
condemns Proctor to death.
b. The whole community will suffer
d. Although women are accused of
damnation for the injustices being
witchcraft, men are greater sinners.
committed here.
____ 30. In Act III of The Crucible, what is the chief logical fallacy in the argument with which Judge Danforth
defends his method of conducting the witchcraft trials?
a. He makes no allowance for dishonest
accusers.
b. He assumes that witchcraft is a secret
crime when, in fact, its effects are not
secret.
c. He demands supporting evidence from
multiple accusers.
d. He assumes that all witches are liars.
____ 31. How does Mary Warren's behavior at the end of Act III of The Crucible help create dramatic irony?
a. In confessing to doing the Devil's work,
c. Members of the court believe her, but the
she says the opposite of what she really
audience knows that she is lying.
means.
b. Some characters believe her; others
d. Everyone expects Mary to support
suspect that she is lying.
Abigail, but instead she supports Proctor.