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The Crucible

Total questions: 36

Worksheet time: 18mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the setting of the Crucible?

a)

Salem, Massachusetts, today

b)

England today

c)

England in the 1600s

d)

Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1600s

2.

In act 1, Rev. Parris acts concerned about his daughter. What is the real reason for his concern?

a)

Fear that she will lose her soul

b)

Fear for his reputation

c)

Fear that she will die

d)

Fear that he will become ill

3.

In act 1, what frightening reason drives Mrs. Putnam to hunt for witches?

a)

Anger at Rev. Parris

b)

Curiosity about the woods

c)

The deaths of her children

d)

Sympathy for the ill children

4.

In act 1, which of the young women has the most influence over the others?

a)

Mercy

b)

Tituba

c)

Abigail

d)

Mary

5.

Which word is CLOSEST in meaning to inculcation?

a)

Curse

b)

Teach

c)

Warn

d)

Argue

6.

What word means a preference?

a)

Villainous

b)

Autocratic

c)

Predilection

d)

Rankle

7.

Consider Tituba’s state of mind when she begins naming names in act 1. What can you infer about her motivation?

a)

She was afraid of Rev. Hale and thought naming names would save her from punishment.

b)

She actually saw Goody Good and Goody Osburn in the forest and wanted to tell the truth.

c)

She was confused and was talking about a dream she once had.

d)

She didn’t like the women she named, and she hoped they’d be punished.

8.

If someone had just filed a lawsuit for slander, you could reasonably assume that he had been subjected to

a)

Calumny

b)

Inculcation

c)

Propitiation

d)

Dissembling

9.

At the beginning of act 2, what is the relationship like between the Proctors?

a)

Difficult

b)

Trusting

c)

Comfortable

d)

Affectionate

10.

In act 2, what does John Proctor mean when he says to Elizabeth that no matter what he does, “an everlasting funeral marches around her heart?”

a)

He fears she wishes he were dead

b)

She is always sad, whatever he does

c)

He wants to move and she doesn’t

d)

She goes to too many funerals

11.

In act 2, what does Mary mean to suggest when she says that the crowd parted for Abigail like the Red Sea parted for the people of Isreal?

a)

She compares Abigail’s power to the power of Moses

b)

She compares Abigail’s power to the power of witches

c)

She compares Abigail’s power to the power of a queen

d)

She compares Abigail’s power to the size of the Red Sea

12.

In act 2, Hale is in shock when the beloved Rebecca Nurse is accused. What does he mean when he alludes to the Devil, saying that: “an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven”?

a)

Beauty and goodness are not the same

b)

God’s will is not for humans to know

c)

Evil can masquerade as Good

d)

God’s opinions are unimportant

13.

Why does Proctor think Abigail accuses his wife of witchcraft in act 2?

a)

To show Salem how much power she has

b)

To make John pay for rejecting her

c)

To punish Elizabeth for firing her

d)

To distract attention from her own sins

14.

Which word best replaces deference in this sentence: “The people showed a great deal of deference by standing for the Judge's entrance.”

a)

Happiness

b)

Anger

c)

Intolerance

d)

Respect

15.

A magistrate, by trade, would most likely create what?

a)

Laws

b)

Light Bulbs

c)

Recipes

d)

Maps

16.

Someone who falters does what?

a)

Hesitates

b)

Laughs

c)

Cries

d)

Whines

17.

Why does Proctor forget the commandment forbidding adultery?

a)

He has a guilty conscience

b)

He has never properly learned the commandments

c)

He believes that it is an unjust commandment

d)

He is afraid of revealing his own sin

18.

If one does something avidly, one does it

a)

Enthusiastically

b)

Shamefully

c)

Quickly

d)

Reluctantly

19.

If one shows penitence, one shows

a)

Ignorance

b)

Sorrow

c)

Respect

d)

Knowledge

20.

Which of the following would most likely want salvation?

a)

A king who does no wrong

b)

A child who just picked a flower

c)

An electrician wiring a house

d)

A person who feels like a failure

21.

Why is Giles Corey’s refusal to name names important in act 3?

a)

It shows him to be someone guilty of non-cooperation

b)

It shows that he is the one who acts honorably, not the court

c)

It shows that he does not have as much knowledge as he thought

d)

It shows that the court has asked him a question too difficult to answer

22.

Why is Elizabeth’s denial that John is lustful an example of dramatic irony in act 3?

a)

She says it to protect John, but ends up condemning him

b)

She says it to keep herself from being embarrassed in public

c)

She says it because she does not know he has been unfaithful

d)

She says it to prove that Abigail is unimportant to John

23.

Which word best replaces contentious in this sentence: “The contentious witness was told to stop disagreeing with the judge”?

a)

Respectful

b)

Frightening

c)

Argumentative

d)

Pale

24.

Which of the following words is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to cleave?

a)

Trust

b)

Spite

c)

Connect

d)

Legal

25.

In which of the following settings would you most likely encounter a deposition?

a)

Church

b)

Stadium

c)

Courtroom

d)

Laboratory

26.

Which word is CLOSEST in meaning to incredulously?

a)

Intelligently

b)

Skeptically

c)

Seriously

d)

Buffoonery

27.

What is Proctor’s main purpose in bringing Mary Warren to court in act 3?

a)

To strengthen her character

b)

To discredit Rev. Parris

c)

To save his wife from condemnation

d)

To demonstrate the illegality of the court’s proceedings

28.

What development causes Mary Warren to recant her confession and rejoin Abigail and the other girls in act 3?

a)

John Proctor’s confession of his relationship with Abigail

b)

Judge Danforth’s persistent questions

c)

The confusion about Elizabeth Proctor’s “poppets”

d)

Abigail’s pretending to be attacked by Mary’s spirit

29.

What character in act 3 does not fit into one of these categories: accuser, accused, court official?

a)

John Proctor

b)

Mary Warren

c)

Reverend Hale

d)

Giles Corey

30.

Which of the following would be most typical of an author who craves anonymity?

a)

He appears frequently on television talk shows

b)

His picture appears on the back cover of his books

c)

He delivers numerous public lectures throughout the year

d)

He writes under a pseudonym

31.

In Act IV, John’s destruction of the confession conveys what key message?

a)

Individuals are stronger than courts

b)

Forgiveness is found even in courtrooms

c)

One’s honor cannot be signed away

d)

Justice can be assured with documents

32.

How does the result of Proctor’s refusal to sign away his honor in Act IV compare to the result of people’s refusal to testify during the McCarthy era of the 1950s?

a)

Fear of imprisonment made many people keep silent

b)

People’s lives were destroyed when they refused to testify

c)

The Salem accusers were found to be communists

d)

People who testified against others in the 1950s were heroes

33.

Which word best replaces beguile in this sentence: “The slick, lavish advertisement seeks to beguile the reader into believing that he or she simply must have a new car”?

a)

Deter

b)

Charm

c)

Pressure

d)

Force

34.

Someone who is dissembling is

a)

Condemning

b)

Regretful

c)

Numb

d)

Lying

35.

Someone who is conciliatory is a(an)

a)

Advisor

b)

Opponent

c)

Peacemaker

d)

Scholar

36.

Which of the following would most likely be thinking about retaliation?

a)

The leader of a country that had just been attacked by its neighbor

b)

Someone who had just received an invitation to a party

c)

An employee who had just been given a raise

d)

The student committee that is planning this year’s final assembly