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The Crucible (Entire Play) Part 1

Total questions: 35

Worksheet time: 33mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

When a story has both a literal meaning and a symbolic representation of another event in order to convey a message or warning regarding that event, the author has created what type of story?

a)

Allegory

b)

Archetype

c)

Alliteration

d)

Amusement

2.

The historical event that Miller is symbolizing through this play to teach us an allegorical lesson is…

a)

September 11, 2001

b)

Attack on Pearl Harbor

c)

McCarthysim and the Red Scare in the 1950s

d)

The Civil War

3.

Which of the following best describes the allegorical lesson in The Crucible as it applies to us today?

a)

It is dangerous to act in a mob just to go along with the group.

b)

It is dangerous to act out in fear and hysteria.

c)

There comes a point when someone must be willing to stand up for the truth.

d)

All are correct

4.

Born out of religious persecution, the Salem community is the new...

a)

Mecca

b)

London

c)

Jerusalem

d)

Paris

5.

What type of society is the Puritan community?

a)

fun-loving

b)

matriarchal

c)

post-industrial

d)

patriarchal

6.

The setting for the play in its entirety?

a)

the meeting house

b)

Salem, MA

c)

Oxford, MS

d)

London

7.

Which theme is best supported by the statement, "...while there were not witches then, there are communist and capitalists now, and in each camp there is certain proof that spies of each side are at work undermining the other."

a)

Witches were a real threat to the Puritans

b)

Women and children were and are expected to be quiet in the presence of men

c)

During this period of witch trials in Salem, people were not sure witches really existed, but the spies have since proven that they did exist

d)

People in the past were suspicious of others just as people are today

8.

Pick the correct word to finish the sentence: Some families in the Salem Village had a  stronger _________ for believing in the existence than others before the situation with the girls’ “illness” even started.

a)

prodigious

b)

calumny (defamatory)

c)

dissembling (hide truth)

d)

predilection (preference)

9.

(Act I) When Reverend Parris sees his daughter and the other girls dancing in the forest, what does he conclude?

a)

They are heathens.

b)

They are enjoying themselves.

c)

They are engaging in witchcraft or other sinful acts.

d)

They are under Tituba's spell

10.

How did Puritans view religion in their lives?

a)

Religion was an afterthought

b)

Religion was an important part of everyday life

c)

Religion was not an important part of everyday life

d)

Religion was only important for children, not adults

11.

How can the accused witch escape execution?

a)

deny the charge

b)

accuse someone else

c)

could do nothing

d)

confess to the charge

12.

(Act I) What does Reverend Parris fear will be the villager's response to the rumor that his daughter has been bewitched?

a)

He is not worried. The villagers are level headed people, not quick to judge.

b)

It will send the villagers into a panic and they will move out of the community.

c)

It confirms their suspicions about his daughter's demonic tendencies.

d)

It will cost him his ministry and reputation.

13.

(Act I) What does this short passage reveal about how Proctor views Reverend Parris?

PROCTOR: I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him [Rev. Parris] preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. There are many others who stay away from church these days because he hardly ever mentions God any more.

a)

Proctor enjoys Parris's sermons.

b)

Proctor does not find Parris's sermons to be meaningful.

c)

Proctor is afraid of God's wrath.

d)

Proctor has physical difficulty in attending church.

14.

(Act I) What themes are evident in the passage?

PARRIS: Mr. Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year! I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in Barbados to serve the Lord. I do not fathom it, why am I persecuted here? I cannot offer one proposition but there be a howling riot of arguments. I have often wondered if the devil be in it somewhere; I cannot understand you people otherwise.

a)

Greed and pride

b)

Honesty verses lies

c)

Love

d)

Guilt until proven innocent

15.

(Act I) What is the literary device in the underlined/bolded portion of the passage?

ABIGAIL: "...Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about. I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor's packed with people, sir. I'll sit With her. Parris, pressed, turns on her.  And what shall I say.."

a)

Metaphor

b)

Allusion

c)

Simile

d)

Alliteration

16.

(Act I) Parris' theology is best described as

a)

"an eye for an eye"

b)

brotherhood/Community

c)

love and justice

d)

hellfire and brimstone

17.

(Act I) Identify the character: John Proctor

a)

A man who does not tolerate challenge to his authority.

b)

The investigator of demonic arts.

c)

A gentle man with a charitable wife.

d)

An honest man, who made an error in judgment that leads to unrest in the village.

18.

(Act I) Who best represents evil and trickery?

a)

Reverend Hale

b)

Thomas Putnam

c)

Abigail Williams

d)

Mercy Lewis

19.

(Act I) What best represents Parris' materialism?

a)

his haughty attitude

b)

his fiery sermons

c)

the way he spoils his daughter with the finest clothes

d)

golden candlesticks

20.

(Act I) What does Ann Putnam believe caused the death of her seven children?

a)

a genetic birth defect

b)

poor nutritional health during pregnancy

c)

the Devil's witches

d)

it was God's will

21.

(Act II) When Abigail and John are alone, what is the tone of the first part of their conversation?

a)

volatile

b)

flirty

c)

passionate

d)

tense

22.

(Act II) The protagonist of the story is the central character who drives the action, and is usually considered the hero or heroine. Who is the protagonist of the play.

a)

John Proctor

b)

Abigail Williams

c)

Mary Warren

d)

Rebecca Nurse

23.

(Act I) What is Proctor's intent when he tells Abigail, "I'll cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again?"

a)

emphasizing the fact the affair is over

b)

attempting to show Abigail how much she means to him

c)

explaining how difficult farming is since she is no longer there to help him; he could lose his hand in a farming accident

d)

his hand is evil and must be cut off to keep him form sinning

24.

(Prelude) What are the village girls wishing for in the prelude of The Crucible?

a)

snow

b)

a love interest

c)

a better harvest, so here will be plenty of food for the winter

d)

no school

25.

(Act III) Danforth has summoned Elizabeth to testify if John has been untrue. Why is this ironic?

a)

Elizabeth is an accused witch incapable of telling the truth in the eyes of the court

b)

Elizabeth cannot lie because she is a covenanted christian woman

c)

Elizabeth has a history of lying in the village

d)

Elizabeth has no knowledge of the affair between John and Abigail and therefore will be unable to help the court determine if it is John or Abigail who is truthful

26.

(Act III) At the end of act III, Mary Warren turns against John Proctor and accuses him of being the "Devil's man because...

a)

she fears the power of the court

b)

she gathers her courage and finally tells the truth about what really happens at the Proctor house

c)

she is terrified of Abigail's influence with the court and her capacity for vengeance

d)

she has had a psychotic break and cannot tell what is real and not real

27.

(Act II) According to Elizabeth Proctor, the motivation behind Abigail's accusations is

a)

desire for honesty and truth

b)

hysteria that has gripped much of the village

c)

desire for Elizabeth to be hanged, so that she can marry John Proctor

d)

desire fore revenge for being dismissed from the Proctor household

28.

(Act III) Proctor accuses Abigial of what Danforth calls a "marvelous cool plot" to 

a)

murder

b)

practice witchcraft

c)

escape from Salem

d)

marry him (Proctor)

29.

(Act III) What justification does Proctor give he court to believe or not believe Elizabeth's pregnancy claim? 

a)

Elizabeth is incapable of lying.

b)

Proctor already knowns about the pregnancy, Elizabeth told him a few days before she was arrested.

c)

Elizabeth is not pregnant, as she and Procotor have not been together for months.

d)

Proctor does not give the court a reason to believe or disbelieve Elizabeth's claim.

30.

(Act II) What is the underlying cause of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey's arrest?

a)

Witchcraft

b)

Jealousy

c)

The Court has a witch quota

d)

These two women do not represent Puritan values

31.

(Act II) Who is Mary Warren more afraid of at the end of Act II?

a)

Abigail Williams

b)

Mercy Lewis

c)

John Proctor

d)

Rev. Hale

32.

(Act II) What is ironic about Ezekiel Cheever coming to take Elizabeth away?

a)

Ezekiel Cheever has never been involved with legal proceeding before.

b)

John was going to Ezekiel Cheever for help by telling him the girl were playing in the woods.

c)

Reverend Hale and Ezekiel Cheever were close friends before coming to Salem.

d)

Cheever was a practitioner of the dark arts.

33.

(Act II) Who finds empowerment in her situation?

a)

Elizabeth Proctor

b)

John Proctor

c)

Abigail Williams

d)

Mary Warren

34.

(Act III) Mary Warren withdraws her testimony at the end of the act because

a)

she knows she is committing perjury

b)

the girls accuse her of witchcraft

c)

she has fallen in love with John Proctor

d)

she has slowly lost her sanity

35.

(Act I) Which statement best defends the idea that Tituba's confession of witchcraft was not truthful?

a)

Betty's attempt to fly out of the window would have resulted in death

b)

Tituba was from a different social and cultural environment

c)

Putnam said Tituba would not stand trial but would be executed immediately

d)

Reverend Hale brought books to identify witches and Tituba was afraid he would find out she is compacted with the Devil