Day 1: Stop at the 23:30 mark

Keep track of the characters - know their names!

I will try to give you 10 minutes at the end of each period to work on your answers.

If you did not submit your paper to turnitin.com, submit it today.  You must submit it, or I will consider your paper late.

John Proctor
A farmer, and the husband of Elizabeth. Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams while she worked as a servant in his house. 

Reverend Parris
The minister of Salem, Betty's father, and Abigail's uncle. Tituba is his slave. As a minister, Parris delivers harsh fire and brimstone sermons that sometimes turn off his parishioners.

Reverend Hale
A minister in the nearby Massachusetts town of Beverly, and an expert in identifying witchcraft. An intelligent man, Hale sees himself as a scientist and philosopher, a kind of physician of the soul. A

Elizabeth Proctor
The wife of John Proctor. She fires Abigail Williams as her servant when she discovers that the girl is having an affair with Proctor. Elizabeth is a good woman known for never telling a lie.

Abigail Williams
The 17-year-old niece of Reverend Parris. Marauding Native Americans killed Abigail's parents when Abigail was young. While a servant in John Proctor's household, Abigail briefly became John's lover before Elizabeth found out and fired her.

Thomas Putnam
The husband of Ann Putnam, and one of the richest farmers and landowners in all of Salem. Putnam is a bitter man who feels that the citizens of Salem have not given him the… (read full character analysis)

Giles Corey
A farmer who owns a farm near Salem, Giles is an old man and somewhat of a rascal, but also very brave and moral at heart. In his many years he's been involved in numerous… (read full character analysis)

Francis Nurse
A wealthy farmer and landowner in Salem and the husband of Rebecca Nurse. Francis Nurse is generally considered by the Salem community to be a good man, but many people resent his recent rise…

Deputy Governor Danforth
A Deputy governor of Massachusetts who comes to Salem to preside over the witch trials. Though he's more open-minded and intelligent than Judge Hathorne, Danforth believes completely in his ability to distinguish truth from… 

Minor Characters

Ann Putnam
The wife of Thomas Putnam. Mrs. Putnam is as bitter as her husband, but for different reasons: just one of the many babies she has given birth to has survived past infancy.


Rebecca Nurse
The wife of the wealthy farmer Francis Nurse. Rebecca is a much beloved and admired figure in Salem for her religiousness and good sense. She has also served as the midwife at many births.

Judge Hathorne
An arrogant and unpleasant Salem judge who considers the Puritan government to be absolutely right and just. As a representative of that government, he believes in the perfection of his own wisdom and judgment.

Mary Warren
A teenage girl and a servant in the Proctor household who replaces Abigail Williams. She is a generally good and quiet girl. She fears wrongdoing, but she fears Abigail even more.

Mercy Lewis
A teenage girl and a servant in the Putnam household. She is Abigail's closest friend and confidant, and the second in command of the group of girls behind the trials.

Betty Parris
Reverend Parris's teenage daughter. In many ways she seems like a typical teenager rebelling against her overly protective father. A follower, she quickly falls in line with Abigail's plot.

Tituba
A slave of Reverend Parris, she is originally from Barbados. Tituba is terrified of Parris, who generally blames her for everything that goes wrong in the house. As a black female slave, she represents the lowest rung of Salem society.

Mrs. Osburn
One of the women Tituba first identifies as a witch. She served as the midwife for three of Mrs. Putnam's ill-fated deliveries.

Susanna Walcott
A girl in Salem, who works for the town doctor.

Sarah Good
An old woman and town drunk who often goes begging from door to door.

Ezekiel Cheever
A court clerk during the Salem Witch trials.

Marshal Herrick
Salem's town (police) marshal.

Martha Corey

The wife of Giles Corey. She never appears onstage.

Name: ____________________________                            period:  __________________

While we won’t have a formal paper at the end of The Crucible, it’s a great play by Arthur Miller, one of our great American playwrights, so I want you to watch it carefully. I would also like to discuss the themes and connections to McCarthyism once we have completed the movie. This guide will facilitate a careful and thoughtful viewing. I also want to provide an opportunity to boost your grade, perhaps make up for a bad quiz grade. If you earn a 90% or better on this, I will let you either 1) drop a Scarlet Letter quiz of your choosing, or 2) if you did well on the quizzes and have little incentive to drop one, you can choose to have me count this as a separate grade for 20 points (you have to choose one – not doing this at all will just result in a new grade on which you earned a zero percent).  If you go with the drop-a-quiz option, you may choose a content, vocab, close-reading or rhetoric quiz – any of them are fair game. So do the math, figure out your best option. Then enjoy a great play, thoroughly complete the study guide, and boost your grade. Winning!   

The Crucible Video Viewing Guide: Complete this viewing guide thoughtfully and thoroughly and for each well-answered question you will receive 1 point. Half-hearted or superficial responses will receive zero points.  The entire grade, therefore, is worth 20 points and you need to get 18 points or better for the drop a quiz option.  Enjoy the movie!

1.     Why does Abby drink chicken blood? What’s her motivation?

2.     The girls may have been practicing witchcraft, but did they summon any real black magic? Was the devil’s spirit really there? What the hell (pardon the pun) were they doing anyway?

3.     Why is Ann Putnam especially protective over and worried about her daughter Ruth? What’s her motivation? What’s her background story?

4.     What does Abigail tell her uncle Parris about what happened in the forest?

5.     What is the external conflict between Abigail and Parris?

6.     Why do you think Betty was in a comatose (coma-like) state?

7.     Describe John Proctor’s physical looks and the way he carries himself.

8.     Why does Rebecca Nurse want to send Reverend Hale away? What does she fear his presence will cause?

9.     Describe Rebecca Nurse. Is she vindictive like Ann and Thomas Putnam?

10.  What, then, is John Proctor’s internal conflict regarding him and Abigail?

11.  How is the John and Abby film scene different than the play’s version?

12.  What are Rev. Parris and Giles Corey arguing about (external conflict) as Rev. Hale and Proctor approach the church? What does that say about the village?

13.  Hale says, “you can save yourself if you tell me who it was.” What is Abigail’s strategy in calling out Tituba?

14.  What is Tituba’s strategy in her performance?

15.  Why do all the girls begin calling out those who “walked with the devil?”

16.  According to Elizabeth Proctor, how many people have been brought to the jail and suffer hanging if they don’t confess?

17.  Describe the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor. What is their external conflict?

18.  What does Proctor wish Elizabeth would do? What’s his motivation regarding their relationship?

19.  According to Elizabeth (“The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John….”), what is John Proctor’s internal conflict?

20.  Describe the significance of the religious allusions at the end of the movie.