The Crucible

1
The Crucible

• Test Review

2
The Crucible

• Character Review

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Abigail Williams

• Orphaned niece of Rev. Parris
• Mistress of Proctor
• Leads crying out during the trial
• Uses her power to rid herself of Elizabeth
• Flees town when she fears the villagers are about
  to turn on her

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John Proctor

• Good man with human frailties and a guilty secret
• Often the voice of reason in the play
• Accused of witchcraft
• Will not commit to a confession to save himself
• He finds goodness in himself when he decides not
  to confess

5
Elizabeth Proctor

• Wife of John Proctor
• She discovered an affair going on between her
  husband and Abigail and turned Abigail out of her
  house
• She is Abigails main target, but is saved from
  hanging by pregnancy
• She feels responsibility for driving her husband
  to an affair
• When John will not lie to save himself, she
  supports his decision because it is his way of
  redeeming himself and she cannot take it from him

6
Putnam

• Vindictive, bitter villager who believes he has
  been wronged and cheated
• Leading village voice against the witches
• All but one of his children have died he needs
  someone to blame
• He is accused of coercing his daughter to accuse
  people, for example, George Jacobs, in order to
  gain their forfeited land.

7
Mrs. Putnam

• Wife of Thomas Putnam
• First plants the idea that Betty has been
  bewitched
• All of her children except one have died
• Sent her daughter to Tituba to cast a spell to
  discover the supposed murderer of her children

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Ruth Putnam

• Daughter of the Putnams
• In a coma like state at the opening of the play
  because she has supposedly been bewitched
• Involved in the crying out at the trials

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Mercy Lewis

• Putnams servant
• Also involved in the accusation of witches (seems
  to enjoy it)
• When Abigail flees town, it is believed Mercy
  goes with her

10
Mary Warren

• Proctors servant
• An easily swayed, weak young girl who plants the
  evidence of witchcraft on Elizabeth
• Admits the accusations of the girls are false,
  but then changes her story because she fears
  Abigail as the other girls start to turn against
  her
• Used by Abigail to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft

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Giles Corey

• Has brought numerous lawsuits against neighbors
  before the courts
• Thrown in jail for contempt of court for not
  revealing where information accusing Putnam of
  false witchcraft accusations against George
  Jacobs came from
• Inadvertantly accuses his wife of witchcraft
• He is eventually pressed to death when he refuses
  to enter a plea to the charges (pleading guilty
  or conviction would have meant forfeiture of his
  land, leaving his sons with no inheritance)
• Dies for truth and honor. His last words were
  more weight.

12
Hathorne

• One of the judges at the trial

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Tituba

• Parriss slave from Barbados
• First accused witch
• Enlisted by Abigail and Ruth Putnam to cast
  spells and charms
• Due to pressure and fear, admits to consorting
  with the Devil and names others as witches

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Rebecca Nurse

• Wife of the respected Francis Nurse
• Midwife
• Exemplary Christian
• Accused witch who refuses to admit to witchcraft
  and is hanged
• News of her arrest and execution shows how out of
  control the situation in Salem is.

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Rev. Hale

• A minister who is a recognized authority on
  witchcraft
• At the plays end tries to save the accused by
  convincing them to confess
• Suffers guilt for he says the executed peoples
  blood is on his head

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Sarah Good

• Accused witch who cracks under the strain of
  imprisonment
• Becomes delusional due to the harsh conditions of
  the jail, but is not executed because she is
  pregnant

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Reverend Parris

• A minister in Salem who is more worried about his
  reputation than the life of his daughter or the
  lives of his parishioners
• Encounters the girls in the woods dancing
• Not well-liked by many of the villagers and
  fearful for his job, Reverend Parris eventually
  sees the complete chaos brought on by the trials.
  He urges Proctor to confess and save himself

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Susanna

• Doctors messenger
• Involved in the crying out

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Cheever

• Works as an official of the court to arrest the
  accused witches

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Herrick

• An official of the court who acts as the
  jailkeeper
• Pressure of his job drives him to drink

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Martha Corey

• Giles Coreys wife who is inadvertantly accused
  of witchcraft by her husband for reading books

22
Goody Osburn

• Midwife at birth of three Putnam babies who were
  born dead
• Accused and executed witch

23
Danforth

• Deputy Governor of Massachusetts who is taken in
  by the testimony
• He is overcome with his own power. He will not
  postpone the trials or executions because he is
  not willing to admit to any mistakes.

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Betty Parris

• Parriss young daughter
• Until Abigail gives her a valid explanation for
  dancing in the woods, she lies mute in her bed,
  terrified of her father
• One of the girls who cries out during the
  trial, she is weak and terrified. She is easily
  made Abigails fool.

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The Crucible

• The Setting

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Act One, Setting and Summary

• Act One takes place in the home of Reverend
  Parris. Conflicts, resentments, and motives for
  accusing others all surface in this act, which
  begins with witchcraft and ends with a chilling
  crying out of those who supposedly kept company
  with the devil. The tragedy of Salem is set in
  motion.

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The Motives

• Fear
• Self-preservation
• Spite and malice

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Act Two, Setting and Summary

• Act Two is set in the home of the Proctors as the
  Salem troubles visit their doorstep. We learn
  that Abigail has accused Elizabeth of witchcraft.
  Haunted by Abigails accusation as a consequence
  of his affair, John Proctor must decide if he has
  the courage to publicly admit his affair in order
  to save his wife.

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Act Three, Summary and Setting

• Set in the Salem courtroom, the Third Act reveals
  that Justice is not always as it is depicted. As
  characters with varying and often opposing
  motives take the stand, it becomes clear that the
  search for justice can be affected by human
  impulses, both ill and well meant.

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Act Four, Summary and Setting

• The setting turns to the jail as the morning of
  Johns execution arrives. The judges force John
  to decide whether he will live or die. Proctor
  must search his soul to discover if he is strong
  enough to face death rather than to be dishonest.
  In the end, he finds goodness in himself by
  choosing to die rather than to be dishonest.