Act 1 Exam Review

She is extremely deceptive We should always question her reliability We should search for a hidden motive in

her words

What she said to the adults as opposed to what she said when the adults were gone.

She encourages Parris to go pray with the people seemingly worried about his ministry, but she really just wants to get him out of the room.

She knows Betty will hear everything she says to John Proctor.

She knows Parris saw them It is a lesser offense than witchcraft She hopes this will satisfy him and prevent

further questioning and/or an accusation of witchcraft

Practical -- makes sense that the girls would sneak into the forest at night so they wouldn’t be observed dancing.

Atmospheric — Salem in 1692 would be like a frontier outpost. Puritan inhabitants believed forest was a wild, dark place — the abode of heathens and evil spirits.

Figurative — represents all that makes their community vulnerable to physical and spiritual attack.

His ministry is at stake His reputation could be exposed to suspicion Doesn’t want to be blind-sided with info

about her that others may have

Hypocritical: he uses the church to justify his demands for money.

Paranoid: he wonders if those who oppose him serve the devil and because he thinks Proctor is the leader of a plot.

Arrogant: he believes that church members must obey the pastor or chaos will ensue.

Claims there are no disparaging rumors about her character.

Was discharged from Goody Proctor’s service.

Goody Proctor rarely goes to church to avoid “sitting so close to something so soiled.”

No one else in the village will hire her.

Attacks Goody Proctor’s character but does not deny the existence of the remark. (so there is a rumor about her!)

All the other women in the village are the same as Goody Proctor (so people do have doubts about her!)

Tries to change subject and put Parris on defensive (Do you begrudge my bed, Uncle?)

Calls Goody Proctor “a gossiping liar.”(Her answers, however, suggest she is the one lying)

Initially, he doesn’t believe there to be any witchcraft in Salem.

Putnam reminds him that he has taken Parris’ side in all contentious matters so far, but threatens to withdraw that support if Parris holds back in this matter.

Everyone is always questioning his actions—which he doesn’t like—so he says that he is beginning to wonder if that is the work of the devil.

Miller indicated that he considers Thomas Putnam one of the play’s principal villains.

He notes that Putnam was vindictive, with many grievances against his neighbors. He had numerous complaints involving disputes over ownership of land.

Putnam seems to have played a key role in the accusations of witchcraft. Some historians have concluded that the real Thomas Putnam used accusations of witchcraft as an excuse to gain land.

Their babies were murdered Ruth was close to conjuring up their

spirits. Some power of darkness struck her

dumb. A murdering witch is hiding among the

people.

Abigail becomes the dominant personality, telling the other girls what to say, threatening them and insinuating her capacity for violence if they betray her.

Betty responds when adults are out of the room Betty knows that Abigail did not reveal everything

about that night in the forest (drinking a charm to kill Goody Proctor)

With her uncle—feigns concern and righteous indignation

With the girls—domineering and cruel With Proctor—coy and seductive

The other girls say Mr. Proctor; Abigail calls him John.

Her uncle always calls her Abigail; Proctor calls her Abby.

This use of language suggests an intimacy borne out in the flirtatious exchange of this act.

He reached for her … for what purpose? “Wipe it out of mind” – pretend nothing ever

happened or to forget about anything ever happening “We never touched” – Physically? Spiritually? Denial? He doesn’t deny looking up at her window – Does this

show lust or concern? Who’s exaggerating?

I am waitin’ for you every night I haven’t stepped off his farm in seven months.

Is Proctor merely guilty of flirting or something more?

Puritans believed that you did not have to actually commit the act to be guilty of it.

They thought that if you lusted in your heart, it was the same thing as committing adultery.

John Proctor could have considered himself guilty of cheating on his wife without ever having physically touched Abby.

Putnam seem determined to prove that witchcraft is afoot.

Proctor and Rebecca believe there is a natural explanation for the children’s behavior.

Ann Putnam has lost seven babies in infancy. Now her only surviving child is behaving strangely and is ill.

Rebecca Nurse has 11 children and 26 grandchildren all of whom seem to be healthy.

In his commentary on the play, Miller describes Rebecca and Francis Nurse as people highly respected for their moral character, good judgment, and success.

Before the arrival of Parris, the Nurses and their friends had blocked the appointment of a minister supported by the Putnams.

Political differences also were leading to conflicts between the Nurses’ friends and the town authorities allied with the Putnams.

Abby and Elizabeth Proctor Goody Proctor fired her. Abigail is infatuated with John Proctor and believes he loves her. Mrs. Proctor’s death would clear the way for marriage between

them. Abby and John Proctor

He denies he gave her any reason to hope for anything between them.

She thinks she loves him and wants to be his wife. John Proctor and Reverend Parris

Demands the deed to his house Wastes the church money on extravagant furnishings Preaches hellfire and damnation w/o mentioning God’s name

The Putnam's and the Nurse’s The Nurses own land that the Putnam’s covet Rebecca Nurse has never lost a child nor

grandchild, while Mrs. Putnam has lost all but one of her children

The Nurses opposed the Putnam’s choice for a minister

Hale makes the assumption that the minister must be the best person in the village.

Ironically, the facts show that Parris is not a good man.

Foreshadows the eventual charges against respectable citizens.

Hale is not saving the village from the Devil as he promised.

Hale persuades Tituba to make false accusations of witchcraft against innocent people.

In doing so, he contributes to the hysteria.

Rev. Parris tells Abigail that he heard it said that Goody Proctor doesn’t go to church as often as she used to because she doesn’t want to sit next to something soiled.

Goody Putnam says she heard Betty flew over Ingersoll’s barn.

Abigail has been out of work for seven months, and no one will hire her which probably means people are speculating about why the Proctor’s fired her.

Goody Putnam tells everyone that Rev. Hale discovered a witch in Beverly last year.

Mr. Putnam says there are children dying in the village.

Rev Parris says “I don’t preach for the little children. It isn’t the children who are unmindful of their obligations toward this ministry.” He doesn’t think the children are important enough to be instructed and yet it’s the children who start the cries of witchcraft.

The audience knows the children are faking their illness, but some of the characters do not know.

Rev. Hale said the devil can’t overcome a minister, and yet Rev. Parris is evil..

Rev. Hale said Tituba was an instrument for saving the village, she was really be used to accuse innocent people.

His use of the phrase "clean spareness" implies that he is impressed with their lack of clutter and random knick-knacks lying about.

Other phrases such as "leaded panes" and "raw and unmellowed" emphasize how harsh and oppressive their style of living.

Theocracy is Salem functioned to keep the community together and prevent a disunity that would leave it open to destruction by material and ideological enemies.

The religion offer no ritual for washing away sin. The accusations and trials offered a long overdue opportunity for

everyone to publically express his or her guilt and sins under the cover of accusations.

Long held hatred of neigbors could now be openly expressed and vengence taken.

This atmosphere is partly responsible for the events that transpire.

Betty Parris is Reverend Parris' only child and Abigail Williams' cousin.

She is unconscious and no one has been able to wake her. She entered this state the night before when her father

caught her dancing with Abigail and a number of their friends.

She is under the influence of Abigail and is unable to consider the consequences of her actions.

Like many girls of that age, Betty seems to want to fit in with the older girls and blindly follows their example in accusing myriad villagers.

In other words, she’s a kid who is embarrassed that she got caught doing something she knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing, and she is falling victim to peer pressure in order to solve problem.

Rev. Parris sees himself as a man of God-- as the pastor of a theocratic village, he must.

This being said, he feels that the Devil should be attacking the town's nefarious residents, not its holiest citizen.

He fears this might be used to oust him as the minister of Salem.

This reveals Rev. Parris' pride and arrogance.

He believes that his holiness will shield him from the Devil's attacks.

Rev. Parris refuses to acknowledge that he is fallible whereas in reality he is just as frail as any member of his flock, if not more so.

Parris asks Abigail if her name is "entirely white" in the town.

He also asks her what Goody Proctor meant by referring to her as "soiled."

This suggests that Abigail may be participating in improper sexual activities behind her uncle's back.

Abigail responds by first insisting that she has a reputation. After she has proclaimed her own innocence, Abigail points the finger of blame elsewhere-- a pattern that reappears again and again in The Crucible. Abigail slanders Elizabeth Proctor by claiming she is "a bitter woman, a lying, cold sniveling. . . gossiping liar!"

Goody Putnam helps the scene transition from the debate over Abigail's and Elizabeth Proctor's reputations to witchcraft. She also adds to the mounting evidence of "witchcraft" by mentioning the sickness of her daughter, Ruth.

Thomas Putnam acts out of personal vengeance in The Crucible. He is angry that his candidate for minister was not chosen and sees this as the ideal opportunity for retribution.

During the conversation we learn of the girls' plan to cover up their actions. We also learn that they do not truly believe in witchcraft. While it is revealed that certain rituals were performed (e.g. Abigail drinking a blood charm), no one saw the Devil or signed his book.

Abigail has the power of authority over the other girls. They submit to her will and value her opinion. They have no doubt that Abigail will follow through with her threats, and therefore cower when she pressures them.

Abby does not acknowledge the supernatural as the cause. Rather, she attributes it to "going silly somehow." This directly contradicts the later accusations that the strange happenings in the village-- including Betty's illness-- were due to witchcraft.

Giles Corey-- with his desire to see Betty fly-- embodies the general attitude of the crows. They have all heard claims of the supernatural and want to see it for themselves. This longing for a display of the paranormal is partially due to the strict monotony of their society. The rumors of witchcraft are new and exciting and are a welcome break from the usual routine.

Rebecca Nurse attributes Betty's condition to normal childhood silliness. Having had many children, she knows that they all do strange things at one time or another-- usually to attract attention-- and will eventually tire of it and stop. Her opinion should be respected even more than that of Hale, the "specialist" who also attempts a diagnosis. Hale has spent a great amount of time studying books, but it is easy to see that what little time he has spent with children has been in the context of witchcraft. Rebecca Nurse has raised eleven children and knows more about them than anyone else in the community.

Rev. Hale is an expert in the supernatural called to Salem to investigate the "witchcraft." Rebecca Nurse tells Parris that Hale should be sent home because she can already see the results of his investigation. Having come all the way to Salem to investigate witchcraft, it is unlikely that Rev. Hale will leave without finding what he is looking for, whether it exists or not. She knows that his presence will only bring more strife and division to the community.

The Putnams cannot accept this due to desperation, and a grudge against the Nurse family. They believe that their only surviving child of eight is affected by witchcraft, which happens to be Rev. Hale's area of specialty. On top of this, there has been a long-standing dispute between the Putnams and the Nurses over land. Therefore, the Putnams are likely to disagree with the Nurses over anything and everything.

Putnam says that because Proctor doesn't even go to church on Sundays, Proctor has no right to judge him. Proctor replies that it isn't worth coming five miles to church because all Parris talks about is hellfire and damnation. He also claims others avoid church as well because Parris hardly ever mentions God anymore.

Rev. Parris is greatly offended and shocked that anyone would dare speak out against him and his preaching style. He is very proud of his sermons and believes that the community needs to hear his message. This belief is not solely one of Parris' idiosyncrasies-- hellfire and damnation are cornerstones of the Puritan religion. Man was depicted as continuously existing on the verge of eternal damnation. In reality, Proctor's vocal objection to hellfire and damnation is by far more atypical than Parris' adherence to it.

Parris feels that, since he is an authority figure, his power should be absolute and unquestionable. Proctor feels that authority doesn't need to be obeyed if it is unjust or corrupt-- two adjectives he believes apply to Parris. As it is revealed later, he strongly dislikes the pastor of the Salem congregation, and because of this he has gone to such extreme lengths as not having his third child baptized.

Parris and Putnam feel that the church authority must be obeyed unquestioningly, in contrast that one needn't go to church if the reverend is corrupt.

Giles Corey is a slow-- but ultimately honorable-- old man. Proctor treats him with familiar warmth. Even when they disagree the two men have a long-standing friendship that cannot be overlooked.

Putnam is very concerned about the land he considers his and the materials on it. In fact, he is so concerned about it that he is willing to get into a physical confrontation over the matter. Putnam's materialistic ambition becomes more important as the play progresses-- it is his motive for leading his daughter to charge George Jacobs with witchcraft.

Rev. Hale believes that authority resides in his books-- he uses the phrase "weighted with authority" to describe them. This indicates that he values education very highly. It can be inferred that through reading this authoritative information one might come to possess authority oneself. This seems to be the basis behind his influence-- his power is based on his extensive study of this type of material.

Tituba is Rev. Parris' slave from Barbados. She has extensive knowledge of traditional Barbados rituals, viewed by the Puritans as "pagan" and therefore related to witchcraft. Abigail plays on this notion and accuses Tituba of calling the Devil and trying to get her to drink some of the brew they created the night before. Abigail also accuses Tituba of making her drink blood; earlier it was revealed that Abigail needed no persuasion to do it.

Tituba is the ideal suspect-- a slave, outside the community, and from a "questionable" background in Barbados. As Hale makes these accusations against Abigail-- both directly and indirectly-- she immediately directs them to Tituba in order to the draw any suspicion away from her.

Putnam says that Tituba must be hanged. Fearing for her life, she confesses that she told the devil this, in hopes it will save her from death.

Tituba has fallen victim to the power of suggestion. Putnam asks her if she has ever seen Goody Good or Goody Osborn with the devil. This leads Tituba to believe that their names are the "right" answers that will free her from their accusations or at least divert some of the suspicion. This causes her to name the women, thereby giving the men what they want to hear.

As the play progresses, a rather unflattering portrait of Abigail is painted. She is a calculating liar intent on stealing, manipulating, and bringing chaos to the village in order to accomplish her goals. Because of this, it becomes altogether clear that the wild accusations are for the purpose of revenge. Abigail finds herself thrust into a position of power with the ability to bring down anyone who has ever slighted her. Betty's character is not described in such great detail, but one can safely assume that her accusations are made for the purpose of being accepted by Abigail and the older girls.