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The Crucible - Understanding the Text
Do you understand the text in The Crucible?

The Crucible - Understanding the Text

This GCSE English Literature quiz tests your understanding of the text in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Being sure you understand the text is the first step you take before you can begin to analyse and write about it. Surprisingly, this is more difficult than it sounds. After all, if authors only wished to convey a simple message, would it really take hundreds of pages and thousands of words to do so? When you read a text written long ago, or one from another country, or perhaps written in a strong dialect, understanding requires more effort. The Crucible requires good historical understanding as well as some practice in making sense of the characters’ dialect, in addition to the usual comprehension skills.

Authors convey meaning through a variety of methods.

1.
Why are the girls afraid to admit to their activities in the forest?
They will be punished and probably accused of witchcraft
They will cause Tituba to be sold away from Salem
They will be sent away from home
The people of Salem will laugh at them
Being honest about their activities will result in a whipping at best, or, at worst, being hanged as witches
2.
What does the text present as motivations for the various accusations of witchcraft?
Jealousy and lust
Grief and the desire to blame
Greed for land and property
All of the above
Abigail is suspected of wishing to replace Elizabeth as John's wife; Mrs. Putnam cannot understand why all but one of her babies died and therefore wishes to have someone to blame; and Giles Corey accuses Mr. Putnam of using the accusations as a way of gaining more land
3.
Why is Reverend Parris afraid during the final act of the play?
He is afraid of God's judgement
He is afraid that the townspeople have turned against him
He is afraid that the spirits of the dead will haunt him
All of the above
Reverend Parris is a weak, self-absorbed man who is only concerned for his own respectability. He is afraid of retribution for his part in the deaths
4.
Why does Reverend Parris ask Susanna Walcott not to speak of any "unnatural causes" of Betty's illness?
He does not believe in "unnatural causes"
He is afraid of the witches in Salem
He believes that the people are superstitious and he does not wish to frighten them
He is afraid that he and his family will lose respect in the town
The people of the town are already murmuring about witchcraft and Parris feels that his ministry to the people will be undermined if anyone knows about the girls dancing and running naked in the forest
5.
When does the audience first realise that Betty is pretending?
When Tituba comes into her room to see how she is
When Mercy suggests that Abigail threaten to beat her
When Abigail tells Betty that she has admitted all of their behaviour to Reverend Parris
When John Proctor comes to find Mary Warren
Betty whimpers while being shaken and threatened by her cousin Abigail, leaping out of bed and crying for her mother when she believes Abigail to have confessed their deeds
6.
What is the obstacle facing Mary when she wishes to set the record straight?
If she admits that the girls have been pretending, she also admits to lying in court
Mary cannot keep track of all of the lies she and the other girls have told
Mary is not considered to be a trustworthy witness
Mary cannot clearly remember any of the events
Lies lead to more lies; honesty would also require the judges to acknowledge that they have caused the death of innocent people
7.
Why did Abigail lose her position as a servant in the Proctor household?
She preferred to wander around Salem and neglected her duties
Elizabeth Proctor discovered that she was having sex with John
Elizabeth decided that she did not need a servant
Abigail left the Proctor home because she was offered another job elsewhere
Miller portrays the relationship as an affair and Abigail as a temptress. As a careful reader, you might notice that John is in his thirties and that Abigail was his teenage servant. You might also consider Miller's comment in his note on historical accuracy that he increased the age of the historical Abigail
8.
Why does John Proctor refuse to sign his confession?
Signing the confession means that he consents to all of the lies
Signing the confession will make him a coward unfit to set a good example to his children
Signing the confession condemns as liars and witches the others who hang
All of the above
John Proctor recognises as weakness his own desire to do whatever is necessary to live. He is shamed by the courage with which others have gone to their deaths
9.
Why does Reverend Parris fear that Salem will become restless and might even riot?
Salem is a notoriously lawless place
Respectable citizens have begun to hang for witchcraft
The people have become more religious
The people have become less religious
His fear is an acknowledgement that the people of Salem do not care so much for the lives of the poor, the troubled, the outsider
10.
Why is the poppet given by Mary to Elizabeth considered evidence of witchcraft?
The poppet has a needle stuck in its belly
Cheever understands that all witches own poppets
Cheever expects Elizabeth to use the poppet to poison Abigail
The poppet has been passed from one accused woman to another
Cheever finds a needle in the poppet and believes that Elizabeth has used the doll to cause Abigail excruciating pain. Those investigating witchcraft cannot see their own credulity
Author:  Sheri Smith

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