A Reading Log Journal

Arthur Miller’s

The Crucible

A Reading Log Journal

The Crucible

ACT I

1. Respond: Were you surprised when the accusations against specific individuals multiplied? Explain.

1. Infer: What seems to be the main motivation for Reverend Parris’s concern about the girls’ behavior in the forest?

1. a.Recall: What do Abigail, Betty, Mercy, and Mary discuss after Reverend Parris leaves his daughter’s room?

b.Interpret: What events does this scene suggest may occur later in the play?

1. a.Recall: Who is Reverend Hale?

b. Why is he contacted?

c.Evaluate: Do you think he is being fair and impartial so far? Why or why not?

1. Summarize: What was Abigail’s prior relationship with the Proctor’s?

1. Interpret: What does Betty’s revelation about Abigail’s actions in the forest suggest about Abigail’s feelings for Goody Proctor?

1. a. Support: What evidence suggests that sharp divisions exist among the people of SalemVillage?

b. Apply: Name two others who may be accused. Explain your choices.

1. Literary Analysis: In the scene between Abigail and John Proctor, in what ways do the stage directions add to your understanding of their relationship?

1. Connecting Literary Elements: When Reverend Hale enters the scene, what two historic events does Miller compare in his dramatic exposition?

1. Connecting Literary Elements: What technique does Miller use to provide important information about the recent activities of several village girls? Explain.

1. Character Motives: What do Reverend Parris’s comments and actions reveal about his motivations?

1. Character Motives: What is Putnam’s motive for asking Tituba whether she saw Sarah Good or Goody Osburn in the woods?

1. Cultural Connections: Which elements of society does Miller seem to be criticizing through the characters of Reverend Parris and the Putnams? Explain.

ACT II

1. Respond: Which character do you find the most intriguing? Why?

1. a. Recall: What does Mary Warren bring home to Elizabeth Proctor?

b. Interpret: What is the significance of this gift?

1. a. Recall: What does Sarah Good do to save herself from hanging?

b. Draw Conclusions: Why would such an action save her?

1. a. Recall: According to John Proctor, what is “walking Salem” and writing the law in the community?

b.Support: What evidence would support Proctor’s assertion?

1. a. Recall: Who says the witchcraft trials are “a black mischief”?

b. Analyze: What is ironic about that remark?

1. Analyze: Why is it surprising that Rebecca Nurse is charged with witchcraft?

1. Evaluate: Do you find any irony in the fact that Ezekiel Cheever is the one who arrests Elizabeth Proctor? Why or why not?

1. Literary Analysis:

a. What does John Proctor’s allusion to Pontius Pilate on page 1309 imply about Proctor’s opinion of Reverend Hale?

b. What does the allusion to Pontius Pilate imply about the witchcraft proceedings in Salem?

1. Connecting Literary Elements: The Puritans lacked laws to protect people from illegal searches and arrests. How does this fact add to your appreciation of the scene in which Elizabeth Proctor is apprehended?

1. Extend Understanding: How are legal principles and evidence-gathering procedures different in America today than they were in the time in which the play is set? Explain.

ACT III

1. Respond: Which incident in Act III provoked the strongest emotional response in you? Why?

1. a. Recall: Which three depositions are presented to the judges and on whose behalf?

b.Analyze: How do the judges discourage defenses of the accused?

1. a. Recall: What does John Proctor confess to Danforth?

b. Interpret: Why does John Proctor make this confession?

c.Infer: What does his confession reveal about his character?

1. a. Recall: What is the lie Elizabeth Proctor tells Danforth?

b. Analyze: What are the consequences of her lie?

1. a. Recall: What truth does Mary Warren reveal about her involvement with “spirits”?

b. Analyze: Why does she change her testimony and turn on John Proctor?

1. a. Recall: What does Hale denounce at the end of Act III?

b. Evaluate: Do you find Hale sympathetic? Why or why not?

1. Assess: Who bears the most guilt for the fate of those hanged in the Salem witch trials – the girls who accused innocent people or the judges who sentenced them to death?

1. Literary Analysis:

1. What does the audience know that Elizabeth does not know when she testifies about her husband’s behavior?

1. Why is the effect of Elizabeth’s testimony ironic?

1. Reading Strategy:

a.Which character traits would you ascribe to Betty Parris, Sarah Good, and Mercy Lewis?

b.Do you have sympathy for them? Why or why not?

1. Which characters would you classify as static (unchanging), and which would

you classify as dynamic (changing or growing)? Why?

ACT IV

1. a.Respond: How did you react to the ending of the play?

b. Extend: Would you recommend the play to a friend? Why or why not?

1. a. Recall: Who seeks confessions from Rebecca Nurse and other condemned prisoners?

b. Infer: What motivates this person or people to seek these confessions?

1. a. Recall: What decisions torments John Proctor?

1. Interpret: What conflict does Elizabeth experience as her husband seeks her guidance?

1. a. Recall: What unexpected action does Abigail take in this act?

b. Draw Conclusions: Why do you think she does this?

1. Analyze: Why does Proctor confess and then retract his confession?

1. Interpret: Why does Elizabeth say her husband has “his goodness” as he is about to be hanged?

1. Evaluate: Do you think John Proctor made the right decision? Why or why not?

1. Literary Analysis: Use evidence from the play to show how Arthur Miller conveys the theme that fear and suspicion are infectious and can produce a mass hysteria that destroys public order and rationality.

1. Literary Analysis: Cite evidence from the play that supports the theme that it is nobler to die with integrity than to live with compromised principles that harm others.

Name: ______Eng 11cp