Crucible Basic Ideas

1. A. That Abigail may have been seduced by John Proctor
2. B. That his enemies will use the scandal to drive him from his pulpit ✓
3. C. That Betty's soul is in danger and that only prayer, not a doctor, can now save her from the Devil
4. D. That Tituba has corrupted the girls with Barbados magic and must be punished before the village hears of it

Correct answer: B. 'If you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.' His ministry, not Betty, dominates.

1. A. Because Ruth has already named Tituba as the witch who stole her soul, so the matter can no longer be hidden
2. B. Because Hale has already confirmed witchcraft
3. C. Because Putnam is Parris's loyal ally and sincerely wants to protect his ministry from the faction opposing him
4. D. So Parris can control the story before his enemies use it against him — and so Putnam can direct the accusations ✓

Correct answer: D. 'Wait for no one to charge you — declare it yourself. You have discovered witchcraft.' Miller notes Putnam has 'only contempt' for Parris and wants to push him 'toward the abyss.'

1. A. Dancing and conjuring — including Abigail's charm against Elizabeth and Ruth's attempt to contact her dead sisters ✓
2. B. Only innocent dancing and singing Tituba's Barbados songs, exactly as Abigail first tells Parris, with no conjuring at all
3. C. Practicing Tituba's Barbados religion, at Tituba's insistence
4. D. Worshipping the Devil and signing his book, as Abigail later admits in her tearful confession before Hale

Correct answer: A. Abigail tells Mercy that Tituba 'conjured Ruth's sisters'; Betty reveals the charm 'to kill Goody Proctor.'

1. A. Because Parris ordered Abigail to name a scapegoat
2. B. To shift blame away from herself before Tituba can reveal what Abigail did ✓
3. C. Because Tituba really did force the girls to drink blood, and Abigail finally feels safe enough with Hale present to say so
4. D. Because Hale has already promised her full protection if she names the witches who afflicted Betty

Correct answer: B. Under Hale's pressure ('Have you sold yourself to Lucifer?') Abigail points: 'She made me do it!' — deflecting before Tituba speaks.

1. A. Confessing and naming others is rewarded, while denial brings threats of death ✓
2. B. The Devil truly appeared in Salem
3. C. Slaves were trusted more than free people as witnesses, because Puritan law assumed they had no motive to lie
4. D. Hale is deliberately framing innocent women he suspected before he arrived, using Tituba as his tool

Correct answer: A. Parris threatens to whip her 'to your death,' Putnam says she 'must be hanged,' then Hale calls her 'God's instrument' once she names names.