1. When did the
Salem Witch Trials take place?
2. What current US
state was the home for the trials?
3. How many people
were charged? How many were put to death?
4. How did the
Puritan family size contribute to the problem?
5. What is a
theocracy, and what role did theocracy play in the historical episode?
6. Who was Cotton
Mather, and why is he significant for our understanding of Miller’s play?
7. Why were women
particularly singled out during the trials?
8. Where is the
witch trial episode thought commonly to have commenced?
9. Who were the
first three people accused of witchcraft, and what made them easy targets?
10. Why were the
accusations against Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse particularly disturbing to
the people of Salem?
11. What is
“spectral evidence”? Why was it important during the Witch Trials, and what was
particularly controversial about it?
12. How was Giles
Corey murdered and why?
13. How were the
accused and the executed treated by the community?
14. What is a
“witch cake,” and how was it used during the witch trials?
15. What role is
Tituba thought to have played in the supposed witchcraft practices around
Salem?
16. What was the
touch test and how was it supposed to work?
17. What did Anne
Putnam eventually confess after the witch trials had ended?
1.
Who were the Puritans? What distinguished them from other Christian sects?
2. Why is King
Charles I significant for understanding the history of the Puritans?
3. What was the
Great Migration, and what was its cause?
4. Who were the
Pilgrims? Where did they go, and how did they get there?
5. Who was John
Winthrop? Why was he a controversial figure, and what did he do?
6. What made the
Puritan population in New England distinct from populations in the other
American colonies?
7. What did the
Puritans who came to North America intend to do?
8. Who was Roger
Williams, and why is he significant? What important constitutional principle
did he pioneer among the Puritans?
9. Who was Anne
Hutchinson, and what made her an important, controversial figure in the history
of Puritanism in the New England colonies?
10. Enumerate 5
basic Puritan religious dogmas.
11. How is the
Puritan stress on hard work and moral uprightness seen as relevant to
understanding the success of modern-day America?
1. Define
McCarthyism.
2. What happened
during the “Second Red Scare”?
3. What is a
“blacklist”?
4. What factors
built up to a crescendo in McCarthyism?
5. What was the
HUAC, and what was its mandate?
6. What was a
“loyalty review,” and how did they affect people in America at the time?
7. Who was J.
Edgar Hoover, and what role did he have in this episode of American history?
8. What sorts of
things did the FBI do to assist the HUAC in rooting out so-called communists?
9. Explain the
problem of pleading the fifth amendment upon being subpoenaed to an HUAC
hearing.
10. From where did
McCarthyism garner its popular support?
11. Explain the
role of “communist plots” and “conspiracy theories” in McCarthyism.
12. How is
McCarthyism related to what transpires in Miller’s play?
13. Who is one of
the most famous opponents of McCarthyism? How did he help weaken McCarthyism’s
hold on America?
14. Why do some
people say that McCarthyism still exists in other form even today? Explain
using examples.
Final Reflection on The Crucible
|
In the space of
three paragraphs, reflect on Arthur Miller’s play as an example of social
criticism. What lessons does the Crucible teach? Can you think of ways
in which its lessons might be used to understand life today? Identify some
and elaborate. |