The Crucible Act 1 Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Why did Ann Putnam send Ruth to Tituba in the forest?
To try to contact the spirits of her dead infants
To cure Ruth of an illness using Barbadian medicine
To discover who had been taking food from the Putnam home
To learn whether Parris planned to dismiss Tituba
2. The argument between Putnam and Proctor about lumber develops which existing tension in Salem?
A disagreement over whether Hale should examine Betty
A long-running struggle over land ownership and boundaries
A dispute over whether servants may attend church
A conflict about who should replace Parris as minister
3. Betty cries out when a psalm is sung, and Ann Putnam treats the reaction as evidence of witchcraft. What does this moment illustrate?
Religious music is established as a reliable test for possession.
Rebecca Nurse has secretly encouraged Betty to disrupt the prayer.
Ambiguous behavior can be interpreted as proof once fear shapes expectations.
Parris has already decided to accuse Betty publicly.
4. At the end of Act 1, accusations spread rapidly because the emerging process—
requires physical evidence before a name can be accepted.
allows only ministers to identify suspected witches.
rewards confession and accusation while making denial increasingly dangerous.
keeps the girls separated so they cannot influence one another.
5. Rebecca Nurse’s response to Betty and Ruth chiefly represents which approach?
Complete agreement with Ann Putnam’s interpretation of the girls’ behavior
Strict religious punishment as the quickest way to restore order
Formal investigation by outside authorities before anyone may speak
Patient reliance on ordinary explanations rather than immediate supernatural claims
6. What is happening as Act 1 opens in Reverend Parris’s house?
Rebecca Nurse is leading prayers for Ruth and Betty.
Hale is questioning Abigail while the Putnams watch.
Parris is praying beside Betty, who lies unresponsive on the bed.
Proctor is confronting Parris about rumors of witchcraft.
7. Giles Corey casually mentions that Martha reads books and that he struggles to pray while she reads. What is the main dramatic effect?
It proves that Martha has been instructing Tituba in magic.
It settles Giles’s earlier disagreement with Thomas Putnam.
It shows how an ordinary concern can become suspicious evidence in an anxious inquiry.
It persuades Hale to abandon his investigation of Betty.
8. Proctor’s explanation for avoiding church primarily criticizes Parris for—
allowing women to speak during worship.
refusing to preach from scripture.
supporting Rebecca Nurse in every village dispute.
emphasizing damnation and material display rather than spiritual guidance.
9. What is the immediate purpose of Abigail’s threat to the other girls after Betty reveals more about the forest?
To keep them united around a limited version of what occurred
To persuade them to accuse Tituba before Parris returns
To force them to tell Proctor about the charm against Elizabeth
To stop them from speaking with Ruth Putnam
10. Why does Tituba eventually confess and begin naming supposed accomplices?
She wants revenge on Abigail for controlling the other girls.
She has already planned to expose Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse.
She believes a confession will allow her to leave Salem with Hale.
She is threatened with violence and discovers that confession earns approval and protection.
11. Which dispute best exposes Parris’s concern with material status and the privileges of his position?
His demand that Proctor provide timber for the meeting house
His complaints about salary, firewood, and having the parsonage deeded to him
His refusal to let Hale keep books inside the parsonage
His attempt to purchase land claimed by Francis Nurse
12. Hale arrives carrying heavy books that he says are weighted with authority. Dramatically, the books emphasize his—
confidence that learned systems can identify and explain the supernatural.
doubt that written authorities have any value in Salem.
plan to replace Parris through superior preaching.
awareness that the girls have invented every detail.
13. Why is Parris especially alarmed by what happened in the forest?
He fears the town will force him to leave Salem immediately.
He worries his enemies will use the incident to destroy his authority and ministry.
He believes Abigail intends to accuse him of practicing magic.
He is concerned that Hale will take control of his congregation.
14. Which statement best captures a central dramatic irony established in Act 1?
The audience sees human motives and concealment behind events that many characters treat as supernatural proof.
The adults know the full truth about the forest, while the girls remain confused.
The audience believes Parris is poor, although he secretly owns most of Salem.
Hale rejects books even though the townspeople expect him to rely on them.
15. Abigail’s private conversation with John Proctor most clearly reveals that she wants to—
persuade him to support Parris against the town faction.
confess their relationship publicly and accept punishment.
convince him that Betty has genuinely been bewitched.
renew their relationship and displace Elizabeth in his affections.
16. Which sequence accurately describes how the naming of alleged witches begins near the end of Act 1?
Betty names Rebecca Nurse, and Tituba then accuses Elizabeth Proctor.
Tituba names Sarah Good and Goody Osburn, after which Abigail and Betty add more names.
Parris supplies a list of enemies, which Abigail and Betty repeat.
Abigail names Martha Corey before Hale questions Tituba.