Good Times
Ms. Pennell’s Big-Bad Study Guide to help you pass The Crucible or the severe test or trial that will be the examinations for this literary work of genius by Arthur Miller. By the way, that was your first vocabulary word (crucible – heat-resistant container in which metals are melted or fused at very high temperatures; thus a severe trial or test). Get ready to have your brain melted!!
List of Characters
Reverend Parris -- vicious, shallow, cowardly, villainous, peacock of a man (former merchant in Barbados) using God as a pretense to extort whatever riches he can out of the already economically strained villagers in Salem.
Betty Parris -- daughter to Reverend Parris, mother is dead. One of the afflicted girls. She suffers from a malediction that clears up when the adults leave the room. She is terrified of her vicious and manipulative cousin Abigail and her Puritan Minister father, Reverend Parris.
Tituba – a slave purchased in Barbados to serve the Parris household. Tituba has no legal rights or standing in Salem Village and is, therefore, the easiest person to blame for witchcraft. The Puritans consider Tituba’s ability to speak to the dead shocking and scandalous, but communication with the dead is a basic part of many African religions. In many religions derived from African cultures, the dead are honored and considered to be able to provide wisdom and advice to the living. Voduon, or voodoo, is a folk religion from the West Indies, which developed from Roman Catholic beliefs mixed with African religious practices. In a voodoo ritual service, the priestess leads a gathering of people in song, drumming, dance, prayer, cooking, or animal sacrifice. As students read on, they will see that most of these details apply to the descriptions of what Tituba and the girls were doing in the woods. Ironically, a voodoo priestess is said to have the power to protect her followers from witchcraft.
Abigail Williams -- gorgeous orphan, liar, and town harlot, niece of
List of Characters
Reverend Parris -- vicious, shallow, cowardly, villainous, peacock of a man (former merchant in Barbados) using God as a pretense to extort whatever riches he can out of the already economically strained villagers in Salem.
Betty Parris -- daughter to Reverend Parris, mother is dead. One of the afflicted girls. She suffers from a malediction that clears up when the adults leave the room. She is terrified of her vicious and manipulative cousin Abigail and her Puritan Minister father, Reverend Parris.
Tituba – a slave purchased in Barbados to serve the Parris household. Tituba has no legal rights or standing in Salem Village and is, therefore, the easiest person to blame for witchcraft. The Puritans consider Tituba’s ability to speak to the dead shocking and scandalous, but communication with the dead is a basic part of many African religions. In many religions derived from African cultures, the dead are honored and considered to be able to provide wisdom and advice to the living. Voduon, or voodoo, is a folk religion from the West Indies, which developed from Roman Catholic beliefs mixed with African religious practices. In a voodoo ritual service, the priestess leads a gathering of people in song, drumming, dance, prayer, cooking, or animal sacrifice. As students read on, they will see that most of these details apply to the descriptions of what Tituba and the girls were doing in the woods. Ironically, a voodoo priestess is said to have the power to protect her followers from witchcraft.
Abigail Williams -- gorgeous orphan, liar, and town harlot, niece of