CRUCIBLE ACT IV QUESTIONS
1. What does Samuel Parris report about Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis? Why is Parris afraid for his personal safety? What is Danforth’s reaction?
2. Why is Danforth especially nervous about rumors concerning events in Andover? What are his reasons for receiving no pleas for pardon or for postponement of the executions?
3. According to John Hale, what is the present condition of the countryside? How might John Hale’s description of the countryside be regarded as symbolic of the moral and spiritual desolation that has afflicted Salem?
4. Why do you think Danforth is said to be alarmed at the news that Abigail and Mercy Lewis have fled? What inner conflict may this news incite in him? How does this conflict affect the course of his decisions in this act?
5. Why does Proctor refuse to sign his confession?
6. At the end of the play, when Hale urges Elizabeth to make a last-minute appeal to her husband, how does she respond?
7. In the critical scene between Elizabeth and John Proctor, we gain insight into John’s actions at the climax of the play. How are Elizabeth and John both tortured by guilt? Why does Elizabeth refuse to influence John’s decision?
8. What is the importance regarding the structure of the play of the appearance of Rebecca Nurse just when John Proctor is struggling to make the most important decision of his life?
9. What structural parallel in Act Two is recalled by John’s tearing up of his confession near the end of this act? How does this parallel relate to a theme of the play?
CRUCIBLE ACT IV QUESTIONS
1. What does Samuel Parris report about Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis? Why is Parris afraid for his personal safety? What is Danforth’s reaction?
2. Why is Danforth especially nervous about rumors concerning events in Andover? What are his reasons for receiving no pleas for pardon or for postponement of the executions?
3. According...