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The Crucible - Language
Discover more about The Crucible in this quiz.

The Crucible - Language

This Literature quiz is called 'The Crucible - Language' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at senior high school. Playing educational quizzes is one of the most efficienct ways to learn if you are in the 11th or 12th grade - aged 16 to 18.

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This senior high school English Literature quiz challenges you on language. As a play, Arthur Miller's The Crucible consists almost entirely of dialog. And as historical drama based on events which took place in seventeenth-century New England, this dialog is deliberately archaic.

Most of the characters speak in simple language, since they lack formal education. Their language is also heavily influenced by the Bible and by Calvinist teachings, and all of the characters use phrases which hold specific meanings for Puritans. The judges and the ministers speak in more elevated language. Miller has also marked the language as archaic through the use of grammatical constructions unfamiliar to speakers of modern English. The characters often rely upon metaphor because much of what they discuss relates to the invisible, spiritual world which is their primary concern.

Analyzing language in a text

Language is the primary medium through which a reader understands a text. In a text which is meant to be performed, however, you will also be able to visualize scenes and to “hear” how the dialog might be spoken.

Authors choose the language they use with precision. Always pay close attention to words, considering the wealth of symbolic meanings and associations beyond the obvious literal meanings. Authors carefully select and combine words to create imagery, such as metaphor, simile and personification, and other literary effects. Setting, characterisation and dialog each depend on an author’s ability to use language skilfully.

Greater understanding will result from your close attention to the details conveyed through language. Linger over words and imagery, exploring language choice rather than being content with the surface meaning. Consider the possible meanings being suggested through the specific use of language. What else comes to mind as you read? The time and care you devote to your analysis should correspond in part to the care with which the author has chosen and deployed language.

Answer the questions below to develop your understanding of the way language choices affect the audience’s interpretation of The Crucible.

1.
"It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!" What is significant about Abigail's use of the word "it's"?
She does not know the name of John Proctor's wife
She is so distressed she temporarily forgets Elizabeth's name
She shows her contempt for Elizabeth
Abigail speaks rudely about everyone
Elizabeth and John Proctor also refer to Abigail as "it", rather than "she", when they are most angry
2.
"Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, than nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." What does Hale's statement imply?
The accusations might have gone too far
No one is safe from suspicion
Outward goodness cannot be taken as proof of inward goodness
All of the above
Hale's statement signals his contradictory beliefs. He believes Rebecca to be innocent and is confident that the court will release her. He also distrusts the human capacity to perceive goodness and the idea that people can vouch for the innocence of their friends and neighbors. Even Satan, he states, appeared good to God before his fall from heaven
3.
MARY WARREN: We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things!
ABIGAIL: Oh, we'll be whipped!
What effect does Abigail's emphasis on the word "we'll" have?
A supernatural effect
An ominous effect
A reassuring effect
No effect
Abigail reveals her character by threatening to implicate Mary if she is made to suffer for her actions. She has no intention of taking all of the blame for the activities in the forest. When Mary insists that she did not take part, but only watched, Mercy and Abigail mock her for her objections
4.
"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!" What is the meaning of Proctor's metaphor?
Elizabeth's response to his adultery has been cold and rational
Elizabeth's anger at him has been overwhelming and passionate
Elizabeth does not think he should be judged in any way
Elizabeth wishes him ill
John Proctor longs for warmth, which to him will represent true forgiveness. Elizabeth tells him that his own conscience judges him, rather than she. John's passion and anger is at odds with Elizabeth's more contained emotions
5.
"Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises." What is significant about Hale's use of the word "caught"?
Hale knows that invisible entities cannot be "caught" and dissected in the way he describes
Hale hopes that the accusers themselves will be "caught"
Hale reveals that he does not believe in the existence of devils
Hale naively believes his books can contain evil
Evil reveals itself to be more nebulous than Hale's books and learning can accommodate. Evil is located everywhere in Salem, and most especially in the motivations of those who accuse others
6.
"Only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it." What does Elizabeth try to achieve with this statement?
She wishes John to be resolute and to face death courageously
She wishes John to lie and confess in order to survive
She wishes John to make his decision freely in the confidence that she believes him good
She wishes John to know that she still refrains from judging him
Elizabeth tries to tell John that her judgment does not matter when he judges himself so harshly, but ends by offering a form of forgiveness for whatever path he chooses, acknowledging the utter impossibility of the situation in which he has been placed
7.
DANFORTH: Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you?
MARY WARREN: Never, never!
GIRLS: Never, never!
DANFORTH (growing hysterical): Why can they only repeat you?
What is the effect of repetition here?
It bewilders Danforth
It appears that Mary has bewitched the other girls
The audience recognizes it as a bullying form of mockery
All of the above
The girls are behaving in a typical form of bullying. They, Mary and the audience know this. Danforth remains ignorant, however, and believes that Mary is responsible for the bizarre behavior
8.
"I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honour. I'll not conceal it, my hand shakes yet as with a wound!" Which of the following is true of Hale's statement?
He believes his actions are spiritually harmful to him
He believes that the witches are invisibly affecting his health
He trusts that Rebecca Nurse will be saved by God
All of the above
Although Hale seeks honesty and integrity, his concern shows here as rather self-centred. Rebecca will lose her life and, as he believes, her soul. He worries that if any errors are made in the convictions, he will be harming his own soul
9.
Which of the following lines best illustrates the danger to human bodies when too much emphasis is placed on the power and value of the invisible?
HALE: We shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!
REBECCA: Will it hurt the child, sir?
HALE: I cannot tell. If she is truly in the Devil's grip we may have to rip and tear to get her free
REBECCA: I think I'll go then. I am too old for this
When greater emphasis is placed on the immortal, invisible soul and on the invisible forces which threaten it, the body itself is of less concern. Pain and neglect are therefore seen as less harmful than activities which will damn a soul
10.
PROCTOR: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as Salem's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem — vengeance is walking Salem.
With what is "vengeance" implicitly contrasted?
Justice
Satan
The law
The Inquisition
Hale, along with the court, believes Satan to be stalking Salem. Proctor's echoing of the phrase replaces Satan with "vengeance". Proctor does not believe that justice prevails in Salem, although this is not the metaphor he chooses
Author:  Sheri Smith

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