Who is responsible for the chaos of the
Salem Witch Trials?
Purpose: In this exercise you
will be determining who was responsible for creating and continuing the
witch hunts in Salem.
Directions: Number in sequence
1 to 10 the persons listed below according to the responsibility you
believe they should bear for the witch hunts. Number 1 indicates
the most responsibility, with number 10 indicating the least. Be
prepared to defend your answers.
_____ A. Tituba for leading the
girls into the forest to dance and do spells, then later being the
first to confess.
_____ B. Abigail for starting all
the lying and the naming of names among the girls.
_____ C. The people of the town for
being gullible and believing the girls so easily.
_____ D. Reverend Hale for using
(or misusing) his knowledge of witchcraft and/or not doing more to stop
the trials later on.
_____ E. Thomas Putnam and the
other land-hungry, vengeful adults of Salem whose greed played a part
in the continuing
accusations.
_____ F. John Proctor and Abigail
for having the affair in the first place.
_____ G. Authority figures like
Hawthorne and Danforth who had the power to stop the trials, but
didn’t..
_____ H. Reverend Parris for having
such poor control over the girls and over the town when he should have
been the authority figure.
_____ I. The “good people” in the
town who did nothing to try to stop the trials.
_____ J. The Puritans for their
overly restrictive lifestyles and adamant beliefs in witches and the
devil.
Writing
Assignment:
From how you did your rankings above, chose three people (or sets of
people):
1. One that you believe was very responsible for the
Salem trials
2. One that was somewhat responsible, and
3. One that you saw as least responsible.
Write a traditional five-paragraph,
structured essay in which you explain your
reasons for placing a particular
amount of responsibility on each person/people.
Your writing should have an
introductory paragraph (with some creativity and a
preview), three paragraphs of body
(one per person) with explanations and
reasons, and a concluding paragraph
(with a review and some thoughtful
insights about the people or the
trials. Grammar and spelling ALWAYS count!
The
Crucible Essay-Writing Checklist
Content
_____1. Topic sentences for each paragraph should be
general enough to cover all the points of the paragraph.
_____2. Quotes used for support and EXPLAINED
clearly. TRY TO USE SOME QUOTES!
_____ If you are using two quotes that are
separate, but related, for instance from the same page, put ... between
them to show there were lines in
between.
_____ Work your quotes right into your
sentences. Example: John Proctor defies authority again
when he says to Cheever, “Damn the Deputy
Governor! Out of my house!”
_____3. Use specific examples! Examples and
quotes should be clearly tied into the main idea of the paper OR
paragraph. Write a final sentence at the end
of
each paragraph to wrap it all up.
_____4. Introductions and conclusion paragraphs
should have some creative insights or thoughtful conclusions.
_____5. Introduction and Conclusion paragraphs should
include topic sentences and previews and reviews of points.
Conventions
_____1. Heading is complete and correct
_____2. The font is a normal one and the size is 10
or 12. If you want to write it out, that’s fine too.
_____3. Tense Shifts--this is a big one. Go
through the paper and make sure you are all in PAST TENSE or present
tense.
NOT BOTH!
_____4. Watch out for Informal Language and slang.
_____5. Get RID of all sentence fragments and
run-ons!
_____6. Fix all little problems
_____ Spelling!
_____ Act One or Act I--please capitalize
Act
_____ Refer to people as “who” not “that”
_____7. DO NOT USE: “I” or “you” or “we”----Use instead
“he/she” or “the reader”