3/18/09 – Hughes – English 10
Good afternoon-
Today’s assignment is to create an online modern persona for one of the characters from The Crucible.
Directions: Based on the descriptions below, what we’ve discussed in class, and your own independent web research (see
www.sparknotes.com,
www.wikipedia.org, etc), create a detailed profile. You’ll transfer this profile to
http://www.mrhughesbookcharacters.ning.com,
where you’ll interact with other characters from the book and eventually from other books.
Your profile consists of the following questions:
1) What is your first and last name?
2) Are you single or married, or in a committed relationship?
3) How old are you?
4) Do you have any children?
5) Are you religious? Explain?
6) Who are your favorite bands/groups/musical artists?
7) Favorite books?
8) What are your hobbies?
9) Where do you live?
10) What is your worst fear?
11) What is your greatest regret?
12) What do you do for a living?
13) How much money do you make per year?
14) Do you get along with your family? Why/Why not?
15) Favorite movies?
16) What is your greatest strength?
17) Greatest weakness?
18) If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
19) What do you think about what has been happening in Salem?
20) Celebrity crush:
21) Real crush:
22) Would you consider yourself austere or extravagant? Explain.
23) Who is your best friend?
24) Your sworn enemy?
25) What makes you happy?
26) What do you want out of life?
27) Do you believe in witches?
28) Would you sacrifice your life for the lives of several people? Explain.
29) What do you look like? Give a detailed physical description and include a picture.
The Crucible - Characters
John Proctor - A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
Abigail Williams - Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed.
Reverend John Hale - A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
Elizabeth Proctor - John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
Reverend Parris - The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
Rebecca Nurse - Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess.
Francis Nurse - A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
Judge Danforth - The Deputy Governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupu-lous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in con-tempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.
Thomas Putnam - A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is con-vinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
Ruth Putnam - The Putnams’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night.
Tituba - Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request.
Mary Warren - The servant in John Proctor’s household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her.
Betty Parris - Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft.
Martha Corey - Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft.
Ezekiel Cheever - A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.
Judge Hathorne - A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials.
Herrick - The marshal of Salem.
Mercy Lewis - The servant in Thomas Putnam’s household. Mercy belongs to Abigail’s group of girls.
