1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
blondinia [14]
3 years ago
8

What do we learn about Reverend Parris in act 1 scene 1 of The Crucible

English
1 answer:
USPshnik [31]3 years ago
7 0

The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692; the government is a theocracy—rule by God through religious officials. Hard work and church consume the majority of a Salem resident’s time. Within the community, there are simmering disputes over land. Matters of boundaries and deeds are a source of constant, bitter disagreements.

As the play opens, Reverend Parris kneels in prayer in front of his daughter’s bed. Ten-year-old Betty Parris lies in an unmoving, unresponsive state. Parris is a grim, stern man suffering from paranoia. He believes that the members of his congregation should not lift a finger during religious services without his permission. The rumor that Betty is the victim of witchcraft is running rampant in Salem, and a crowd has gathered in Parris’s parlor. Parris has sent for Reverend John Hale of Beverly, an expert on witchcraft, to determine whether Betty is indeed bewitched. Parris berates his niece, Abigail Williams, because he discovered her, Betty, and several other girls dancing in the forest in the middle of the night with his slave, Tituba. Tituba was intoning unintelligible words and waving her arms over a fire, and Parris thought he spotted someone running naked through the trees.

Abigail denies that she and the girls engaged in witchcraft. She states that Betty merely fainted from shock when her father caught them dancing. Parris fears that his enemies will use the scandal to drive him out of his ministerial office. He asks Abigail if her name and reputation are truly unimpeachable. Elizabeth Proctor, a local woman who once employed Abigail at her home but subsequently fired her, has stopped attending church regularly. There are rumors that Elizabeth does not want to sit so close to a soiled woman. Abigail denies any wrongdoing and asserts that Elizabeth hates her because she would not work like a slave. Parris asks why no other family has hired Abigail if Elizabeth is a liar. Abigail insinuates that Parris is only worried about her employment status because he begrudges her upkeep.

Thomas Putnam and his wife enter the room. Putnam holds one of the play’s many simmering grudges. His brother-in-law was a candidate for the Salem ministry, but a small faction thwarted his relative’s aspirations. Mrs. Putnam reports that their own daughter, Ruth, is as listless as Betty, and she claims that someone saw Betty flying over a neighbor’s barn.

Mrs. Putnam had seven babies that each died within a day of its birth. Convinced that someone used witchcraft to murder them, she sent Ruth to Tituba to contact the spirits of her dead children in order to discover the identity of the murderer. Parris berates Abigail anew and asserts that she and the girls were indeed practicing witchcraft. Putnam urges Parris to head off his enemies and promptly announce that he has discovered witchcraft. Mercy Lewis, the Putnams’ servant, drops in and reports that Ruth seems better. Parris agrees to meet the crowd and lead them in a prayer, but he refuses to mention witchcraft until he gets Reverend Hale’s opinion.

Once they are alone, Abigail updates Mercy on the current situation. Mary Warren, the servant for the Proctor household, enters the room in a breathless, nervous state. She frets that they will all be labeled witches before long. Betty sits up suddenly and cries for her mother, but her mother is dead and buried. Abigail tells the girls that she has told Parris everything about their activities in the woods, but Betty cries that Abigail did not tell Parris about drinking blood as a charm to kill Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife. Abigail strikes Betty across the face and warns the other girls to confess only that they danced and that Tituba conjured Ruth’s dead sisters. She threatens to kill them if they breathe a word about the other things that they did. She shakes Betty, but Betty has returned to her unmoving, unresponsive state.

You might be interested in
What is the action verb? to We love it when we can go camping in Montana because it is beautiful.
sergejj [24]
Camping would be the action verb 
6 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
How does figurative language make a memoir engaging to read?​
xenn [34]

Answer: "helps bring the author's experiences to life and helps the reader imagine and connect with those experiences."

Explanation: it actually cool it like encrypted quotes you might not catch the first time but one you understand and read it over another time you might be able to relate

8 0
3 years ago
At the end of the story, what does the old man know that Alan does not know? Explain.
xxTIMURxx [149]

Answer:

Revealing that when Alan uses the potion, the old man knows that he will be back just like his other customers. Imagery is also shown in the story "The Chaser". This quote in the short story represents the imagery shown.

Explanation:

5 0
2 years ago
Pleaseeee help if you can xoxo
VMariaS [17]

Answer: its 3 xoxo

Explanation:

5 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
What is the symbolism of the new cloak in this excerpt? The new cloak represents Odysseus’s love for his wife, Penelope, and his
Alex Ar [27]
The symbolism of the new cloak in this excerpt is - the new cloak represents Odysseus's transformation from a weary traveler to the returning hero.
He spent many years on the sea, far from his family and loved ones, and he became old and tired. This new cloak is his transformation - he is a hero now, and he has come back to Ithaca to rule again. 
5 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
Other questions:
  • “We’re all in control of our destinies; fortune has nothing to do with the trajectory of our lives.” Agree or Disagree and why ?
    15·1 answer
  • Describe what Katy does after turning out the light and punching her pillow. Include at least three details from the text in you
    9·1 answer
  • What is a stanza words that rhyme lines that are six words long the line structure of a poem two words that sound a like
    14·1 answer
  • How does Gandalf save the dwarves from the trolls
    11·2 answers
  • Both Seagulls and wild geese are large birds. They're also similar in that both kinds of birds can fly over great distances. On
    13·1 answer
  • What is one step in determining the main idea of a text?
    8·2 answers
  • In at least 200 words, choose another novel that you have read and give two examples of how understanding historical context was
    12·2 answers
  • Examples of 30 irregular verbs:<br>-present simple<br>-present continuous<br>-present perfect simple
    5·1 answer
  • What is the theme or meaning of the short story “Was It a Dream”?
    8·1 answer
  • (1) Jenna was excited to have the house all to herself. (2) She was looking forward to relaxing in a perfectly quiet house. (3)
    15·2 answers
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!