Background of Play Why Miller Wrote It, What Inspired Him

The Crucible

·  Background of play – why Miller wrote it, what inspired him

·  HUAC – what it was, what it did, what people could do when questioned

·  Character ID – characters to know:

o  John Proctor / o  Reverend Hale / o  Betty Parris
o  Danforth / o  Rebecca Nurse / o  Martha Corey
o  Ruth Putnam / o  Mary Warren / o  Thomas Putnam
o  Reverend Parris

·  Plot

o  Who gets caught in the forest? What are they doing? Who catches them?

o  What are reasons that make Proctor an easy target to accuse of witchcraft?

o  What happens when Proctor brings Mary to the court? What happens with Elizabeth?

o  What happens at the end of the play?

The Scarlet Letter

·  Background of Nathaniel Hawthorne

·  Background of novel – publication

·  Basics of the novel – setting, time frame

·  Character Identification – know the following characters:

o  Chillingworth / o  Mistress Hibbins / o  Hester
o  Pearl / o  Gov. Bellingham / o  Dimmesdale
o  Gov. Winthrop / o  Rev. Wilson

·  Character Descriptions – what do characters look and dress like; how do they act

·  Basic plot points

o  Relationship and secrets between Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale

o  Hester’s actions on the scaffold in the beginning of novel

o  Dimmesdale’s and Chillingworth’s actions throughout novel

o  How Pearl behaves and her beliefs about/reactions to the scarlet letter

o  What happens at the end of the novel as the climax and the resolution?

Huck Finn

·  Study your Huck Finn test study guide

·  Character ID Matching

o  Buck / o  George Jackson / o  Miss Watson
o  Judge Thatcher / o  Widow Douglas / o  Aunt Sally
o  Mary Jane / o  Col. Sherburn / o  Col. Grangerford
o  Pap

·  Quotations Matching

·  Background of novel – type of novel, POV, Mark Twain’s real name, etc.

·  Plot

Reading Comprehension

You will be given a short reading selection that we have not read in class. You will read it and then answer MC questions about it.