Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What does the term “witch hunt” mean in modern times? What were some well-known witch hunts in world history?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may benefit from a discussion on the perception of “witch hunts” during the time period of the novel’s publication (the late 1950s). With pre-reading introduction or review of the post-WWII/early Cold War era, students can discuss throughout their reading whether McCarthyism and the Red Scare may have impacted the author’s choices, and speculate on parallels a reader in that time might have discovered. Information from these or similar resources can help students develop additional context on the topics of historical or figurative witch hunts.

• “McCarthyism and the Red Scare” - This article from the University of Virginia gives the historical context of McCarthyism.
• “The Salem Witch Trials of 1692” - The Peabody Essex Museum site offers a condensed history and other resources related to the Salem Witch Trials.
• “Witch Trials in Early Modern Europe and New England” - Berkeley Law discusses the suppositions, accusations, and processes involved in historical witch trials.