Ezekiel Cheever

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name=Ezekiel Cheever
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commands=Commissary General of the Artillery Stores
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Ezekiel Cheever was a military officer in the American Revolution, a schoolmaster, and the author of "Accidence: A Short Introduction to the Latin Tongue".

Ezekiel Cheever (fictional character)

Ezekiel Cheever is an astute yet weak character in Arthur Miller's play about witchcraft hysteria in Salem, "The Crucible". His most important appearance is in the Proctor household in which he denounces Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft, regarding the poppet (doll) which was placed in the Proctor house to make it appear that Elizabeth was practicing witchcraft against Abigail Williams.His reason is clouded by the authority of Salem for whom he works.He used to be friends with John Proctor, but when the accusations started, he quickly turned against his friends and their family who were accused of witchcraft. He tells Danforth that Proctor sometimes plows on Sundays and that Proctor missed church often. He acts as a scribe in Act 2 of The Crucible, and in some interpretations of the play, he hangs Proctor.

The character is based on a real person and should not be confused with that man's father, also named Ezekiel Cheever, the famous schoolmaster and author of "Accidence: A Short Introduction to the Latin Tongue".Fact|date=December 2007