Final answer:
Mary Warren gives Elizabeth Proctor a puppet that foreshadows Elizabeth's arrest for witchcraft, symbolizing manipulation and deceit in Salem.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, it is Mary Warren who gives Elizabeth Proctor a puppet (or poppet). This seemingly innocent gift is far from benign; instead, it foreshadows Elizabeth's arrest for witchcraft. Mary Warren makes the doll during the court proceedings and stores a needle inside it. The doll is discovered with the needle by Cheever, leading to Elizabeth's accusation of witchcraft, as Abigail Williams had previously feigned being stabbed by a needle. The puppet thus becomes a symbol of the manipulation and deceit that is rampant in Salem, and the ease with which innocent objects and actions can be misconstrued as malevolent under the influence of fear and hysteria. This gift and its consequences are a central part of the play's critique of the Salem witch trials and, by extension, McCarthyism.