There have been many different "witch hunts" that have happened since 1692, that have shaped our world. Most scholars agree that the prosecutions were not driven by political or gender concerns; they were not attacks on backward, or rural, societies; they did not function to express or relieve local tensions; they were not a result of the rise of capitalism or other macroeconomic changes; they were not the result of changes in family structure or in the role of women in society; and they were not an effort by cultural elites to impose their views on the populace. Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, which forms the basis of many Americans' knowledge of the trials, takes liberties with the story. Scrutiny of Miller's historical sources, which include biographies of key players (the accused and the accusers) and primary source transcripts of the Salem witch trials themselvesgive students a chance to trace the events embellished in the play back to historical Salem. In early 1692, three girls with connections to the Parris household began to exhibit strange behavior. Biography of Elizabeth Parris, Accuser in the Salem Witch Trials, A Brief History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Biography of Rebecca Nurse, Victim of the Salem Witch Trials, Profile of Elizabeth How, Persecuted Salem Witch, Rev. The Rev. Those who did believe saw witchcraft as something to be availed of at best and dismissed at worst. Miller completely discounts the idea that these events are caused by supernatural forces, and instead seeks to show how everyday difference between the members of the Salem community and the all-common emotions of anger, envy and greed are responsible. Tens of thousands of supposed witches mostly womenwere executed. Indeed, Germany, one of the central countries of the Protestant Reformation, is often referred to as the focal point of the European witch hunts. The Crucible Act One: An Overture Flashcards | Quizlet Miller transforms Tituba, a young Native American girl, into an African slave who led a group of young women into the forest to participate in magic rites. Rev. Aligns with CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5- Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. Studying the American and European witch hunts today serves as a reminder of how hardship can bring out the very worst in people, turning neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother. However, the general consensus is that the witch hunts spanning the two continents resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 60,000 people. why did the witch-hunts occur? Understanding the Salem Witch Trials | NEH-Edsitement Although many witchcraft theorists were not deeply misogynist, many others were, notably the authors of the infamous Malleus maleficarum. An author named Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible based of the true events of the Salem witch trials. Many social and religious factors triggered . And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! As students examine historical materials with an eye to their dramatic potential, they also explore the psychological and sociological questions that so fascinated Miller: Aligns withCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8- Evaluate an author's premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information. Instead, they were just one very small chapter in the much longer story of the witch hunts that took place all across Europe and America in the early modern period, with the European witch hunts reaching a height between 1560 and 1650. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. One of these women was Tituba, who was there at the. But Tituba recanted her confession, and Parris never paid the fine, presumably in retaliation for her recantation. ", EDSITEment is a project of theNational Endowment for the Humanities, Salem Witch Trials: Understanding the Hysteria, Origins of Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Although some people undoubtedly practiced sorcery with the intent to harm, and some may actually have worshiped the Devil, in reality no one ever fit the concept of the witch. Nonetheless, the witchs crimes were defined in law. Tituba later testified that she saw visions of the devil and witches swarming. Why would the church and government authorities continue to credit these wild and unsubstantiated stories as respectable people from all walks of lifelandowners, women of independent means, neighbors, even clergywere arrested and brought to trial? Arthur Miller's . . She would also have likely been aware of the unrest in the community when raids were launched in New England, starting up again in 1689 (and called King William's War), with New France using both French soldiers and local Native Americans to fight against the English colonists. I had not approached the witchcraft out of nowhere or from purely social and political considerations. Witch Hunts In Arthur Miller's The Crucible | ipl.org In 1692 hundreds of people were sitting in jail for being witches, but none of them were really witches. The notorious Spanish Inquisition formed due to the Counter-Reformation focused little on pursuing those accused of witchcraft, having concluded that witches were much less dangerous than their usual targets, namely converted Jews and Muslims. First performed in January of 1953 at the height of America's red scare, The Crucible is first and foremost a political argument, relating the Salem witchcraft trials to their contemporary equivalent in Miller's time, the McCarthy hearings. This was a dissertation that endorsed witch-hunting and is believed to have inspired Shakespeares Macbeth. A bolt of lightning releases the handcuffs on a woman accused of being a witch and strikes down her inquisitor in this late nineteenth-century lithograph of a colonial-era trial. It was also believed that they rode through the air at night to sabbats (secret meetings), where they engaged in sexual orgies and even had sex with Satan; that they changed shapes (from human to animal or from one human form to another); that they often had familiar spirits in the form of animals; and that they kidnapped and murdered children for the purpose of eating them or rendering their fat for magical ointments. In Greco-Roman civilization, Dionysiac worship included meeting underground at night, sacrificing animals, practicing orgies, feasting, and drinking. What was it about the time period that made such hysteria, and ultimately tragedy, possible. One of the most important aspects of the hunts remains unexplained. Tituba apologized for her part, saying she loved Betty and meant her no harm. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572. ", Latest answer posted October 02, 2020 at 10:46:39 AM. Moreover, just as the growth of literacy and of reading the Bible helped spread dissent, so did they provoke resistance and fear. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and recounts one such witch hunt. Arthur Miller in the play, The Crucible, suggests that people of society create a separation between outsiders and insiders of the town, often prosecuting the outsiders to make them stand out even more from society. We can guess from the circumstances that Parris enslaved Tituba in Barbados, probably when she was 12 or a few years older. Both Protestants and Catholics were involved in the prosecutions, as the theology of the Protestant Reformers on the Devil and witchcraft was virtually indistinguishable from that of the Catholics. Tituba was questioned for two more days. Along with this older tradition, attitudes toward witches and the witch hunts of the 14th18th centuries stemmed from a long history of the churchs theological and legal attacks on heretics. He also portrays the accusers as teenagers when many were in fact much younger. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. Abigail's Obsession With Proctor In The Crucible By Arthur Miller For many of them the witch-hunt provided an opportunity to release themselves from their own guilt and vent their impure thoughts under the cloak of seeking absolution. Also, the clergy in authority expounded punishment, rather than penitence and forgiveness, for those deemed witches. To fully understand what caused the witch-hunt, one must analyze the triggers behind these feelings. As Miller puts it: 'Land-lust which had been expressed before by constant bickering over boundaries and deeds, could now be elevated to the arena of morality; one could cry witch against one's neighbor and feel perfectly justified in the bargain.'. Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller | ipl.org Though the Salem trials took place just as. In 1964, Ann Petry published "Tituba of Salem Village", written for children 10 and older. English The Crucible Test Flashcards | Quizlet The setting of a literary work refers to the time and place in which the action occurs. While she was imprisoned, two others accused her of being one of two or three women whose specters they'd seen flying. Why is Thomas Putnam bitter in act 1 of The Crucible. In the writing of Arthur Miller he chose to place the focus of the book around the witch trials that took place in Salem in the 1400s. Perhaps the most intense reason why Salem had to be the birthplace for the witch trials resided in the idea of the authenticity and self- certainty that gripped Salem. Accessed 4 Mar. The inevitable need for a scapegoat, for someone to hold accountable for misfortune, seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. Historical Context Essay: Arthur Miller and the Red Scare In each paragraph these traits will be further explained. On February 29, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Tituba in Salem Town. According to a theory posited by economists Leeson and Russ, churches across Europe sought to prove their strength and orthodoxy by relentlessly pursuing witches, demonstrating their prowess against the Devil and his followers. In January of 1692, nine-year-old Betty Parris and eleven-year-old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of Salem Village minister Reverend Samuel Parris, suddenly feel ill. Making strange, foreign sounds, huddling under furniture, and clutching their heads, the girls' symptoms were alarming and astounding to .
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