The Crucible is Based originally on the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the late 1600’s in Massachusetts. Hysteria is one of the main themes that stirr up the community. Three girls Abigail ,Tituba, and Mary Warren caused mass hysteria in Salem through their alleged wrong doings. Most of the hysteria causing trouble revolves around Abigail because of her violent untrustworthy vengeful behavior while Tituba is mostly intimidated by authority, she makes a lot of bad judgments as a result but she is smart enough to know how to save herself. Marry Warren is more submissive and nieve and at times unreliable.
When Hale comes and visits John and Elizabeth Proctor; he wants to investigate the people who are accused in court. Elizabeth and Proctor are astonished when Hale mentions that Rebecca Nurse has been accused of witchcraft. In the Crucible Rebecca Nurse is pictured as a saint throughout the play. The first clue that shows Hale is beginning to notice something wrong is when Rebecca’s been charged by saying “God forbid such a one be charged” (Miller 1210). Towards the end of Act II he starts to have some suspicion on what is going on because now Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft.
In “The Crucible”, the girls accused people of being witches just to make themselves look better to others to gain respect. “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (Miller 196). The direct quote from “The Crucible” means children who are overtaken by social fears have the power to control the life or death of a single individual, by accusing them of witchcraft. Many women were killed in the town of Salem during the trials and the ones who weren't killed had their reputations forever lowered. Everyone who was charged by McCarthy had his or her own reputation diminished also.
She was arrested and tried for practicing witchcraft because of her American Indian decent. Seen as “Devil worshipers” American Indians were perceived as being familiar with occult practices (536). This stereotype left Tituba with no control of her situation and fearful for her life. Tituba’s ethnic background left her victim to stereotypes that previous to her confession, would have most likely only sealed her dooming fate. Luckily, Tituba was able to use her knowledge of African, American Indian and English folklore to her advantage, diverting the attention away from her socially and geographically.
Anyone with odd names, weird looks, or were found mumbling chants, were accused of witchcraft and were put to death. Herbal potions or homemade medicinal concoctions were thought to be witches brew, they would be confiscated and the owner taken to jail. Women were the most common gender to be accused of witchcraft. Out of all of the witch trials in England, eighty-five percent were women and only fifteen percent were men. Women sometimes wore long black dresses and were sometimes thought to be witches because of their dress.
Social and generational tensions may be the root cause. Or, maybe fear and anxiety about their future prospects might have given the girls a mental breakdown.”(6) Many of the books I have looked at have explored the possibility that Gender issues and psychological issues also may have fueled the Witch trials to epic proportions. Today in our system, gender is mostly kept out of the decision making process in court and psychological issues are evaluated to see if the accused is even fit to stand trial in the court of law. So once again this shows that had the witch accusations happened in present day a lot of lives would have been
The Crucible and the Mass Hysteria Portrayed The Crucible composed by Arthur Miller, has many themes that have been explained. The most known theme being hysteria, as well as the role it played in devastating the town of Salem. Hysteria can be defined as behavior displaying excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic and this is evident in The Crucible as the actions of Abigail Williams and her friends are accusing the town’s people of Salem as devil worshippers. This theme has been portrayed through the use of dialogue and stage direction. In the whole event of the witch trials, a few people were able to thrive upon the hysteria and use it to their advantage.
It is about a town, after accusations from a few girls, which begins a mad hunt for witches that did not exist. Many townspeople were hung on charges of witchcraft. Miller brings out the absurdity of the incident with the theme of truth and righteousness. The theme is conveyed through the struggles of Miller’s main character, John Proctor. The main characters are Reverend Hale, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor.
When the trials began, many accused others of witchcraft and this lead to them accusing even more. The new news of the entire witchcraft epidemic in Salem left many disturbed and trying to eliminate the bad of the town. The novel allows the reader to reflect on the life of the Salem people and understand the happenings. One example is the reflection of the lives of teenage girls in the puritan society, sent by God to marry and have a family, lacking the happiness of teen hood. Thus, explaining a
So I would like to give a workshop for my young missionary colleagues as I have learned in the seminary course I took on “popular religions” where readings and lectures discussed witch accusations. Definition of witch Dr. Priest noted the word “witch” means different things in different settings. Sometimes witch means female practitioner of Wicca/Neopaganism. However, we discuss witch here as a male or female who is believed to harm others through