The people of the town were pressured, accused, and tested simple tests but the girls would scream with such pain whenever the accused spoke. The victims, the girls, and the judges all were consumed in the anarchy and lost all sanity. Were people convicted of not only being witches in Salem but across the country suspicion arose and people convicted women of being witches for the simplest causes. Two girls took a joke way too far and caused disorder across the country. Not all "witches" were from Salem, MA.
Once Tituba confessed to witchcraft, Abigail joined in by accusing others of witchcraft so the negative attention would not be on the girls. Once Abigail started accusing people, Betty woke up from her “infinite” sleep and joined in along with the other girls. When the trials began, it was Abigail who kept the charade going by pretending that the accused were casting their spirits upon her and the other girls in the court room. Abigail led the girls by crying out in pain, pretending to see things and shivering. When the affair with John Proctor almost came up, Abigail was quick to turn on whoever went against
Background: The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 have been studied by many historians looking for the complex social, political, and psychological determinants behind the community wide hysteria that led to the death of 20 innocent Puritans. Ergot poisoning has been put forth by some as a previously unsuspected cause of the bizarre behaviors of the young adolescent girls who accused the townsfolk of witchcraft. During the early winter of 1692 two young girls became inexplicably ill and started having fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucinations. Unable to find any medical reason for their condition the village doctor declared that there must be supernatural forces of witchcraft at work. This began an outbreak of hysteria that would result in the arrest of over one hundred-fifty people and execution of twenty women and men.
The Salem Witch Trials took place only in America, but the idea of witches has existed in many parts of the world. In Europe witches were believed to be anti-Christian, and to have sold his or her soul to the devil in order to obtain magical abilities, usually to harm others. However, witches in Africa and the West Indies involved concepts other than the devil. From the 1400’s to the 1700’s, the annihilation of witches and witchcraft in England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Spain was promoted by church officials. Between 1484 and 1782, around 300,000 women were accused of practicing witchcraft, and were put to death.
Witchcraft: The Phenomenon, the Executions and the Trials. Witchcraft is often related to folklore and popular superstition; however, in Early Modern European traditions, witches have stereotypically had the characterization of a witch as an evil magic user developed over time. From the late 15th century to the late 18th century, a wave of persecution washed across parts of England. Tens of thousands of people were executed for witchcraft due to the belief of magic . From England and all the way to Scotland, witchcraft became one of the greatest problems.
Hysteria in Salem In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and the accused would actually be forgiven if they blamed their accusations on another individual. In this play, a group of young girls is accused of being witches. These girls then blame other people in order to get out of trouble and even pretend to be "bewitched" in front of the court during a trial. This leads into the deaths of the innocent people who are accused and automatically found guilty.
Character Analysis of John Proctor The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place during the time of the famous Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s. Rumors of witchcraft are among the townspeople all due to a group of girls who are hysterical and are pretending to be under spells of witchcraft. Innocent citizens are being accused left and right for committing some sort of witchcraft and everyone in the small town of Salem feels like they can trust no one. Throughout the play many of the characters evolved in one way or another. In the course of the play, one of the major characters John Proctor, goes through changes and faces multiple challenges.
Confessing to witchcraft was the only way a member of the accused wouldn’t be executed. At the end of the trials, one of the girls who accused people of being witches stated, “It was all false.” The damage done during the trials was over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, twenty-nine were convicted of witchcraft, nineteen of the accused
The girls did this to keep the attention off of them and avoid punishment. These harsh accusations on innocent people caused twenty deaths in their village. Abigail then became one of the many “witnesses” in the court. As soon as someone starts to suspect her of being a witch or performing witchcraft, she always manages to turn the blame back on them, whether it’s through lying or exaggerating a mysterious action. For example, she outs the blame on Tituba, who confesses to performing witchcraft.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 The Salem Witchcraft Trials are so famous that people say it as if it’s one word: Salemwitchcraft. But do people really know what went on in Salem? During the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in a few terror-filled months, nearly 200 people were condemned as witches. Historically witches are not the funny mischievous Samanthas of the 1960s show Bewitched, nor are they the cartoon green warted witches on brooms that you see so often on Halloween decorations. Historically witchcraft has been thought of as violent horrible things.