Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories The Ergot Poisoning Theory The Salem witch trials have fascinated historians for centuries, largely because of their bizarre nature and the great uncertainty that surrounds them. One of the most intensely debated topics is the question of why the girls began to accuse seemingly random townspeople of witchcraft. However, there is little evidence to support any theory, and consequently historians
The notorious judges of the Holy Roman Empire, for example, simply applied thumbscrews until the unfortunate suspects confessed. And during the English witch craze in the 1640s, the Rev. John Gaule recorded that 'every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr'd brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue ... is not only suspected,
Back when “Macbeth” was written, witches where widely believed to exist. King James I was an expert on witchcraft himself. Including witches was probably a wise move as the theatres where constantly under threat from closure so by keeping on the king’s good side by including themes that were relevant to him was a good strategy. The king became fascinated with witchcraft when over 100 witches were tortured and persecuted because of an alleged assassination attempt on the king. He then embraced the Christian belief that witches had made a pact with the devil, and always worked in groups.
Particularly in part two, the water becomes like “Witch’s oil” the reference to witchcraft could have been seen as predominantly terrifying at the time as the fashion of “Witch hunts” was still rife in the era of publishing; particularly in Eastern Europe and North America, and would have been a practice still in the memory of previous generations. Additionally, at the height of Romanticism in which nature is presented to be a largely wonderful thing the idea of nature becoming so wrong and terrifying could be seen as one of the most abject parts aspects of the mariner’s tale. After killing the albatross the mariner and the sailors begin to rejoice at his actions as the fog clears away in part two, however, they become becalmed and suffer from thirst and hunger now blaming the mariner for their circumstances by hanging the Albatross around his neck. In part three a skeleton ship appears and it seems there is hope that the mariner and the crew will be saved, however they cannot call out to the ship as they have “Black lips baked” an incredibly gothic image that can possibly be compared to Shelley’s Frankenstein and when he describes his creation as having a “shrivelled complexion and straight black lips”. This image of the crew near death that seems to relate to the gothic idea of
One of the key themes is that under time of stress and adversity, neighbors, friends, and even family members have a tendency to turn on each other when they allow fear to govern their actions. While Arthur Miller's The Crucible succeeds in bringing the viewer into the time period of the Salem Witch Trials by maintaining an accurate timeline of events, there are significant inaccuracies in the character details which were likely changed for the purposes of creating a compelling storyline in the motion picture. The movie begins with several young women, who appear to be faking spiritual ailments, which could not be explained medically. The town began to think that they were demonically possessed. When the women had the entire town convinced, they used that to their advantage.
The Civil Rights Movements and The Salem witchcraft trials Since the witch trials times in Salem and before, fear and persecution have acted on people’s life. It doesn’t matter if the person was one of the involved or not, it affected indirectectly everyone around. Arthur Miller in the Crucible showed a perfect fear and persecution scenery using the Salem witchcraft trials as and example. Arthur Miller used the Crucible to represent the Mc Cartheism, when the communists were been “persecuted” and everyone was pointing fingers to the enemies. As in Salem, it started with a small portion of people trying to accuse people for personal reasons and ended with a big mass of ruined lives without any evidence.
Throughout the years, witchcraft has been the common fear of mankind. In England, the legal definition of a witch was “a person who hath a conference with the devil to consult with him or to do some act”. In early modern Europe, women were thought to be witches due to their biblical association with the devil, the superstitions and misunderstanding of the people of Europe, and the negative perceptions of those who deviated from the social norm. As a result, these beliefs and superstitions led to the death of thousands of alleged witches. (Witch Hunts) Witches were thought to be consults of the devil who gave up their bodies and led others away from the church for the devil in exchange for otherworldly power.
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.
Gillian MacDonald 21 March 2013 ENG 4U Mr. Chalmers The Ringleaders of the Salem Witch Trials In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the theme of hysteria is dominantly present throughout the entire play. It is not hard to narrow down the cause of the widespread hysteria to three people that inevitably had their hand in the trials. The devious character, Abigail, shows her wicked mind and skill of manipulation in the play so she can get what she wants, John Proctor. The slave, Tituba, gave into the accusations and started the hysteria of the witch trials. The last character that contributed to an entire town’s belief in witches would be Danforth.
The Crucible: Mass Hysteria In 1692, a small town in Salem, Massachusetts experienced an outbreak of mass hysteria and pure chaos in fear of witchcraft. The incidents were started by a small group of teen girls who accused innocent people of being with the devil and witchcraft. It baffles me to see that such a religious town could be in such an uproar to these accusations. Arthur Miller uses great examples of mass hysteria within the girls and other people in the town. Many people go along with what the girls are doing, while some stick to their own belief in what is right.