Arrogance in pride has the potential to ruin a man’s integrity, destroy his life, and even drive a settlement to insanity. Salem experiences all of the previous and more because of the arrogance of those involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Nathan Hale is one of the few men involved in the trials who had potential to prevent its tragedies from ever occurring. When Reverend Hale was summoned to Salem, he was quick to let his “extensive” dealing with witchcraft be known. Though he is more a man of God than Parris, he is not without his faults, and his faults will prove fatal.
The character I have chosen to write about is Reverend John Hale. Reverend John Hale is a young and intelligent minister sent to Salem in order to investigate the uprising of witchcraft which has been offset in the town. John Hale is very knowledgeable and is very well learned in the topic of the devil and his witchcraft. In the beginning of the play John believes that all of the trouble in Salem is being caused by the devil John Hale then grows further throughout the play and sees that the girls had really lied to everyone in order to protect themselves. When John Hale arrives in Salem a sense of hysteria awakens in town.
Hysteria leads the people of Salem to believe that those who were friends are executing witchery and associating themselves with the devil. The continuous accusations of witchery present the people of Salem with a chance to redeem long-term grudges. The abundant case of Abigail Williams uses the current situation to indict charges on Elizabeth Proctor, having her sent to jail. Not to be entirely blamed, Reverend Parries also pronounces his placement in society by accusing the people who question his authority. Hysteria can prosper from those who feed off of it.
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.
The last character that contributed to an entire town’s belief in witches would be Danforth. His stubborn and narrow minded attitude had people dangling from a rope. It is easy to say that Abigail Williams is the triumphant ringleader of the accusers in The Crucible. Constantly pointing fingers, she named name after name and everyone believed her whole heartedly. At the beginning of the play, Reverend Parris accused Abigail of witch craft but to avoid punishment she passed the blame to Tituba saying “I never called him!
Evil may have always been present within Macbeth and the witches prophecy or Lady Macbeth’s encourage may just merely be an excuse for his deeds. For example, in Act 1, Scene 4, Macbeth speaks in rhyming couples that insinuates this evil as he internalizes the language of the witches while chanting “ Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires”. On the other hand, Macbeth’s futile attempts to cover up his deeds through darkness and the entrance of Banquo’s ghost has quite an impact on him considering he is the only one who can see it. The sighting of this ghost who arrived to remind him and accuse him of the savage murders, demonstrates Macbeth’s inner feelings of guilt, hence proving he is really a coward than a “butcher”. Also, the sighting of a ghost would be quite striking to an Elizabethan audience, as they were greatly fascinated by anything that had a connection to the supernatural.
Firstly, there are the witches, who are first to give Macbeth the idea of kingship. When they are first met, they are gathered in a ‘desolate place’ during a ferocious storm. This alone creates tension, even before the witches speak, as many fear thunder and lightening; when the play was written, thunder was considered to be God showing his anger. When speaking the witches say, in line 12,’Fair is foul, and foul if fair’, later in scene 3 Macbeth describes the day: ‘So foul and fair a day’. This repetition may illustrate a link between Macbeth and the witches: these are words not commonly used together as they are an oxymoron.
The Ghost begins by introducing itself and then reveals all of the details of the new King Claudius’s wicked deeds. The Ghost and its words are the original motive that fuels Hamlet’s actions. If Hamlet had not been informed about his father’s murder, he wouldn’t have sought revenge against King Claudius, acted insane and done all of the things that went along with that. Therefore, the catalyst to all of the action in the entire play is the appearance of the Ghost. Not only does the Ghost give Hamlet information, but also gives him direct instruction on many encounters.
No one to blame but Macbeth Decisions can be impacted by a number of factors; but in the end we have to be the ones to take responsibility for our actions. This is demonstrated when we see Macbeth transform from a brave soldier to a power-hungry murderer, feared by all his subjects. Macbeth is the one to blame for his own descent into cruelty and murder because he let his ambition, arrogance and greed take over his mind. While some may claim that Macbeth is to blame for his actions, others argue that it is the force of the supernatural that leads to his demise. Early on the witches reveal prophecies to Macbeth suggesting his rise to power.
Throughout his journey, Goodman Brown discovers that even highly observed people of Salem are vulnerable to the forces of darkness. The main theme of “Young Goodman Brown” is the realization that evil can touch people who seem perfectly respectable. Young Goodman Brown's illusions about the purity of his society are destroyed when he discovers that many of his townspeople, including religious leaders and his wife, Faith, are attending a “witch-meeting.” Young Goodman Brown set out on his journey with the strong belief that his faith was firm and would allow him to overcome even the most tempting urges of the devil. As Young Goodman Brown and the devil walked along the path, they encountered his old catechism teacher, Goody Cloyse. It is eventually revealed that she is heading to the witch meeting in the middle of the forest.