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
The bed is low to the ground and it does not have much space under it. The center view of the room or the back wall has another landscape painting to the very
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.
In The Crucible, Miller vividly creates a terrifying world where superstition and hysteria blinds the people of Salem, preventing them from seeing reason or using common sense. They fear the threat of witchcraft so much, they are unable to see the reality of the situation; a group of young girls pretending, leading adults to believe their actions, acting and accusations, all of which had murderous consequences. In the opening of the play, we learn that a group of young girls were discovered dancing in the forest, in an act that appeared to be linked with witchcraft, especially find no medical reason for the girl's condition, they must now "look to unnatural things" (pg 7). From this moment, it becomes evident that the people of Salem were quick to jump to conclusions of evil due to their superstitious beliefs, before looking at all angles. Here, they have not used common sense, ignoring the possibility that perhaps the girls feared the consequences of their actions in the forest, the fact that they were young girls playing, not calling the devil.
Still tying into religious influences, the very physical appearance of a woman could lead to the belief that she is a witch. Warts and other natural marks of age were viewed as if they were stamps from the devil himself. Older women were the typical candidates for being a witch, many older than 50 years of age. They had no protectors, as they were often widowed, and could incite revenge if they erred in a way that would make them public targets of the community. These women were often
With David, there were not any specific physical features that set him apart from the rest other that he looked completely different from the real Bud which no one in Pleasantville seemed to notice. Then there are the feelings. In The Giver the people in the community are capable of having feelings, they are just suppressed by pills. In Pleasantville, there were no feelings until David and Mary-Sue (Jennifer) showed the people of Pleasantville what it was all about. Then, once they started to change within themselves into what they would be like in modern times, they start to see color.
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
Arthur Miller shows how being put on the spot can scare people and make them accuse others. Abigail was put on the spot and she didn’t want people to think she was acting like a witch, even though she was, so she put the blame on Tituba. In Act III, Mary Warren was going to help Elizabeth Proctor get out of trouble with the court. Elizabeth was accused by Abigail in Act II because Abigail wanted to be with John Proctor who is Elizabeth’s husband. Mary Warren was forced by John Proctor to speak the church about confessing/lying so Elizabeth could be back home with John.
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.
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.