Ghazala Noor Hist 117A U.S. History: 1600-1877 Monday 6:00 – 9:10 Was the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria a Product of Women's Search for Power? The two articles in this Issue seek to answer whether the witchcraft hysteria was a product which helped women get power or not. Lyle Koehler is the more persuasive author arguing: yes it was a product of women search for power. In the past, at sixteen to seventeenth century, women had no rights like men, they fought for their rights; however, they didn't get freedoms till the nineteenth century. The most plausible reasoning for the Salem witch trials was that the women were trying to show social equality and they wanted to seek attention.
There was a gender imbalance during this time which was basically starting some of the women being accused. This article was saying that the whole reason of the witch-hunt has been attributed variously to the religious, economic, demographic, social and political changes of the late sixteenth century. Moreover, it is often assumed that these changes must somehow account for the womanhood of most of the witch-hunt’s victims. The article overall view was that the expectation that ‘bad’ witches would be female, then, seems to have been established long before the beginning of the Elizabethan witch-hunt and to have merely persisted into the early modern period. Its origins can have had nothing to do with the economic or other problems of the later sixteenth century and that a universal explanation for why the ‘witch-craze’ happened when it did will probably always escape us, for there are too many unknowable
The Half hanged Mary and the Crucibles compare in the ways of each ones story lines up. During the time of the 1680s women were mostly put as target for being a so-called witch. The half hanged Mary states “oh yes, and breasts, and a sweet pear hidden in my body. Whenever there’s talk of demons theses come in handy.” Here Atwood is stating that because she is a women she is targeted to be associated with demons.Likewise as in the crucibles the trials all start with the young girls, and lead their way out to accusing more women. The two stories also compare in that each accusation is not based upon fact, for all is based upon a rumor.
John Proctor was definitely not a man without mistakes, but I believe that he did more good than bad in the end. Some of his actions were bad, but you have to look at the situation he was in. John Proctor was a victim of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. In the book, The Crucible, a young group of girls are accusing people around the town as being bonded with the devil.
The trials began as a result of a seemingly bewitched child named Betty Parris. The 9-year old and her friends, curious of their futures, began consulting the spirits for advice on who they should marry. Soon after their experience, the girls began convulsing and angling their bodies in ways that physicians not explain. Historians are unsure why the girls did this, whether they were spectacular actors or bewitched or possessed, there is no way to know for sure. It is still a mystery how this could, or even did, affect them in such a way, but nonetheless the townspeople believed it was a result of witchcraft.
Some say the horror of the witch trials was so profound that its supernatural echoes can still be heard on Salem's streets. The first seeds of trouble arrived with the Puritans in 1630. It was a family dispute in Rev. Samuel Parris' household in 1692 that sparked the hunt. Parris' slave, Tituba, taught his daughters and other women in the community 'witchy' little games that were just intended to be fun and entertaining.
Black magic, sorcery and witchcraft have always been part of tribal religion in all cultures. The words ‘witchcraft’ and ‘sorcery’ are used interchangeably in common English language. It is only the study of the two that a clear distinction can be seen. Anthropologists like to distinguish between them, and use them as technical terms. Because people believe that all kinds of mystical powers exist and that people can control these powers, magic and witchcraft are everyday realities in every African society.
The Crucible The Crucible, is a play, written by Arthur Miller. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. The play follows the people living in Salem and how they react during the turbulent time of the witch trials. The Crucible, undoubtedly written as an allegory to McCarthyism, still has pertinence in modern situations. In The Crucible many different groups are represented by the characters.
The Crucible Using the Jane Schaffer format and include fallacies of accusers for essay. Write an essay that analyzes the arguments those accusers to charge each with witch craft in The Crucible. The accusers charge of witch craft were Abigail and Reverend Hale, Mary. A accuser of witch craft was Abigail Williams. For example, “I have been hurt Mr. Dan forth, I have seen my blood runnin ‘out!
It was not until the 1800's that a wife could even separate from her spouse due to violence; abuse had to continually occur and the severity of the injuries sustained had to be life threatening (Lemon, 1996). It was Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne that brought about significant law reform regarding women, divorce was now granted on the grounds of domestic violence (Lemon, 1996). The major change in attitudes towards domestic violence came in the 1970's with the Women's Liberation Movement. During this time the feminist movement successfully brought recognition to domestic violence as a major societal issue (Bradford & Harne, 2008). Since the recognition of domestic violence as a prevalent issue, a multitude of studies and research has taken place in order to gain some insight into the complicated issue of domestic violence (Parliament Australia, 2006).