She was arrested and tried for practicing witchcraft because of her American Indian decent. Seen as “Devil worshipers” American Indians were perceived as being familiar with occult practices (536). This stereotype left Tituba with no control of her situation and fearful for her life. Tituba’s ethnic background left her victim to stereotypes that previous to her confession, would have most likely only sealed her dooming fate. Luckily, Tituba was able to use her knowledge of African, American Indian and English folklore to her advantage, diverting the attention away from her socially and geographically.
In the 1950's, however, people were terrified of the red Communists coming to take over their beloved country. Senator McCarthy was the one taking out other people in the govornment that he suspected to be a communist via inprisonment. The witch trials and McCarthyism started differently as well, for one started with a group of young girls' voodoo practice and the other started when senator McCarthy was trying to win an election and took advantage of the peoples feelings toward the "Red scare." A lot of the evil things McCarthyism did were private and behind closed govornment doors. During the Salem Witch Trials the accused people were forced to make a public confession and be killed in front of their family and friends.
They deemed The Crucible was an allegory to McCarthyism. The book follows the events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. It portrays from the view point of the girl who started the witch hunt to townsfolk being victimized by the horrible acts of fearful people. The person most responsible for the epidemic of fear is Abigail Williams, a manipulative teenager trying to connect with her lover. Abigail Williams
Many of these characters go through life changing events that change them forever. Even the neighbors suddenly turn on each other and accuse people they’ve known for years of practicing witchcraft and devil-worship. The town of Salem falls into mass hysteria, “an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear.” Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible” is about the Salem witch trials in 1860. These were classic examples of mass hysteria, resulting in the hanging of a great many respectable men and woman of charges of “trafficking” with the devil. They were convicted by people at least as themselves, largely on the evidence of four young girls who had been caught dancing in the moonlight and laid their dissolute behavior to the influence of Satan.
When the trials began, many accused others of witchcraft and this lead to them accusing even more. The new news of the entire witchcraft epidemic in Salem left many disturbed and trying to eliminate the bad of the town. The novel allows the reader to reflect on the life of the Salem people and understand the happenings. One example is the reflection of the lives of teenage girls in the puritan society, sent by God to marry and have a family, lacking the happiness of teen hood. Thus, explaining a
What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? Throughout the 17th century, New England, witchcraft was a crime punishable by death. The people believed that everyone was going to hell, unless they worked hard, but that was only a portion of the work. Anyone was a suspect of witchcraft, it could have been the married women, it could have been the person walking next to you, or even the most Christianized person, you could have known. People were condemned of performing witchcraft by false accusations which were led by marital status, and depth of belief, which may have been the causes of the Salem hysteria.
I have sympathy for both sisters for very different reasons. Most of this sympathy is towards Dee. My reason is simple; I feel she has a superficial view on heritage. She is arrogant and I find her to be condescending and a little disrespectful. From the beginning when we were first introduced to Dee, we find that she has changed her name to Wangero saying that Dee is “dead” because she didn’t think her name, Dicie, had any cultural significance and so she choice a name she felt suited her more.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller can be superficially interpreted as a play that takes place during an era when witches posed a threat to people. With the villagers of Salem being a strictly religious puritan, any malicious event would have been considered to be the act of the devil and therefore were sought to be terminated immediately. It was during the early year of 1692 when mass hysteria rapidly spread throughout the people of Salem; with people being accused of consorting with devils and casting spells. These honest people were mainly middle-aged women who were childless or who were abandoned by their husbands. This trend undoubtedly represents the theme of empowerment and gender in the play.
Although one is inclined to believe that his experience at the witch meeting was a dream because of literal evidence, the non-literal viewpoint does make one challenge the innocence and honesty of the village. Ambiguity is related to the story’s theme directly with the Salem witch trials. The trials were held simply based upon made up beliefs about women,
I think Ms. Kim may have experienced “culture shock” when she arrived to Queens and realized this was not a dream, but her horrible reality. Ms. Kim no longer had the safety net of a wealthy family that secured her thoughts, dreams and actions. All she had at this moment was nothing compared to how she was accustomed to living. Another part of this essay that I found interesting was the language barrier that affected Suki Kim’s mentality when she first arrived to Queens. I thought it was amazing how unfamiliar she was with cultures outside her own.