In the novel A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi, Susanna is the daughter of a wealthy family in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1692 Witch Trials. Before the trials begin, she desperately wants to fit in and become part of a group of girls in town. However, after those girls begin accusing innocent people of witchcraft, Susannah’s parents included, she divulges the information she held in so long. This is a story of the afflicted girls lying and the words that come straight from Ann Putnam herself, capable of ending the trials once and for all. After reading A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi, the reader gains knowledge of the Salem Witch Trials through a young woman who experienced the commotion first hand.
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.
Arizona State University | Paper 1: Analysis of The Crucible | POS 370: Law & Society | | Maria Valley | 7/16/2012 | Abstract: this paper analyzes the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 as portrayed in the film “The Crucible” to explain the law process of that time in history in America. | The Crucible, a film derived from Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible which is based on the actual events of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. The movie starts out with the minister walking into the woods and seeing a group of young girls dancing around a campfire which led him to believe it was witchcraft they were practicing. But the devastation of the events of the Salem witchcraft trials begins with a girl, Abigail Williams, who is seeking vengeance against the Proctors. The people of the community find out about the young girls practicing witchcraft, which scared the girls, because they risked being convicted and sentenced to death for using witchcraft.
In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and both, Browning’s Victorian Dramatic Monologue “The Laboratory” there is a variety of disturbed characters. In Macbeth it is Lady Macbeth who is driven to guilt due to her, convincing her husband to murder King Duncan. In the Laboratory, a woman discovers her husband has been unfaithful to her and is trying to further his own social standing by sleeping with women of higher social order than he is. She’s obsessed to gain her revenge through her obsession of “poison.” In Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth, Shakespeare has used the technique of Dramatic Monologue. Act 5, Scene 1 is the sleepwalking scene which already shows her disturbed mind to the audience.
The girls did this to keep the attention off of them and avoid punishment. These harsh accusations on innocent people caused twenty deaths in their village. Abigail then became one of the many “witnesses” in the court. As soon as someone starts to suspect her of being a witch or performing witchcraft, she always manages to turn the blame back on them, whether it’s through lying or exaggerating a mysterious action. For example, she outs the blame on Tituba, who confesses to performing witchcraft.
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.
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.
Centering now upon John Proctor, and his wife, Elizabeth, the story takes a turn. Elizabeth is accused by Abigail Williams of witchcraft. When Elizabeth is standing trial, Abigail now accuses John of the same crime. At the story’s end, John is hanged, and it becomes apparent to the town of Salem that there is no such thing as witchcraft. The ending to the play symbolizes struggle.
Chelsey Stapleton Pfieffer English 1102 21 March 2011 “Why We Crave Horror Movies” Stephen King’s argument about the appeal of horror movies is legitimate: why would we want to watch someone by mutilated? When King states, “the horror film has become the modern version of the public lynching” (380). I strongly agree with this statement because it is proof that humans have always been fascinated with mutilation and the cruel death of others. In addition to the mere fascination with the torture, it allows adults to become children again. In that hour and a half while they are watching that horror film, they are allowed to act silly, scream, and be jumpy because the movie is “frightening” or thrilling.
Throughout the play Macbeth uses his acting abilities and deceptive qualities to make people believe something, which in reality is false. We see him do this especially when trying to cover up the murders he committed. The first murder that occurred in the play was the murder of Duncan, and his two grooms. At first, Macbeth is not even certain that he wants to commit these murder because he feels that he would be betraying a close friend. As soon as Lady Macbeth sees weakness in her husband, she gives Macbeth a piece of advice that sets the tone for most of the play; “False face must hide what the false heart doth/ know.” (1.7.95-96).