Throughout the years, witchcraft has been the common fear of mankind. In England, the legal definition of a witch was “a person who hath a conference with the devil to consult with him or to do some act”. In early modern Europe, women were thought to be witches due to their biblical association with the devil, the superstitions and misunderstanding of the people of Europe, and the negative perceptions of those who deviated from the social norm. As a result, these beliefs and superstitions led to the death of thousands of alleged witches. (Witch Hunts) Witches were thought to be consults of the devil who gave up their bodies and led others away from the church for the devil in exchange for otherworldly power.
What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Protestant Christianity and its secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild satanic ritual parties. It was also seen as heresy for going against the first of the ten commandments (You shall have no other gods before me) or as violating majesty, in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly. Further, scripture specifically decreed that "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), which many believed. Definition of witchcraft- the practice of magic, especially black magic; the use of spells and the invocation of spirits.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 The Salem Witchcraft Trials are so famous that people say it as if it’s one word: Salemwitchcraft. But do people really know what went on in Salem? During the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in a few terror-filled months, nearly 200 people were condemned as witches. Historically witches are not the funny mischievous Samanthas of the 1960s show Bewitched, nor are they the cartoon green warted witches on brooms that you see so often on Halloween decorations. Historically witchcraft has been thought of as violent horrible things.
Josh Kirkpatrick The Puritan Way: Oppressive Laws Followed to the Tee. Why? Hester Prynne is the epitome of what citizens of The Scarlet Letter’s Puritan society wanted to avoid by following laws, even if they are oppressive and restricting of free will. Rather than being sentenced to death she was sentenced to a dead life; she lost everything except for her personal values and Pearl (which was a curse in itself). Puritan society came down hard on lawbreakers and held to strict traditions set on the interpretations of the bible by the Magistrates.
Body Paragraph #1 A. Topic sentence : Arthur Miller’s development of Fear in The Crucible is parallel to the fear that was experienced in the 1950’s. B. CD #1: Abigail accuses Tituba of being a witch and to prevent herseld from being hanged, Tituba confesses that she was doing witchcraft (Miller 45-49). C. CM #1.A. : Being accused of being witch in Salem, Massachusetts was alarming because even if one was innocent, they are still held guilty D. CM #1.B: One could infer that the morals of society dictated that a person wasn’t “Innocent until proven guilty” but rather they were “guilty until proven innocent.” E. CD #2: “ [ In Hollywood] blacklists were quickly circulated of
With their religious beliefs, beliefs in God, and the way they practiced the bible, the Puritans strongly believed in the Devil. During the year of 1692, a series of trials that punished people who were accused of practicing witchcraft broke out in Salem, Massachusetts that is now known as the Salem Witch Trials. Due to the fear of the Devil creeping around, innocent people were convicted of supposedly practicing witchcraft. Many were tried in court, but it was illogical because the people obviously were not witches, and they would not confess to witchcraft either even if it would save their life. The reason they would not confess to witchcraft was because the convicted people knew they were not witches, and confessing to it would be a lie, and a sin in God’s eyes.
Previously, with the Roman Catholic Church if people lived lives that were relatively free of sins then they were guareenteed their place in heaven which was promised to be an eternal life full of bliss and happiness. Upon the reformation of the newly established Protestant church they excluded the items they believed were unnecessary when worshipping God. Which meant people felt more vulnerable as they no longer had the protection the Roman Catholics offered. This then lead to the increased prosecution of witches due them being fearful, huge numbers of women were burned at the stake upon carrying the charge of being a witch. Astrology also increased anxiety as it provided solid predictions of what was to happen in the future and it was believed nothing could be done to change
The Salem Witch Trials started by little girls acting strangely and then accusing others to have bewitched them. The defendants during the Salem Witch Trials took desperate matters to avoid being executed. Sarah Good resorted to saying the other accused “witch”, Sarah Osborne, had “tormented the children.” At one point Osborne even pretended to also have been infected by the witches’ magic. Tituba admitted to being a witch and told stories of flying around on broomsticks and being visited by creatures. Confessing to witchcraft was the only way a member of the accused wouldn’t be executed.
The problem was a damned if she does and damned if she does not. This accusation of a woman being a witch meant that “their feminine souls made an explicit and aggressive choice to conjoin with the devil” (Reis, 94). Puritans believed they were not just manipulated by Satan, they willingly desired to be possessed by him. This was aggressive stance most Puritan men had towards Puritan women. Satan could get to their soul through their body because it was weak.
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.