The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller describing the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It prompts the reader to wonder what the causing factors were for these events to take place. There are many ways to answer this question, although paranoia in the Puritan community played a major role in the downfall of the town. Paranoia came from jumping to conclusions, the fear of the devil, and superstition, and it caused the downfall of Salem, Massachusetts. The tendency of the Puritans to jump to conclusions made them excessively paranoid and ultimately contributed to the town’s destruction. For example, they accused others of witchcraft based on very questionable evidence, and there are many instances of this happening in the play. In Act One, Mrs. …show more content…
Puritans had very strange beliefs about how witchcraft was presented in people. For example, strange fits, poppets, reading books other than the bible, being female, and having a mole or birthmark were signs that one was a witch. These unfair superstitions made it easy for innocent people to be accused of witchcraft. For example, when Elizabeth Proctor was accused, ministers and court officials came to her home to search for any suspicious items. A poppet was discovered, and this raised skepticism. “’Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck. I tell you true, Proctor, I never warranted to see such proof of Hell, and I bid you obstruct me not, for I-” (75). Clearly, owning a poppet does not mean a person is a witch, but in a community full of superstition and paranoia, it did. The superstitions surrounding witchcraft increased paranoia of ordinary, innocent people who were religiously faithful and had no connection to the devil. Also, in The Crucible, Giles Corey accidentally makes his wife, Martha, a suspect of witchcraft when he says that she often reads books other than the bible. “Your Excellency, I only said she were readin’ books, sir, and they come and take her out of my house for-” (86). After Danforth interrupts, Giles continues, “It is my third wife, sir; I never had no wife that be so taken with books, and I thought to find the cause of it, d’y’see, but it were no witch I blamed her for.” (86). Reading was frowned upon in Puritan society, and ultimately led to the death of Martha Corey when she was hanged after being found guilty of witchcraft. Superstition in Salem caused the unfair death of Martha Corey just because she read. This excessive superstition caused people to be paranoid and hysterical, contributing to the cause of the Salem Witch
1692 had been a deranged time for the Puritans living in the village of Salem Massachusetts. When a group of girls were discovered dancing around a fire in the forest things began to take a turn for the worst. Accusations from these girls started to rip this village apart when most of the Puritans were believed to be partaking in the act of witchcraft. Abigail, the girl leading the others, told the court that Elizabeth Proctor was infact a witch in the hope of getting John Proctor to love her once again. This mistake of lechery haunts John throughout the entirety of the play.
The Crucible manifests the Purtianś ideology of witchery during the 1690s. Salem has several social factors throughout the town and essentially, the beliefs of witchcraft in Salem uprises chaos. When reading a play such as The Crucible, it becomes apparent that the conduct of Salem town during the witch trials are fearful, selfish, and prideful when it is viewed through the Psychological Lens. Throughout each act, these components are motivating factors behind actions during The Crucible.
These individuals may or may not been witches, yet the jury many times to chose to hang any accused individuals with or without reasonable cause. Due to fear of being wrongly accused during the salem witch trials erratic and chaotic behaviours stemmed across the town. People feared of being called witches so they hid, lied, cheated, and wrongfully their friends and family. Chaos grow across the town and more and more people were hung. Like on the day 9/11 when the planes hit the twins tower and the buildings fell, people hid, cried, and hurt, due to the destruction.
Martha Corey, wife of Giles Corey, was arrested and charged because expressed concern about her reading habits. She was an intelligent woman, with a strong desire to obtain more knowledge through books. But officials thought otherwise, that she was performing witchery late at night, using her “strange books” instead of praying. Another false case of witchcraft was made on Elizabeth Proctor. Mary Warren, Proctor’s servant, came back from court one day and handed Elizabeth a poppet, or doll, that she had sewn in court that day.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
In his book, “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (1702),” clergyman John Hale comes forth to confront the recent events going on at the time. Initially, Hale alludes to the questionable actions and activities of the townspeople being accused of witchcrafts, and being imprisoned as punishment. In addition, he discloses how everyone suspicious will be accused, not even young children are safe from the hands of this fate. Hale’s purpose of publishing this book was to describe the incident of the Witch Trials, and to reveal his experience of the trials, since his own wife was accused. By employing a didactic tone, Hale relays the actions of the past that targeted the Puritans and those wrongly accused of witchcrafts, so this occurrence
Many writers write stories, not only to express themselves, but also to establish a historical effect that is taking place during the time they are composing. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, expresses the historical context of the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600’s through the use of theme, characterization, and setting. The Salem Witch Trials have indicated a link between society during the 1600’s and society that takes place in history. The play takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were a time of many people who were accused of witchcraft and were hanged if they did not concede.
While the Puritans expressed their need of love and care for one another the exact opposite was show in Salem, Massachusetts. In June of 1692, Bridget Bishop was accused of bewitching and causing misery to the people in Salem. Her accusers blamed her for attending witch meetings, beating, choking, biting people, appearing to the people in a ghostly form, for odd behaviors in cattle, and the deteriorating health that caused deaths or fits among the children. It is obvious to see that the accusers used her as a scapegoat for the oddities they could not explain in their life. The judges accused Bridget of fabricating lies about her innocence in the trial when the accusers were quite painfully obvious of their deceit within their weak stories of
Jonathan Coy Mr.Glorfield English 11A 16 December 2022 America and The Crucible Americans have been called many things entitled: self-righteous, easily offended, and much more. They have also been called many good things, like innovative courageous and ready to try new things. Back in the early days of America, Salem was a town much like you’re average American town. It was in Salem that the fear of witchcraft breaks out. Due to fear and unrest, many people unjustly got hanged and prosecuted for witchcraft.
Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
Abigail Williams: The First True Witch of Salem, Massachusetts “Controlled hysteria is what’s required. To exist constantly in a state of controlled hysteria. It’s agony. But everyone has agony. The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing” (Arthur Miller, AZ Quotes).
With the Puritans having strict religious beliefs about the devil and God, it gave them strong feelings about the ways in which women impacted their community. Along with their religious beliefs, their society had certain beliefs about women and the way they should act which led them to suspect anything out of the “norm” as a sign of the devil. While some of this could be on women and the way we speak, the Puritans already had such strong feelings toward the vulnerable mind of women that it wouldn’t matter. The women were represented by weakness in nearly every aspect a person can be judged on and this thought of them as the weaker vessel is what ultimately led to them being accused and persecuted more than men during the Salem Witch
The Crucible was created in 1953, which shows the story of the Salem witch trials. This event occurred in Massachusetts Bay around the time1692-1693. The plot of the crucible started when a group of girl claimed that they were dancing in the forest with Tituba (slave). The girls were caught by Reverend Parris (Minister). Parris’s daughter (Betty), ends up falling in a coma but we later found out that she was faking being in a coma because she was scared that she going to get in trouble.
Giles Corey is a eighty year old farmer who is very outspoken. Giles Corey was arrested many times and was accused of setting fire to John Proctor’s house and beating a farmhand as Arthur Miller writes, “No man has ever been blamed for so much” (40). Giles is known to speak his mind which not only hurts him but also hurts others including his wife Martha Corey who is falsely accused of witchcraft. Giles Corey is first mentioned when Reverend Hale arrives to Salem, Giles mentions that his wife Martha Corey reads “strange” books at night. Giles explains to Reverend how Martha’s reading affects him, “Last night - mark this - I tried and tried- and could not say my prayers.
The ideas of witchcraft were started during 1692 in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many Puritans said the doings of either God or Satan lead to the events that occurred in Salem. For no valid reason the hangings of at least nineteen people occurred. Examining the idea that mental illness was not dormant during the time period of The Crucible, it is possible to demonstrate the idea that witchcraft accusations may have been fallacious. Even though mental illness may have been the cause, some Puritans might have just followed what everyone else was doing.