ipl-logo

Modern Day Witch Hunt Research Paper

985 Words4 Pages

According to Wikipedia, A witch hunt is “a search for people labelled “witches” or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria.” Whereas, the definition of a modern day witch-hunt is “an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.” Many theories come about when people think of the causes of witch hunt. Back in the day, witch-hunts were fueled by greed and fear, but also had a huge motivation from jealousy. Modern day witch-hunts are fueled by fear of the unknown. The witch hunts nowadays may not be the same as they used to be in the 15th century, but they still exist.
During the 1950’s witch-hunts, people who were …show more content…

Abigail Williams and her friends were caught dancing in the forest, and words of witchcraft began to go around. In order to save themselves, they went around and falsely accused nineteen men and women of making deals with the devil and practicing witchcraft. In some instances, accusations were made on behalf of fear. The girls feared what would become of them, or what could happen to them. Abigail, in a sense, was their "leader", and anything she began to say or do, the other girls would follow along. Other times, the accusations were made on behalf of greed. Out of spite, Abigail accuses Goody (Elizabeth) Proctor of being a witch, due to the fact of a previously failed "relationship" with John Proctor. Though Abigail was the main character calling all of the shots, other characters, too, were driven by fear and greed. Mary Warren, another girl caught dancing in the woods, is on Abigail's side when word of witchcraft first comes about. But she later goes against her word because of John Proctor. When asked if her previous implications were true or not, Mary cracks under pressure and says that everything she had confessed under John Proctor was false. All of the accusations were made on a simple basis of fear of difference throughout the

Show More
Related

  • The Crucible Vs Modern Day Witch Hunt Analysis

    199 Words  | 1 Pages

    In both The Crucible and in modern day witch hunts, witch hunts are caused out of fear or for personal gain. Jill Schonebelen wrote a research paper on Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights. Throughout this article, it mentions the persecution of witches today in communities around the globe, mentioning the flashbacks of similar strategies that were used in the past, doing different types of tortures. In Modern days, recent generations have abandoned wonderful traditions. Rather, recollecting others with distasteful memories such as witchcraft.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Dbq Research Paper

    885 Words  | 4 Pages

    Do you want to be hanged because you are practicing witchcraft? The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria happened in the year of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The story is that the people of Salem, Massachusetts were Puritans. The Puritans thought that they were going to be like a “city upon a hill” which meant they thought that they were going to make it look like they were more perfect than everyone else and they were closer to God. They made it like this because they believed that every word in the Bible was the true word of God and was to be followed to the exact letter of every word.

    Read More

  • Chonrad Stoeckhlin And The Night Witch Trials

    1186 Words  | 5 Pages

    They have been seen as a mirror of the times' fears and tensions, as well as a warning of the risks of public frenzy, bigotry, and injustice. Witch-hunts were triggered by several circumstances, including

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Hunt Research Paper

    616 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil Rights Movement and The Salem Witch Hunts “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” - Martin Luther King Jr. In both the 1690’s Salem Witch Trials and the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement there were groups of people who were mistreated and faced dark times. Leading up to the protests in The Civil Rights there was enormous tension in the USA between African-Americans and their oppressors due to the history of slavery and discrimination against the minority. African-American citizens, like those accused of witchcraft in The Crucible, suffered from the inability to work, they were more likely to be assaulted or a victim of a violent crime, and were segregated from the public.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Abigail Williams And John Proctor

    917 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abigail Williams, the antagonist, and John Proctor, the protagonist, carry opposing viewpoints concerning their strict and somewhat suffocating Puritan principles; Abigail secretly disobeys them, while John fights against the wrongs enveloped in their standards during the witchcraft trials, which leads to timeless, crucial comprehensions. To begin, Abigail has a poor relationship with the Puritan standards as she goes against the Puritan values and practices in a completely outrageous and betraying fashion. She has neither respect nor loyalty towards Puritanism and allows the excitement and hype of “crying witchcraft” go to her head. Abigail is able to manipulate those around her into believing she is the victim in every situation. In The Crucible, it is stated that Abigail is “a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Justified Analysis

    1716 Words  | 7 Pages

    The first known witch hunts took place in the early 1300’s (Wallenfeldt). As early as the 1400’s, prominent and trustworthy European figures like the pope released pamphlets on finding and persecuting witches (Saari 13-15). The Salem Witch Trials weren’t even the first to occur in America; a woman in Boston had been hung for witchcraft shortly before the Salem trials began. The people of Salem even cited the Boston trials as proof for their accusations; because their afflicted girls had the same symptoms as those in Boston, then clearly both must have been telling the truth (Alexander 194). It would make sense for Salem residents to look to past events to try and understand their current situation, since this is something that happens frequently through history and even

    Read More

  • Dbq Salem Witch Hunt

    1063 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tracing back to the 16th century witch hunting has been around causing the lives of many innocent people destruction. Witch hunting has never died off, it is still here today. In my opinion witch hunting will always exist and occur as long as we have fear, ignorance and jealousy. Many people were accused of being a witch or committing witch activity mainly throughout the 16th and 19th century. Primarily because people fear for what they don't know or can't understand.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Persecution In The Crucible

    481 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Proctor is then accused of witchcraft and is later sent to the rope. The girls also are a part of fear because Abigail threatens to kill them if they ever tell anyone that their acting is all fake. They are all scared so they play along with Abigail’s acting. Mary Warren eventually comes back to Abigail after Abigail successfully proves Mary Warren’s accusations false, which also leads to John being accused of witchcraft. Mary Warren and Abigail use fear to get away with their acts.

    Read More

  • Joseph Mccarthyism In The Crucible

    635 Words  | 3 Pages

    The only evidence needed to be gained to prove that someone is a witch is accusations, spectral evidence, and that the person can’t recite the lord's prayer. The main reason of the witch hunts were to prevent the work of the devil. If the person accused doesn’t confess to witchcraft they were put to death. If the person does confess they would sign a document writing down their confession which will be shown to the

    Read More

  • The Crucible Abigail Williams Reputation Analysis

    429 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail Williams is not your typical teenage girl. She is a girl that will drink blood to kill someone, accuse people of witchcraft, and have a affair. By looking at The Crucible, one can see that Abigail Williams develops the theme of reputation, which is important because people who fear losing their reputation spread hysteria. Protecting her reputation motivates Abigail Williams to accuse others of being a witch.

    Read More

  • How Does Abigail Williams Use Direct Characterization In The Crucible

    483 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, indirect characterization takes place throughout the play. Indirect characterization is where one’s speech, appearance, or actions show their true self, rather than verbally being said. Many characters take on this in the play, but one particular character of note, is Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams gives off that she’s innocent and non guilty of incidents that have occurred, but in reality, she’s scared of potential consequences because she is responsible for the Salem Witch Trials.

    Read More

  • John Proctor Conflict In The Crucible

    302 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail Williams accused John Proctor of participating in witchcraft. Seven months earlier Proctor had an affair with Abigail who worked as his maid. When John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor found out, she fired Abigail immediately. This left Elizabeth feeling doubtful of John.

    Read More

  • Summary Of A Delusion Of Satan By Frances Hill

    1532 Words  | 7 Pages

    As Whitney mentioned, the witch hunts occurred in the 17th century were due to the fears of women becoming “economically and psychological” independent, and threatening the male control of property and social order. Those women were viewed as “discontent” meaning the refusal of accepting their predetermined social status (Whitney 85). In contrast, men who had high authority and social status like the Putmans and Parris could purposely manipulate women and instigated the public resentment to falsely accuse, and cruelly eliminate their enemies such as Rebecca and other accused witches. Certainly, the girls and women in the Putman and Parris’s families who made the false accusations of witches and witchcraft were wielded by

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For The Hysteria In The Crucible

    1608 Words  | 7 Pages

    (I.465-472). Seeing Abigail cry, it suggests that Abigail’s affair with John Proctor has influenced her behavior in jealousy and lust as she strives for nothing more than her love for John Proctor. By only being heartbroken, Abigail is not to be fully blamed for the hysteria within the town as her actions are only based on desperate attempts to win John Proctor over, and no intentional harm whatsoever. However, on the other hand, Abigail cannot be excused with outside forces making her the way she is due to the fact that she has clearly had a choice in most of her decisions and actions throughout the witchcraft crisis. When Mary Warren, another girl involved in the forest incident, enters the court, she explains to Danforth, the judge, that the girls are lying and are only pretending to see spirits.

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams Trial

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abigail forces the girls of Salem to dance in the woods with her to help conjure spirits and make the charm to kill Goody Proctor. Abigail threatens the girls right after Betty took fright by saying, “let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller, 144). Later on as the trials prolong Mary Warren turns on Abby and is telling the court that she lied. When Abigail then accuses Mary of witchcraft she turns back to Abby and obeys her once again.

    Read More

More about Modern Day Witch Hunt Research Paper

Open Document