As mentioned earlier, it was believed that Tituba influenced Abigail and Betty to believe in witchcraft and try to perform it. They had random seizures, acted trance-like, and screamed. It got a lot of confused attention until that confusion turned into the belief of witches. Within a month, the people of Salem tried to get rid of the evil religiously. Tituba was questioned and she mentioned witch conspiracies in Salem.
In Three Sovereigns for Sarah, there is mass hysteria and confusion caused by little girls. This hysteria is being used by the preacher, Samuel Parris, to gain power and respect in the community of Salem Village. Abby Williams, Samuel Parris’ niece, starts getting into fortune telling and such illegal activities, as taught to her by the slave Tituba. Abby and other girls in the village act strange and start naming people for execution. Sarah and her two sisters are then named as witches.
The young girls of Salem could not have brought this situation onto themselves, so they were questioned and forced to name their torturers. Three civilians were identified, one of which being Tituba. The Salem witch trials then began as the girls named other members of the community. In such trials, the judges depended on five different evidences. The first was passing a test, like delivering the Lord’s prayer.
This lead to a lot of people to believe witchcraft was involved. Mr. Parris asked Mr. Hale to come to Salem and investigate the situation. Mr. Hale interrogated many of the girls, one of which was named Abigail. Abigail was one of the main instigators with conjuring up spirits. When she was being interrogated, she would snitch on other girls and make up lies in order to not get in trouble.
When thinking of witchcraft, one’s mind immediately goes to a woman with green skin, moles, and a pointy nose. Witches stand around a cauldron with their wild hair, summoning spirits or fly around terrorizing those around them. However, as we find out in Arthur Miller’s 1952 play, The Crucible, the accused were anything but. The victims accused of witchcraft within The Crucible were targeted for not fitting the social norms of the time, breaking Puritan code, or posing a threat to someone else. In our world today, we can still see the effects of the Salem Witch trials through accusing those who are on the margins of deeds we don’t want to take responsibility for.
At least 57,400 people who were accused of being a witch were persecuted and killed (Landen). Many of these people were falsely accused and persecuted, and all in terms of fear. First, The church persecuted witches due to the fear that many people had and that the church could manipulate. Additionally, all suspects of witchcraft often endured various tests to identify them as a witch or commoner, guilty or innocent. Lastly, after the common belief in true witch persecutions faded, the church used this as a window to persecute those they do not truly care for.
In 1692 there was something called witchcraft. Witchcraft start when this young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. There was a book called “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a static character who is a big part of the chaos. She is the main accuser throughout the Salem witch trials that caused many innocent people to die. The Salem witch trials was a period of time when the village and town of Salem held a series of trials for people suspected of witchcraft.
Their practice of witchery in the 15th century contained awful things which included devil worship, baby eating, destruction of crops, and even murder (Cheung 539). “The early modern period (1400-1700) became a popular time of where the most witches existed. About 70,000 to 100,000 souls killed for doing work for the devil” (Bio Staff). “Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft— they used magic spells and called upon spirits for help to bring about change. Most witches were thought to be Pagan’s doing the Devil’s work.
In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, passions turned into problems. Witchcraft in Salem Massachusetts became a remembered event since 1692. Three girls were said to have interactions with the devil. When they were confronted about it they denied every interaction the people who were convicted they would say they weren’t a witch and would bring someone else’s name into the equation. Those who would admit to being a witch would go to jail, but for those who denied having interaction with the devil would have been trialed and hung, so really, anyway you put it it’s a lose-lose situation.
The Salem Witch Trials On a day that had started out the same as any other, in January of 1962, Reverend Parris’ nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, and 11 year old niece, Abigail Williams, began having manic episodes. The girls would shout blasphemies, utter peculiar sounds, throw things, hide under or behind things, enter into trances, contort their bodies in odd and unnatural positions, and would run around pretending to be different creatures. Reverend Parris did not know what had gotten into the two. Reverend Parris summoned the local doctor to try and find an explanation as to why the children were acting out. The only reason the doctor could come up with was that the supernatural had to have been playing a part in the girls swift and abrupt change in behavior.