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.
Rates as 80% women (Linder). Basically, witches were shown as evil creatures, but in many cases, this became not always shown true. Witches existed since B.C. times and became discriminated by everyone continuing on because they got blamed as dangerous Satan worshipers. 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).
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. Things like politics, religion, imaginations, and fear of people were just some of the main factors of what aided people into believing that Satan was upon the town of Salem. They believed that the humans were with devil and doing as he said which in turn gave them the power to harm others. One girl named Tituba was trying to save herself by confessing to witchcraft. She didn’t just confess but she also accused many other women about being witches and she said that they all were in the “hands of Satan”.
As the disasters that befell Salem were caused by the young girls ' hysteria of witchcraft, some of Miller 's critics perceived Abigail and her squad of followers as maleficent and vindictive driven by anger, cruelty and personal interests. Elizabeth Frayn interprets the hostility of the girls as a natural reaction to the negative view they receive in their society. For instance, Abigail is always regarded as a malicious girl who seeks to supplant Elizabeth as Proctor 's wife, and she is further motivated by Proctor 's threat to expose their affair if she does not clear his wife 's name ( Frayn 95). The girls are controlled by a fanatic society. Like Abigail, each of those girls has her own cause to be angry and simulate to kill her victims.
Salem, Massachusetts in the year sixteen ninety-two is remembered as a time of mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem were being “attacked” by an unseen force, of whom they perceived to be none other than Satan himself. The common belief was that the devil recruited witches to do his dirty work for him. They believed these witches were hidden right under their noses, members of their own town. The citizens felt it was their duty to destroy the witches for the good of the community.
• First, had to recite a prayer of the Lord, while they did this however young girls who attended the trials would scream and thrash about on the floor. • Second was physical evidence, if one had any birthmarks, warts, moles or any other blemishes these were seen as portals which the devil could enter the body through. • Third was a witness testimony. Abigail was one of the major witnesses at most of the court cases. • Fourth was spectral evidence if anyone in the crowd could see a ghost or spirit of sorts in the accused then the person must be a witch.
One woman even said she felt like it was a vampire bite instead of a bug. As ridiculous as this sounds in sent America into a state of fear. Just as it did to the people of Salem during the trials. There has been many cases of mass hysteria and it still happens today. The Salem witch trials is a warning of what can happen if we panic instead of
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.
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.
Everyone in Salem is getting irked and bewildered with the witch trials. There is uncertainty within the court and the townspeople that riots will occur within Salem. Just as the laboratory equipment can be full of violent reactions, the Salem village was the same way with the courts and all the chatter of witchcraft. The court and people are just lingering for something to explode because of the fear of witches and the anger from people being falsely accused. Just