The Witch Hammer: The Purpose Of The Witch's Hammer

Religion was a very strong influence in the lives of Puritans as they followed a very strict moral code and based their entire lives on their faith. Most Puritans were taught from the Bible that "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Doc. A), which explains why the witch scare was taken so seriously and why the accused were punished so harshly. They believed and feared that "evil spirits were all around" (Doc. C) as noted in Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions by Cotton Mather, who at that time was a reputable expert in the "invisible world."

Ironically, as the causes of more events were understood, this led to a greater recognition that many events still could not be understood, promoting wider belief in magic and the supernatural and a changed understanding of what witchcraft involved. For example, leaders accused witches of causing the black plague (Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Era 20). More broadly, accused witches were charged with having used dark forces to cause adverse events and to torture others. The definition of witchcraft came to include the idea that witches were ‘demon worshipers’ who worshiped the devil and used his magic. Not surprisingly, Shakespeare’s writing strongly reflected ideas about witchcraft in his time.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s brilliant novel, The Scarlet Letter uses hypocrisy to illustrate the corruption within the Puritan religion. Hawthorne’s novel specifically illustrates the injustices of the Puritan religion before, and after The Salem Witch trials of 1692. Most of Hawthorne’s characters did something hypocritical to further develop their character and emotions. Hawthorne uses real historical people to prove his points; including Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Doctor Chillingworth. All of these characters have either been a victim of hypocrisy or have been exposed by hypocrisy by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

One valuable piece of evidence that supports this cause is, document F where it explains when a person that was accused of practicing witchcraft was being examined and when the person that was possesing other people done something, the people that they had possesed was affected also. A second piece of supporting evidence is document G where it talks about afflicted children and “their associates” which is talking about the people that possesed them. This evidence helps explain the hysteria and the hangings because of the fact that they think that the accused people are possesing innocent people that live in Salem, Massachusetts and ruining their life and they are worried that if they don’t kill the person who started the possesing, they might posses too many people. The way that this evidence helps explain the hangings is the only way that you can keep a person from possesing anymore people is to kill them and make their spirits leave their body and the bodies of the people that they had

There are many characters throughout many of the world’s literary works, who will lie no matter what the outcome is. Author Miller was one of the many authors that wrote about characters that lied throughout the play “The Crucible”. The play depicted the events that happened during the infamous “Witch Trials” that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. In Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, Miller conveyed an important idea that although it’s hard, standing up for what you believe in can give you a positive influence in life. Because of the fact that it is sometimes hard to stand for your beliefs, John Proctor first hesitated in what he should do at the end of act IV even though standing for his beliefs can ultimately decide if he lives or dies.

John Hawthorne was a well-known judge, Governor Williams Phips chose Hawthorne to be one of the judges in the witch trials because he always sided with the accusers no matter what the accused said to him or showed him in the court room he would always ask them to plead guilty and tell him other people who were supposedly witches even though they were innocent. John Hale was a minister who was brought in to save the town from witch craft. Cotton Mather was also a judge who was appointed to the Salem witch trials by Governor William Phips. According to jess Bloomberg after Governor Phips wife was accused of witchcraft he prohibited the arrest of anyone who is accused of witchcraft and he pardoned half of the accused and disbanded the court of oyer and terminer. He replaced it with the superior court of judicature and they only condemned 3 out of 56 but by the time he pardoned all of the accused 19 people where hung and one was pressed to death by

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”.

Proctor will hang! This is what everyone was astonished about in Salem during the witch trials in Arthur Miller’s book, “The Crucible”. John Proctor decided that he wanted to prove a point to everyone about witchcraft. He did this by, not signing his name on the paper that he confessed on because he wanted to be able to keep his name. How he started to lie to the court about everything such as being a witch.

One key person in The Crucible with ideals that completely changed from the beginning is Reverend Hale. In the beginning Reverend Hale came in believing that he was the ultimate authority on witches. Later on in the story, Hale was shaken by the arrest of Rebecca and the eventual arrest of John where he quits the court. Hale at the end does not believe in religion, but tells others to have faith. Reverend Hale from the beginning to the end is almost a completely different person; this is shown by him coming into the story being the authority on how to find witches, then he is shaken greatly by Rebecca and John’s arrest, and finally by him not having religion but keeping faith.

(Grimassi) This unfortunately sparked a monk named Heinrich Kramer to write what is thought to be the book which sparked the witch trials in both in Europe and in the United States in the late fifteenth to the eighteenth century. In Kramer 's book The Malleus Maleficarum he stated the guidelines for hunting, persecuting, and killing witches. (Malleus)

In the play Abigail Williams, and Thomas Putnam’s take advantage of the pervasive fear in the village, allowing them to fulfill their selfish and exploitative motives which are what truly fuel the Salem Witch Trials. To begin with, Abigail Williams starts the accusations of witchcraft in order to fulfill her ulterior motives. We first see hints of her motives when Abigail tells John Proctor, a married man under whom she had worked that, “I am waiting’ for you every night”(1099). While Abigail worked under John and Elizabeth Proctor, she had developed feelings for John. Elizabeth removes her which angers Abigail deeply.

The book by Rosalyn Schanzers Witches! The absolutely true tale of disaster in salem gives information about the salem witch trials.The surroundings of the trials(such as weather)changed from winter all the way through spring 1692.They also were very paranoid of a lot of things.Such as witches and the devil.The main theories i will state are Reasons for the witch hunts. One thing that might have caused the witch trials is profit, “ Mary Walcott ,Anns step cousin ,named an astonishing 69 witches”(page 56). This almost proves that she might have been accusing people for money/profit. “Abigail Williams, fingered 41 different witches for attacking her; Ann Putnam Jr. accused 53;her servant Mercy Lewis named 54; and a girl named Mary Walcott who was Ann’s step-cousin, named an astonishing 69 witches”(page 56).

Also, the last cause of the Salem Witch Trial was the lack of knowledge of the people. People was just accusing other people of witchcraft, but the accusers did not have an idea of what was going on in the town. For example in Document A says “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” but the people really did not know who was a witch and who was not a witch. This is lack of knowledge because that was not coming for the Bible or something it was just a version of King James, Puritans let other influence their beliefs and did not give a good knowledge about witchcraft. Other example is in Document B when it talks about all the things that happened and that all of that according to the Puritans was “Witchery” that was lack of knowledge because people really did not know what was happening.

In the book Witches the Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer, there was a religion, puritanism, and they believed in witches. They accused people for being aligned with the devil.It started with two girls who had symptoms of histyeria and others who were not sick also joined the. Nineteen people were wrongly accused of being witches and executed. Later in the book it stated that many of the people that accused those who died, lied. Many of those accused as witches died not just because of the accusers but, because of the unfairness of the trials.The judges of the trials used spectral evidence, ignoring the accused, and the judges were unfair because they believed in witches and want those who were witches dead.

The winter of 1692 in January, at salem massachusett in the bay colony, the salem witch trials began, they lasted to about may of 1693. This was one of the darkest times in America 's history. The witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people that were accused of being a witch or practicing the devil 's magic. There was a very strong belief in supernatural practicing and the practice of devil 's magic or witchcraft in salem that caused the trails to begin. The practicing of devils magic was the belief of giving a women also know as witches the ability to hurt other men, women and, children.