ipl-logo

Themes In Caryll Churchill's Vinegar Tom

2093 Words9 Pages

I 'm not a witch. But I wish I was .if I could live I'd be a witch now after what they've done. I'd make wax men and melt them on a slow fire. I'd kill their animals and blast their crops and make such crops and make such storms. I'd wreck their ships all over the world. I shouldn't have been fightened of Ellen, I should have learnt. Oh if I could meet with the devil now I'd give him anything if he'd give me the power. There's no way for us except by the devil. If I only did have magic, I'd make them feel it (xx.59). This quote is said by Alice to express her anger before her death. Vinegar Tom, by Caryl Churchill is one of the most famous plays. Vinegar Tom was …show more content…

The witch hunting, struggle for women's rights, the relationships of power, anger, and the repression of women by patriarch standards are the major themes. Poverty and prejudice were considered minor themes. The themes were introduced through the actions of the characters and the events of the play. As the play is based on historical events and the issue of the witches, the theme of witch hunting is very significant in the play. Churchill introduced the theme of witch hunting through the characters of Joan, Alice, and Ellen. The witches from the previous centuries would do harm, but Churchill's witches are the ones who are being harmed by people of their community. Through the socio-economic problems of the characters, Churchill introduced the theme of repression against women. Churchill criticizes the repression and emphasizes the fact that the witches are not real but they were considered witch by the patriarchy and capitalism society (Case …show more content…

Moreover, he punishes Ellen, saying "these cunning women are worst of all" (xiv.48), and hangs her. Although he did not find any sign of the devil in Alice's body, he tries to make her confess of being a witch. Susan shows how women can remain unconscious of their oppression. Margery, who is wealthier than some other woman was also oppressed by her husband Jack. She is suppressed by her husband as she is economically dependent on her husband as he is the head of the family and superior to her. Churchill introduced most of the characters as complex characters. The motives of every character are revealed through their actions. Churchill keeps no one protagonist dominates the action (Case

Show More
Related

  • Why Is Fear Important In The Crucible

    724 Words  | 3 Pages

    Research Essay Fear can occur when a person has a feeling of threat or danger and sometimes harm or anxiety for oneself or another. Fear can often influence a person to take extreme measures and act irrationally. For instance there are a number of parallels between the treatment of of the accused during the Salem Witch Trials and the treatment of Muslims after 9/11 ; In both cases, people were being belittled and downgrading, and society was in a state of grief and shock and it all resulted in discrimination of the accused. Almost each person in Salem wanted vengeance for various reasons due to that people who were accused of witchcraft were constantly belittled and did not have a fair chances during the trials In Salem.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Theme Essay

    509 Words  | 3 Pages

    A group of girls were dancing in the woods with a black slave named Tituba. When the girls got caught dancing in the woods, they started blaming other people in the village of being involved with witchcraft. Soon enough, the whole village believed the devil exists and lives within the fear of each person. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores through the individuals vengeance, reputation, fear, and seeking for power with the drama of suspense and impact.

    Read More

  • Cruelty In The Crucible

    570 Words  | 3 Pages

    It reveals how people commit cruel acts out of selfish intentions. In this situation, the girls claim to “come to Heaven’s side” by pointing fingers at others for witchcraft, although they were only doing so to get themselves out of their own trouble. These acts of cruelty reflect upon the evil motives of the perpetrators that become more common after it is done once, as seen through the continuous trials and suspicions, which acts as one of the most major conflicts in the play. Without these cruel accusations, there would be neither plot nor ending. With this same situation, it can be concluded that accusations become more frequent during an interval of time when there are more people accusing.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Lies In The Crucible

    1207 Words  | 5 Pages

    A large factor that significantly affects the plot of the play is the scene of the girls dancing in the woods. What happened is no where near what the rumors and lies that were being spread explained. The truth was that the girls, Betty, Abigail, Mercy, Susanna, Ruth, and Mary were dancing in the woods with Tituba, who was conjuring spirits, when Reverend Parris walked up and found them Betty became frightened and fell ill. The first lie that was started was by Reverend Parris.

    Read More

  • Women In The Crucible

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    Elizabeth counts herself as “plain”, which exemplifies her character’s stereotype as a housewife (Miller 137). Puritan beliefs held that women served their husbands, which Elizabeth strives to do (Miller 50). At one point in the play, she finds herself unable to prevent a servant from leaving the home, which leads to her husband having to “hold back a full condemnation of her” (Miller 52). Elizabeth would be punished for this failure if she were any other woman with any other husband, but John shows an example of a better man in Salem, which only proves to show how misogynist Salem society is. Although not treated as poorly as some of the other women in The Crucible, Elizabeth stays within a certain behavioral pattern of

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Father In August Wilson's Fences

    1457 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout the play, the characters look at faith, race, opportunities, fatherhood and

    Read More

  • The Role Of Lying In The Crucible

    444 Words  | 2 Pages

    It shows whoever reads it why lying is a sin. A society or puritans, focused on perfection of religion, is shocked by an occurrence of witches. Witches are the Devil’s evildoers, and should be persecuted at once. Abigal, the drama queen of the play, attempts to kill the wife of the man she loves with witchcraft. They are found, but whenever Abigal and the others attending are being accused, they lie, blaming others of being witches.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Trifles

    1014 Words  | 5 Pages

    The characters in the play reveal some of the gender stereotypes through the way they are presented in the beginning of the play, “The sheriff and Hale are men in the middle life… They are followed

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth Deceptive Analysis

    789 Words  | 4 Pages

    The theme is this scene is supernatural. This theme is important in the play because without the witches there would be no story. The audiences will be uncomfortable and quite scared of her because witches can kill people. They would be immersed into the play because of the

    Read More

  • The Salem Witchcraft Trials: Gender Roles And Women

    252 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender roles played a heavy role in colonial society, and the women who did not conform to these roles were easy targets for witchcraft accusations. Women who were post-menopausal, widowed, unmarried were not fulling their “duty” to society of bearing children and thus could come under fire (Lecture.) Those who were aggressive, out spoken, or did not do as another wished could also bring cries of “witch!” (Lecture.) This is highlighted in Cotton Mather’s Accounts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, one of these accused women Susana Martin stands trial with many of the testifiers being men who had been wronged by Martin in some way or another.

    Read More

  • The Themes Of Intolerance In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    803 Words  | 4 Pages

    As said in the documents I read, the theme is "the fundamental and often universal idea of a literary artwork". One major theme that I have learned throughout this play is Intolerance. The society set in The Crucible is theocratic. That means that the church and the state are one.

    Read More

  • A Streetcar Named Desire Appearance Vs Reality Analysis

    452 Words  | 2 Pages

    That is one way the theme can be related to the text, but another interpretation is how Blanche appears to be sane. In reality, she has trauma related mental problems that become apparent throughout the text. The author tries to portray the character’s lives different then what is actually going on in their private lives. Symbolism is used in the play by Blanche’s “fancy and expensive” items. These possessions from Blanche’s perspective look new and expensive, but they actually are worn out and cheap from the outsider’s view.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Discussion Questions

    1174 Words  | 5 Pages

    Are these details important to the plot of the play? No however they are vital to show how through the witches are What does the First Witch mean by line 11? Keep the line in mind; "do" is an important word in this play.

    Read More

  • Abigail Witch Monologue

    350 Words  | 2 Pages

    They say I am a witch. I say that I am witch and that I worked with the devil while under the parris household. I never thought I was with the devil. When I used to flap my arms and mumble under my breath I was merely just talking to myself and doing good deeds. I was not a witch, but I was.

    Read More

  • Women's Role In The Middle Ages Essay

    1532 Words  | 7 Pages

    Women’s life was divided between family, marriage and religion. The women’s main concern and responsibility was the procreation. In those times, family was very big so the typical role of the woman was that to be a good wife and a good mother. Some of them tried emancipation but they were blamed by society for this. These were the witches,

    Read More

More about Themes In Caryll Churchill's Vinegar Tom

Open Document