Witchcraft Vs Women Analysis

During The Crucible, the Witch Trials caused many court hearings. A good deal of the court hearings consisted of people over exaggerating outbursts of demons inside of them just to get somebody convicted. The Witch Trails also affected the church in many ways. Reverend Parris’ already had a wicked reputation as their minister, and the trials made it even worse. People wanted him out of the church.

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”.

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. Later on, the girls that were bewitched became known as the “afflicted girls.” Two men named Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne began interrogating the girls about who or what had came to them. After being pressured by the men, the girls accused three women of afflicting them: the Parris’ Caribbean slave, Tituba; a homeless beggar, Sarah Good: and an elderly impoverished woman, Sarah Osborne. All three of the women accused were social outcasts, so people willingly believed that they could be involved in witchcraft. All three of the accused women were found and taken into custody.

Class Discussion). The madness that witchcraft was a problem came together when society combined the story of Adam and Eve (women acting out in abnormal ways and easily being convinced to do things), with the desire of wanting all women to act as the Virgin Mary. This created an unrealistic ideology of standards of daily conduct and if those standards were not adhered to they would be accused of practicing witchcraft (Broedel, Hans Peter. The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft), (Parish, Helen. Class Discussion).

“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. “The Crucible” describes the Salem Witch Trials. These trials were during a period of time where men and women were very rancorous so others feared to speak up because they would be accused of witchcraft and killed. Similar to Arthur Miller’s book, the Red Scare was a period of time in the late 40’s and 50’s in which United States citizens were intensely paranoid of an opposing threat of communism in Eastern Europe and Asia and ultimately communists infiltrating the United States. What the Red Scare and “The Crucible” have in common is that accusations of witchcraft or communism were false, people were blind to the truth, and the accusers weren’t very tactful and

They believed in God, and much more, The Devil. They believed that the Devil had entered Salem and that caused fear. They were afraid and needed something or someone to explain what was happening. Fear can do many things and one of them is to believe anything so that an answer can be found. The witch trials started when Abigail and the girls started accusing the other women in Salem, Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, and Elizabeth Proctor.

After reading “Devil in the Shape of a Woman: The Economic Basis of Witchcraft “by Carol Karlsen I was intrigued by Karlsen’s interpretation, and upset about the ways women were treated. During these witch hunts women and men alike were accused of the crime, but the majority were women. I found it interesting that she related the commonly known Puritan beliefs, which lead to accusations of witchcraft, with gender roles. She ultimately says that Puritans feared these accused women because they symbolized female independence. I found it shocking that women, often the wealthier, had a greater chance of being let go of their accusations if they had a husband to spoke on their behalf.

In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging. Many practicing Christians, at the time, believed that the Devil could persuade people to use the powers that he gave them to harm others. The Salem Witch Trials occurred because of resource struggles, many women were accused and tortured, and in the end the Governor realized that it was a big mistake. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies which sent many refugees into the Essex County and Salem Village.

And Goody Osburn…”(Miller 46-47) This moment shows the Putnams large role in the blaming of witchcraft because after they ask about a name people respond with those exact names although the blaming wasn’t real. Another person who contributed to the witchcraft hysteria is Reverend Parris. Samuel Parris was quick to blame and quick to make bad remarks about people he didn’t like. Most of all Parris wants to keep up his reputation so if word got out that he niece was acting like a barbarian in the woods he would be shamed upon. In the play Parris says, “If you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” This quote

The Salem witch trials are remembered as one of the most disgraceful acts a village has ever committed. One of the main causes of these events are the bibliocentric views of the community at that time. People often called witch on their neighbors to get more land, or cried witch at someone they simply didn’t like. There were 19 hangings during the Salem Witch Trials and one of the main reasons for this was Reverend Parris. At the start of The Crucible, By Arthur Miller, you see that one of the central causes of the witch trials was because he was more concerned with his own reputation than the lives of others.