Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem was a book written by Rosalyn Schanzer. The book covered a set of trials that took place in Salem. Many people accused twenty other people of being witches or wizards. There were even some people who were executed for being witches. It was a time full of hatred, heartbreak, and unfairness. Speaking of unfairness, there was a lot of it in the questioning and trials. The Salem witch trials were unfair because of the lack witnesses in court, the way that spectral evidence was used, and the defendant not having any protection. In the witch trials, the person who was accused would probably be hanged because of all the witnesses testifying against him and the lack of witnesses defending him. …show more content…
Most accused witches seemed doomed from the start because the people who questioned the witches had already predetermined what they thought was the verdict. "Only one suspect was brought into the room at a time, but even before the defendants spoke a single word, it was obvious that the magistrates thought all three of them were witches" (Schanzer 32). Even when the defendant got any sort of protection, the judges overlooked the real evidence and continued to believe the fake stuff. " Only one person came forth to defend Good. When one of the girls accused Good of stabbing her with a knife and produced a broken knife tip to prove it, a man came forward showing that it was his knife from which the tip had been broken in the presence of the accusing girl. Far from invalidating the girl's testimony against Good, Judge Stoughton simply asked the girl to continue with her accusations with a reminder to stick to the facts" (Sarah Good - Salem Witch Trials). It seemed like some people just wanted someone dead because they just ignored the fact that some accusers confessed that they lied. "Though she had risked her own life by recanting, it didn't do a bit of good for her grandfather or Burroughs" (Schanzer 96). It just goes to show how some people can be so oblivious that someone
The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, the Salem Witch Trials were not fair because of the accusers, the judges, and the evidence. Accusers In Rosalyn Schanzer’s book, The Salem Witch Trials was a period of unfairness that started with the accusers. While
“ If there was enough evidence against these three women, they would eventually face a formal trial.” In this quote it says if the judges thought there was enough then they would be faced n a formal quart, they did not get to prove that they were innocent from the beginning. “But even though Cory was a well-liked member of the puritans religion elite, several people disapprove of her because she had once borne an illegitimate mulatto son.” In this quote people did not like her because of her son not because she was a witch so most people were accused for stupid reasons. “Ann, swore she had seen the apparition of a minister.
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem,¨ written by Rosalyn Schanzer, starts off with a group of Puritans from Europe who have come to settle in Salem, Massachusetts. This religion is very different from modern-day Christianity. People started being accused as witches in the 1640s. However, witch hunts aren 't as rare as people might think; there have been a few witch hunts since the 1690s.
Whenever someone accused of a crime goes to court they need evidence to prove if they're innocent or guilty. This occurs in The Crucible and with Good Night and Good Luck. Whenever someone is accused, there were different ways determining if they were guilty. In The Crucible, spectral evidence was used to convict witches. The only source of evidence they had was the claims of the girls.
Many have heard of the Salem witch trials but not a lot of people know of how truly insane the accusations during them were. Neighbors were accusing each other on no known facts. They would make up stories saying someone is a witch just because they did not like that particular person. Everyone that was accused was guilty until proven innocent; instead of what is said today, which is innocent until proven guilty. No one was safe from being accused.
Abigail Williams is very similar to Joseph McCarthy in the way they accused random people, even though they were innocent. Again they both thought they were doing “good”. It's not fair to blame others for something that isn't true, we were taught this from a young age. So why is it okay for them to? Well keep in mind that in The Crucible everything was getting out of control with the blaming, lying, and faking things that never existed.
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.
The Salem Witch Trials were a terrible event in human history that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The Trials started with a few people being accused of witchcraft and did not take long to transform into mass hysteria among the town. There are many theories for what caused the Witch Trials. Some people would argue that the girls led by Abigail Williams caused the Salem Witch Trials, or that the “ignorant” judge failed to see through their lies. However, the true reason why the Witch Trials took place is the society that people lived in and a parasitic fungus called Ergot.
Why would anyone burn human beings at the stake because of avid hallucinations? Salem had this occur in 1692 because of the thought of witchcraft. Many factors induced this thought of witchcraft, and led to the mass murdering of more than 200 people. The first factor that induced the thought of witchcraft in Salem is the great amounts of sociological strife.
She then produced a broken blade. A villager came forward and stated it was his knife that he discarded and the girls saw him. Throughout the entire trial Sarah denied all accusations. Her responses “I doe not torment them [sic]” (Boyer), “I doe not hurt them, I scorn it [sic]” (Boyer), “I am falsely accused” (Boyer) all shows Sarah never confessed. There was no solid proof or evidence against her other than false claims and testimony of her not receiving declinations to requests very well.
I begged him no to call Osburn because I feared her. My babies shriveled in her hands!” (pg. 1156) Later on, the story continues to say that Goody Osburn will hang because she refuses to admit to witchcraft. If the courts proved that Goody Osburn had killed those children, there would be no problem with her hanging, but she was arrested and convicted simply by a few words.
REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.
Jane Kamensky of the New York Times reviewed the book for the literary section of her newspaper, Kamensky was very critical of the authors arrangement and narrative. Even going so far as to claim that "By almost any measure, the Salem crisis is more gripping than it was important. The Witches, Schiff's glib, compendious and often maddening account of the events of that fateful year, does a great deal to punch up the story, but little to explore, and still less to understand its significance." (Kamensky) When looking at this from a historical point of view, Kamensky's review would seem to make The Witches: Salem 1692 an unreliable source. However, when taken in context, the book dovetails nicely with other works such as Salem Possessed by Boyer and Nissenbaum While the author of The Witches: Salem 1692, is not a trained historian, she has a team of researchers that do the fact checking and ensure that the author's information is authentic and not the mythologized claptrap that predominates popular culture.
The novel A Delusion of Satan written by Frances Hill describes the history of the Salem Witch Trials (“Salem”) in 1692, the causes and effects of the witch hysteria, and the biographies of major characters associated with the trials. In the novel, Hill started out explaining the Puritans’ beliefs and customs, the gender roles of men and women in Salem and why women were easily accused of being witches and practicing witchcraft in the 17th century. During that time, women were easily accused of practicing witchcraft because they were viewed as physically, politically and spiritually weaker than men. Men were perceived as the power, status, and worthy in the society, and they dominated women’s behavior and social status. In the 17th century,
Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.