according to miller, what caused the witch hunts? according to miller, what caused the witch hunts?

When a local doctor diagnosed the girls as suffering from the malevolent effects of the supernatural, they set in motion a series of events that would irrevocably alter the course of American cultural, judicial, and political history. Millers play helps one understand what the Salem Witch Trials did to peoples emotions and mentalities. Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible? By Katie BrownCurrent PhD Biblical Studies, BA Classics and ReligionKatie is a postgraduate research student in Trinity College Dublin, where she also received her Bachelor's Degree in Classical Civilisation and World Religions and Theology. Fear, accusations, and doing things for personal gain is a natural human instinct. In the writing of Arthur Miller he chose to place the focus of the book around the witch trials that took place in Salem in the 1400s. In France in 1022 a group of heretics in Orlans was accused of orgy, infanticide, invocations of demons, and use of the dead childrens ashes in a blasphemous parody of the Eucharist. The "parochial snobbery" as well as a "predilection for minding. No one was safe from persecutions, and the witch hunts for communism began. Aligns with CCSS RL.11-12.3 - Analyze the impact of the authors choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama. Perhaps the most intense reason why Salem had to be the birthplace for the witch trials resided in the idea of the authenticity and self- certainty that gripped Salem. As competition flared up following the Reformation, churches turned towards offering salvation from sin and evil to their congregations. This pattern took shape in 10501300, which was also an era of enormous reform, reorganization, and centralization in both the ecclesiastical and secular aspects of society, an important aspect of which was suppressing dissent. Witch Hunts In Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Tituba was questioned for two more days. ThoughtCo. Salem is an early example of what Miller saw around him and personally experienced in the 1950sthe communist witch hunts conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy. These stage directions allowed the reader to gain insight as to why Salem was able to serve as home to the witch hunts. Some have speculated that this was a way of deflecting further suspicion of himself or his wife. How can history be dramatic, and how can drama bring history to life? Their acts were seen as patriotic and holy. Throughout the story people accuse others of being witches or being involved with witchcraft so they could be hanged. This unrest also contributed to the witch-hunting hysteria in another way. Scapegoating can be viewed as the main reason behind the American witch hunts. This was a dissertation that endorsed witch-hunting and is believed to have inspired Shakespeares Macbeth. Students put themselves in the place of the playwright to answer: Aligns with CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3- Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain. believed to have inspired Shakespeares Macbeth, Eve, Pandora and Plato: How Greek Myth Shaped the First Christian Woman, How Leonardo da Vincis Notebooks Transcend Time, Marco Polo: Renowned Merchant, Explorer & Travel Writer, How Protestant Reformation Shaped Modern Education, Macbeth: Why the King of Scotland was More Than a Shakespearan Despot. Updated on January 31, 2020. First performed in January of 1953 at the height of America's red scare, The Crucible is first and foremost a political argument, relating the Salem witchcraft trials to their contemporary equivalent in Miller's time, the McCarthy hearings. What is a quote said by John Proctor in Act 3 in which he reveals his sin of adultery? Current PhD Biblical Studies, BA Classics and Religion. They believe that witches work with the devil and that they can see the devil and his followers. Any source of witchcraft must be destroyed . The town of Salem in The Crucible, can relate to our nation today, through the way we target the Muslim religion as terrorist. Puritan Americans viewed physical wants and desires as a threat to society and work of the Devil. Countries that were predominantly Catholic such as Spain, did not endure the scourge of witch-hunting to the same extent as those that experienced religious unrest. The author writes in a satiric tone to mock the McCarthyism era of communism. In each paragraph these traits will be further explained. The events in Salem and other towns in New England took place in a region of isolated villages and towns. Now, after more than three-quarters of a century of fascination with the great snake of political and social developments, I can see more than a few occasions when we were confronted by the same sensation of having stepped into another age. They were a wide cultural, social, political phenomenon. In this remarkably observed gesture of a troubled young girl, I believed, a play became possible. The witch-hunt also provided those who were greedy for land, such as the Putnams, to seek satisfaction. The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. Yet one general explanation is valid: the unique character of the witch hunts was consistent with the prevailing worldview of intelligent, educated, experienced people for more than three centuries. The events in 1692 parallel the witch hunts in 1950s. Moreover, the evidence does not indicate a close correlation between socioeconomic tension and witchcraft, though agrarian crises seem to have had some effect. Throughout this article, it mentions the persecution of witches today in communities around the globe, mentioning the flashbacks of similar strategies that were used in the past, doing different types of tortures.In Modern days, recent generations have abandoned wonderful traditions. What is a quote said by John Proctor in Act 3 in which he reveals his sin of adultery? In January of 1692, nine-year-old Betty Parris and eleven-year-old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of Salem Village minister Reverend Samuel Parris, suddenly feel ill. Making strange, foreign sounds, huddling under furniture, and clutching their heads, the girls' symptoms were alarming and astounding to . An author named Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible based of the true events of the Salem witch trials. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. The dramatic changes of the characters show how people in late 1600s managed to get through the accusations of witchcraft and moreover how the accusers and or condemners were able to handle the chaotic event. Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. We now know that some of the accused were pre-teens. The witch-trials provided release and the outcome was tragically unpleasant. It all began in 1692 and 1693 when Salem in the United States . John Indian, through the trials, also had a number of fits when present for the examination of accused witches. Historical Context. A bizarre set of accusations, including the sacrifice of children, was made by the Syrians against the Jews in Hellenistic Syria in the 2nd century bce. By the 14th century, fear of heresy and of Satan had added charges of diabolism to the usual indictment of witches, maleficium (malevolent sorcery). According to Cotton Mather, what are the immediate and long-term goals of the Devil? Older women were more frequently accused of casting malicious spells than were younger women, because they had had more time to establish a bad reputation, and the process from suspicion to conviction often took so long that a woman might have aged considerably before charges were actually advanced. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. The witch hunts provided this outlet. ", Latest answer posted October 02, 2020 at 10:46:39 AM. In the early modern period, Protestantism emerged as a viable challenge to the Catholic Churchs firm hold on the Christian population of Europe. "It would probably never have occurred to me to write a play about the Salem witch trials of 1692 had I not seen some astonishing correspondences with that calamity in the America of the late 40s and early 50s. In a piece over at The Daily Beast, Maria Dahvana Headley writes about Arthur Millers history with Marilyn Monroe, and how that affected his plays, which perpetuated very specific ideas about women through the American literary canon. It investigated whether the charges resulted from personal animosity toward the accused; it obtained physicians statements; it did not allow the naming of accomplices either with or without torture; it required the review of every sentence; and it provided for whipping, banishment, or even house arrest instead of death for first offenders. The witch roused Samuel, who then prophesied. Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible? "What are the reasons Miller gives for the Salem witch hunts?" Two of the accused women confessed to being witches and were reprievedparadoxically, if you admitted to being a witch, you were freed. Across New England, where witch trials occurred somewhat regularly from 1638 until 1725, women vastly outnumbered men in the ranks of the accused and executed. What took place in Western society to allow for the popularity of the Malleus, and for such a drastic shift in attitude towards the very existence of witchcraft? Part of their belief system was awareness for anything "evil". When they did accuse witches, Calvinists generally hunted fellow Calvinists, whereas Roman Catholics largely hunted other Roman Catholics. Miller presents the idea that vengeance ruins peoples lives or reputation so that you can get what you want and be satisfied. Jill Schonebelen wrote a research paper on Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights. In essence, these infamous witch hunts took place because people came to believe that witches conspired to destroy and uproot decent Christian society. Also, the clergy in authority expounded punishment, rather than penitence and forgiveness, for those deemed witches. Many social and religious factors triggered . The first hanging for witchcraft in New England was in 1647, after the witch hunts had already abated in Europe, though a peculiar outbreak in Sweden in 166876 bore some similarity to that in New England. All three of the accused were examined the next day at Nathaniel Ingersoll's tavern in Salem Village by local magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne. Those who were unhappy with their lot and envious towards of who were not now had the chance to voice their suspicions and take revenge against them. Latest answer posted December 16, 2019 at 7:31:02 AM. The term 'witch-hunt' has become entrenched in our vocabulary and our consciousness to mean, metaphorically, any act which purposely seeks out to punish those who hold unpopular views or opinions which are deemed to be subversive and a threat to the natural order. By the late 16th century, many prosperous and professional people in western Europe were accused, so that the leaders of society began to have a personal interest in checking the hunts. To find out what was causing the afflictions, a local doctor (presumably William Griggs) and a neighboring minister, Rev. For example, if something bad happened to John that could not be readily explained, and if John felt that Richard disliked him, John may have suspected Richard of harming him by occult means. Very few accusations went beyond the village level. In pointing out this paradox, Miller suggests that the witch hunts exposed the failure of the Puritan theocracy. This was a time when paranoia, hysteria, and deceit gripped the Puritan towns of New England. How does Abigail turn the court against Mary Warren in The Crucible? Salem, of course, serves as the perfect example of this fanaticism and scapegoating taken to the extreme. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained an associated eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States. There were additional hunts in Spanish America, where the European pattern of accusations continued even though the differences between the folklore of the Europeans and Native Americans introduced some minor variations into the accusations. Tituba would not likely have been directly involved in the growing church conflict involving Rev. Most of the factors influencing the widespread witch hunts over the course of the early modern period can be summarized under two headings; salvation and scapegoating.. To fully understand what caused the witch-hunt, one must analyze the triggers behind these feelings. Log in here. Wherefore The devil is now making one Attempt more upon us; an Attempt more Difficult, more Surprizing, more snarld with unintelligible Circumstances than any that we have hitherto Encountered; an Attempt so Critical, that if we get well through, we shall soon Enjoy Halcyon Days, with all the Vultures of Hell Trodden under our Feet. People such as John Proctor, Giles and Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse epitomize this desire for individuality. In the Near Eastin ancient Mesopotamia, Syria, Canaan, and Palestinebelief in the existence of evil spirits was universal, so that both religion and magic were thought to be needed to appease, offer protection from, or manipulate these spirits. Also the fact people would accuse people of witchcraft which would then accuse other people of witchcraft and etc. Christian theologians and academics entwined together the superstitious worries people held about the supernatural with Christian doctrine. The girls accused a lot of people and got a lot of people of hang for being witches. Four-year-old accused witch Dorcas Good went insane after spending months in prison and watching her baby sister die while in jail with their mother, who was later hanged. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. Students can make very profitable comparisons between the two tragic heroes: The Manchurian Candidates Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw, and The Crucible's John Proctor. They were the ones who were extremely critical of, for example, Reverend Parris, who is a symbol of the extremist and narrow viewpoints held by the church at the time. Vengeful witch hunters left no time to spare when making accusations on their neighborhood enemies. As the trials wore on, Miller traveled between Massachusetts and New York, researching what he saw as a clear correlation between the Red Scare and the Salem witch trials, both of which depended on a mass hysteria propelled by fear. "Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of 1692." (Include at least one play by an American dramatist.). 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. The witch trials offer a window into the anxieties and social tensions that accompanied New Englands increasing integration into the Atlantic economy. In 1691, a group of girls from Salem, Massachusetts accused an Indian slave named Tituba of witchcraft, igniting a hunt for witches that left 19 men and women hanged, one man pressed to death, and over 150 more people in prison awaiting a trial. She would also have likely been aware of the unrest in the community when raids were launched in New England, starting up again in 1689 (and called King William's War), with New France using both French soldiers and local Native Americans to fight against the English colonists. On February 29, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Tituba in Salem Town. Because accusations and trials of witches took place in both ecclesiastical and secular courts, the law played at least as important a role as religion in the witch hunts. The effects of conflicts such as the Thirty Years War were exacerbated by the drastic Little Ice Age with which they coincided, especially in regard to the European witch hunts. No wonder the term witch hunt has entered common political parlance to describe such campaigns as that of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy in his attempt to root out communists in the United States in the 1950s. By directing blame for misfortune upon others, various populations across Europe succumbed to the mass panic and collective fear ignited by those in authority. Its hard to imagine that there was once a time when witches were not seen as cackling women with pointed hats, black cats, and bubbling cauldrons. In the long run it may be better simply to describe the witch hunts than to try to explain them, since the explanations are so diverse and complicated. At first, this lead society to a poor place of illogical reasoning and punishments, but overall gave a lasting lesson of how to deal with conflicts in the future. He mentions that, firstly, the witch-hunts developed from what he names a 'paradox.' One of the more infuriating things about this #TimesUp moment is that there are far too many men continuing to be more concerned with the hypothetical possibility of false accusations (even though most of the accusations either come from multiple women corroborating stories about the same person, or have been confirmed by the accused themselves in self-serving apologies) than they are with the suffering of victims of sexual harassment, assault, or abuse. Throughout the past ten years social media has rocketed with hashtags and live protests in order to promote the current social-issues that have been overlooked. That John Proctor the sinner might overturn his paralyzing personal guilt and become the most forthright voice against the madness around him was a reassurance to me, and, I suppose, an inspiration: it demonstrated that a clear moral outcry could still spring even from an ambiguously unblemished soul. While she enjoys any topic relating to history, culture, and the humanities, she is most interested in Ancient Greece and Rome, the Ancient Near East, Irish history, colonization and de-colonization, Jewish and Christian history, and the Early modern period. The Reformation, Counter-Reformation, war, conflict, climate change, and economic recession are all some of the factors that influenced the witch hunts across the two continents in various ways. Under the rules of the colony, similar to rules in England, even someone found innocent had to pay for expenses incurred to imprison and feed them before they could be released. Through works of literature such as the Malleus, witches were broadly blamed for the effects of the Little Ice Age, thus becoming a scapegoat across the Western world. Where central authorityi.e., bishops, kings, or the Inquisitionwas strong, convictions were fewer and sentences milder. Conventional wisdom has it that mankind has evolved so far that the idea of targeting innocents is no longer an issue; however, Senator McCarthy and targeting of innocent Muslims after 9/11 remind us that witch hunts still exists in modern times. When Samuel Parris moved to Boston from New Spain, he brought Tituba,John Indian, and a young boy with him as enslaved persons forced to work in a household. Torture was not allowed in witch cases in Italy or Spain, but where used it often led to convictions and the identification of supposed accomplices. In the spring of 1692, two young girls from a seemingly inconsequential village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony began to display increasingly disturbing behavior, claiming strange visions and experiencing fits. As a result of such ideas, by the late 15th century, witches were considered as followers of the Devil. Although some people undoubtedly practiced sorcery with the intent to harm, and some may actually have worshiped the Devil, in reality no one ever fit the concept of the witch. Nonetheless, the witchs crimes were defined in law. Someone paid seven pounds for Tituba's release. Analysis. It was because of these that witch hunters made so many false accusations. However, it must be taken into account that different regions experienced a flare-up of witch trials for a variety of localized reasons. While the theocracy attempted to create unity, what it did was encourage simmering emotions of greed and envy that had no sanctioned outlet. Studying the American and European witch hunts today serves as a reminder of how hardship can bring out the very worst in people, turning neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother. Like the Spanish colonies, the English colonies repeated the European stereotype with a few minor differences. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents a city named Salem, with contradicting people. The legal use of torture declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, and there was a general retreat from religious intensity following the wars of religion (from the 1560s to 1640s). The gradual demise during the late 17th and early 18th century of the previous religious, philosophical, and legal worldview encouraged the ascendancy of an existent but often suppressed skepticism; increasing literacy, mobility, and means of communication set the stage for social acceptance of this changing outlook. The Little Ice Age was a period of climate change characterized by severe weather, famine, sequential epidemics, and chaos. King James VI of Scotland, a monarch notorious for his role in Scotlands witch-hunting craze, believed that he had been personally targeted by witches who conjured dangerous storms while he sailed across the North Sea to Denmark. Local priests and judges, though seldom experts in either theology or law, were nonetheless part of a culture that believed in the reality of witches as much as modern society believes in the reality of molecules. https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572 (accessed March 4, 2023). Headley proceeds to talk about Millers other works, and how they basically all tell the story of The Crucible (and of his own marriage and relationship to Monroe) in different ways. Log in here. The witch executions occurred in the early modern period, the time in Western history when capital punishment and torture were most widespread. The Puritans were marked by inflexibility and extremism. The Black Death: Europes Deadliest Pandemic in Human History. This is important because a large mass of innocent people were killed due to their race. Yet, following the Protestant Reformation, such persecution was widespread. All this I understood. The Salem witch trials, which resulted in several deaths in 1692 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, have never been adequately explained. Set in the 17th century The Crucible told the story of a town that ensued a hunt for witches, caused by the accusations of Salem 's young girls and their ring leader Abigail Williams. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, he shows us four ingredients that create a mass hysteria. According to a theory posited by economists Leeson and Russ, churches across Europe sought to prove their strength and orthodoxy by relentlessly pursuing witches, demonstrating their prowess against the Devil and his followers. We can guess from the circumstances that Parris enslaved Tituba in Barbados, probably when she was 12 or a few years older. ThoughtCo, Jan. 5, 2021, thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572. A witch hunt is surprisingly efficient in dealing with all offenders because once the movement gains momentum, people are accused left and right for many reasons, such as protecting . George Burroughs and the Salem Witch Trials, Mary Easty: Hanged as a Witch in Salem, 1692, M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School. Three women and two infants died while imprisoned. Because we are all taught that if we listen to women too closely, that way lies the unraveling of the fabric of society. Tituba, also known as Tituba Indian, was an enslaved person and servant whose birth and death dates are unknown. Tituba is depicted in Miller's drama as initiating witchcraft as play among the girls of Salem Village. Fear, hatred, guilt, jealousy, pain, grief, confusion, lust, and hunger are all feelings with one thing in common: They were the driving force that caused a witch-hunt amongst early modern Europeans. Tituba was questioned about her role. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. Rev. Girls had specific roles in society and were expected to follow the rules of the church without question, so when they acted out and danced or strayed from the church, chaos was unavoidable. Tituba herself went into a fit, claiming to be afflicted. Rev. For example, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, an episode of Rod Serlings Twilight Zone series, may provide students and teachers an opportunity to examine the phenomenon of mass hysteria. They [residents of Salem] carried about an innate resistance, even of persecution. How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials. The doctor diagnosed the cause of the afflictions as "Evil Hand.". Both he and you are wrong. People demanded one to be hung or burned if the person sinned unless they confessed, turned back around to God, and blamed others for their sin. Tituba, also known as Tituba Indian, was an enslaved person and servant whose birth and death dates are unknown. ", Latest answer posted October 02, 2020 at 10:46:39 AM. One of the most important aspects of the hunts remains unexplained. In the 1960's few individuals primarily a band of girls accused innocent people of practicing witchery. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572. from University of the Western Cape, South Africa. As Headley puts it, John Proctor is portrayed in The Crucible as a tragic hero, a fundamentally good man whose life is ruined to execution first by the unwillingness of his wife to sleep with him, and then, when hes succumbed to temptation, by the accusations of a hysterical girl. In her conclusion about that particular play, Terrible things happen, The Crucible confirms, when you believe women..