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Arthur Miller in the play, The Crucible, suggests that people of society create a separation between outsiders and insiders of the town, often prosecuting the outsiders to make them stand out even more from society. Poor agricultural success, conflict with Native Americans, tension between different communities, and poverty were not what the Puritan communities envisioned when they set out. The play results in a mob mentality and hysteria taking over because people believed a lying girl. These beliefs changed drastically, however, towards the end of the Middle Ages, as witchcraft came to be associated with heresy. He also portrays the accusers as teenagers when many were in fact much younger. "Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of 1692." People such as John Proctor, Giles and Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse epitomize this desire for individuality. Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible? Indeed, Miller uses witchcraft and the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for situations wherein those who are in power accuse those who challenge them of suspect behavior in order to destroy them. Rev. 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. 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. This definitely often refers to a courtroom trial in particular. 1692 Salem Witch Trial Education | Salem, MA History In other words, there was how things actually happened during the Salem Witch Trials, and there was how Miller wrote about them, taking lots of liberties to tell this story through a prism that made sense to him. The Salem witch trials end up being a crucible, that is, a time of great testing and purifying, for the townspeople. Tituba served as a housekeeper. How Arthur Miller Created a Myth of the Male "Witch Hunt - The Mary Sue The Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation heightened the fear of witchcraft by promoting the idea of personal piety (the individual alone with his or her Bible and God), which enhanced individualism while downplaying community. Witchcraft - The witch hunts | Britannica The setting of a literary work refers to the time and place in which the action occurs. 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. But since the controversy included withholding salary and payment in firewood, and Parris complained about the effect on his family, Tituba probably would also have felt the shortage of firewood and food in the house. These witch hunts warn against collective thought and unjust persecution and even to this day provide a useful and relevant metaphor for all those who believe themselves victims of unjustified outrage. She confessed to witchcraft and accused others. Scholars have attempted to answer these questions with a variety of economic and physiological theories. Tituba apologized for her part, saying she loved Betty and meant her no harm. An additional activity would be to ask students to compare two or more recorded or live productions of Arthur Millers The Crucible to the written text. Cotton Mather, a prolific author and well-known preacher, wrote this account in 1693, a year after the trials ended. Lewis, Jone Johnson. Its origin lies in the establishment of a theocracy by the inhabitants of Salem, which combined state and religious power. Miller wrote The Crucible during the time America was concerned about the rising power of Communism in the Soviet Union on the heels of World War II. After an outbreak of hunts in France in 158788, increasingly skeptical judges began a series of restraining reforms marked by the requirement of obligatory appeal to the Parlement in cases of witchcraft, making accusations even more expensive and dangerous. 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. What part might this physical separation have played in turning neighbors against one another and stoking fears of demons? Written in the early 1950s, Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 1692 Salem witch trials . Miller's extensive stage directions suggest several reasons why the Witch Trials had to take place in Salem. As questions of, When witchcraft arose, the state began executing anyone affiliated with witchery. Presumably, whoever paid the fine had become Tituba's enslaver. 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. Witch Hunts In Arthur Miller's The Crucible | ipl.org Though the Salem trials took place just as. The figurative 'witch hunt' of McCarthyism becomes literal in Miller's play, which is . The Black Death: Europes Deadliest Pandemic in Human History. When Arthur Miller published The Crucible in the early 1950s, he simply outdid the historians at their own game.. Through their reactions to the witch trials, characters in Arthur Millers The Crucible portray two major themes of self-preservation and mass hysteria. While people were being falsely accused of witchery without definite facts. Society was undeniably affected by witch hunts, as people did everything in their power to either free themselves from blame or accuse someone else. The author writes in a satiric tone to mock the McCarthyism era of communism. This began the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Salem Witch Trials | The First Amendment Encyclopedia Members of the community claimed to have seen a person's spirit performing witchcraft, a crime that would cause a person to be sentenced to death. Rather, recollecting others with distasteful memories such as witchcraft. These courts reduced the number of witch trials significantly by 1600, half a century before legal theory, legislation, and theology began to dismiss the notion of witchcraft in France and other countries. (2021, January 5). 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. 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. (Include at least one play by an American dramatist.). Cotton Mather's account of the Salem witch trials, 1693 Folklore and accounts of trials indicate that a woman who was not protected by a male family member might have been the most likely candidate for an accusation, but the evidence is inconclusive. It certainly was not deemed to be a threat, even by the leaders of the Catholic Church, who simply denied its existence. How can history be dramatic, and how can drama bring history to life? Mather and his fellow New Englanders believed that God directly intervened in the establishment of the colonies and that the New World was formerly the Devils territory. Societies under a lot of stress will always give into taunters. However, many were guilty of caving into their own weaknesses and only feared to be caught in their acts of hypocrisy. Because we are all taught that if we listen to women too closely, that way lies the unraveling of the fabric of society. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572. The Salem Witch Trials and Ergot: Mushroom Madness? 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. To find out what was causing the afflictions, a local doctor (presumably William Griggs) and a neighboring minister, Rev. ", EDSITEment is a project of theNational Endowment for the Humanities, Salem Witch Trials: Understanding the Hysteria, Origins of Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Largely because of that mistake, he is buffeted by a couple of elements shaped to suit the underlying narrative of Millers story, and thus not found in primary sources. Salem was a pressure-cooker ready to explode. The witch executions occurred in the early modern period, the time in Western history when capital punishment and torture were most widespread. The so-called 'confessions' by many of the accusers were an effort for them to purge themselves, as it were, of sin and thus find redemption. It would, over time, grow to be synonymous with mass hysteria, panic, and paranoia, referenced by those who believe themselves to be victims of unjust persecution; Salem. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, what does the author mean by his statement that "the Salem tragedy developed from a paradox". On a more material level, the fact that the land charters to Salem had been revoked helped to create an air of tension about land ownership. Miller transforms Tituba, a young Native American girl, into an African slave who led a group of young women into the forest to participate in magic rites. Namely, that he was in a marriage he wasnt happy in, and ended up having an affair with the much younger Marilyn Monroe, with whom he then had a troubled relationship and marriage. In each paragraph these traits will be further explained. The inevitable need for a scapegoat, for someone to hold accountable for misfortune, seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. Students can make very profitable comparisons between the two tragic heroes: The Manchurian Candidates Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw, and The Crucible's John Proctor. Ecclesiastical and civil authorities usually tried to restrain witch trials and rarely manipulated witch hunts to obtain money or power. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. Miller wrote. The decline of witch hunts, like their origins, was gradual. 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. The witch roused Samuel, who then prophesied. Throughout the story people accuse others of being witches or being involved with witchcraft so they could be hanged. A Conspectus On 'Witch Hunt' | Merriam-Webster And we have now with Horror seen the Discovery of such a WITCHCRAFT! What caused them? They claim the witches were making them do these bad things. As Miller puts it: 'Land-lust which had been expressed before by constant bickering over boundaries and deeds, could now be elevated to the arena of morality; one could cry witch against one's neighbor and feel perfectly justified in the bargain.'. On February 29, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Tituba in Salem Town. The Puritans were marked by inflexibility and extremism. More differences existed among Protestants and among Catholics than between the two religious groups, and regions in which Protestant-Catholic tensions were high did not produce significantly more trials than other regions. Men who brand women as dakan capitalize on deeply rooted superstitions and systems built on . According to Miller, what caused the witch-hunts? Their acts were seen as patriotic and holy. Tituba would not likely have been directly involved in the growing church conflict involving Rev. Why did Arthur Miller name his play "The Crucible"? 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. In his commentary, Miller names a variety of reasons for the injustice and atrocity which were the essential elements of the witch-hunts. Although these figures are alarming, they do not remotely approach the feverishly exaggerated claims of some 20th-century writers. Witch hunts English The Crucible Test Flashcards | Quizlet For instance Putnam accuses people whose land he covets, while Abigail wants rid of Elizabeth Proctor, her rival for John Proctor's affections. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. How Does Arthur Miller Use Witch Hunts In The Crucible. Plot Summary of 'The Crucible': A Play by Arthur Miller - ThoughtCo Millers play helps one understand what the Salem Witch Trials did to peoples emotions and mentalities. 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 . 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. It would, however, be incorrect to suggest that witch-hunting was something wielded against ones opponents during the many cases of civil unrest ignited by the Reformation. After the magistrates finished their examination of Tituba, she was sent to jail. Parris beat Tituba to try to get a confession from her. Witchcraft | Definition, History, Varieties, & Facts | Britannica Proctor house. Witch trials were equally common in ecclesiastical and secular courts before 1550, and then, as the power of the state increased, they took place more often in secular ones. 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. Another accusation that often accompanied maleficium was trafficking with evil spirits. A neighbor of the Parris family, Mary Sibley, advised John Indian and possibly Tituba to make a witch's cake to identify the cause of the initial "afflictions" of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams. A combination of multiple different forces came together to create the circumstances in which these witch hunts took place, so there are numerous reasons to consider. all rights reserved, History U: Courses for High School Students, Cotton Mathers account of the Salem witch trials, 1693, Located on the lower level of the New-York Historical Society. The breakdown in the social order during the various different conflicts of this period added to the atmosphere of fear and led to the inevitable need for scapegoating. In the play "The Crucible," Arthur Miller uses a great trial in the Salem witch trials to describe how he felt during the Red Scare in the 1950's. The Red Scare was a national hunt for Communists, or "Reds" as they were called. The Crucible Act One Summary and Analysis | GradeSaver John Indian, through the trials, also had a number of fits when present for the examination of accused witches. For many peopleespecially New Englanders (wicked or not) and fans of Daniel Day-Lewis or Winona Ryder (stars of the 1996 movie version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible)17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, comes to mind when they hear the word witch hunt.The persecution of witches goes back to ancient times, but it was during the 16th and 17th centuries that witch hunts intensified. However, Spain did witness one of the largest witch trials on record. What are the reasons Miller gives for the Salem witch hunts? Poor, poor men and their cold wives and their not being able to help being drawn to younger women only to ruin their lives, too. I had not approached the witchcraft out of nowhere or from purely social and political considerations. Secondly, Miller states that 'The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom.' Tituba was among the first three people accused of being a witch during the Salem witch trials of 1692. 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. In his telling, witch hunts are perpetrated by the marginalized rather than upon them, since, when sex is involved, women are inclined toward group-malice, sexual irrationality, and wholesale. Scapegoating can be viewed as the main reason behind the American witch hunts. The "parochial snobbery" as well as a "predilection for minding. In act 4 of The Crucible, it is revealed that Abigail Williams has run away from Salem, but her motives are never discussed. Witch Hunts Today: Abuse of Women, Superstition and Murder Collide in By this time, I was sure, John Proctor had bedded Abigail, who had to be dismissed most likely to appease Elizabeth. Accusations originated with the ill-will of the accuser, or, more often, the accusers fear of someone having ill-will toward him. Both Protestants and Catholics were involved in the prosecutions, as the theology of the Protestant Reformers on the Devil and witchcraft was virtually indistinguishable from that of the Catholics. For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as Latest answer posted November 22, 2020 at 12:05:25 PM, In The Crucible, explain what Elizabeth means when she says, "He have his goodness now, God forbid I take it from him. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Salvation and Scapegoating: What Caused the Early Modern Witch Hunts? In this lesson, students will explore the characteristics of the Puritan community in Salem, learn about the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and try to . Among the main effects of the papal judicial institution known as the Inquisition was in fact the restraint and reduction of witch trials that resulted from the strictness of its rules. 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. Current PhD Biblical Studies, BA Classics and Religion. The North Berwick trials serve as one of the more famous examples of witches being held responsible for bad weather. I Need To Know What 'Very Bland' Opinion Got J.K. Rowling Kicked Out of a Harry Potter Forum, Disney Found a Way To Make Us Care About Peter Pan Again, 'The Mandalorian' Makes It Pretty Clear Where Gina Carano's Cara Dune Went, 'Quantumania' Writer Shares Painful Thoughts on All the Negative Reviews, Jack Black Once Again Proves His Excellence in Super Mario Bros. Movie, Is Grogu Related to Yoda? A character named Abigail in the play acquired immense power, and manipulated the situations in the witch trials. The Devil, whose central role in witchcraft beliefs made the Western tradition unique, was an absolute reality in both elite and popular culture, and failure to understand the prevailing terror of Satan has misled some modern researchers to regard witchcraft as a cover for political or gender conspiracies. They were Christians who originally left England because they felt persecuted. Local feuds, for example, could prove detrimental to communities, as neighbors and families turned against each other and condemned their rivals to the pyre and the gallows. It tells the story of when King Saul sought the Witch of Endor to summon the dead prophet Samuel's spirit to help him defeat the Philistine army. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. If witchcraft existed, as people believed it did, then it was an absolute necessity to extirpate it before it destroyed the world. 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. Little is known of Tituba's background or even origin. Parris was, at the time he was in New Spain, not yet married and not yet a minister. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, witch hunts empowered towns and consumed people's lives with fear. It might have been as simple as one person blaming his misfortune on another. The events in 1692 parallel the witch hunts in 1950s. Where previously it was believed no mortal could control the weather, European Christians gradually came to believe that witches could. All this I understood. Children were often accusers (as they were at Salem), but they were sometimes also among the accused. 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. Updated on January 31, 2020. . 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. They [residents of Salem] carried about an innate resistance, even of persecution. A fire, a fire is burning! Sometimes this magic was believed to work through simple causation as a form of technology. The current preoccupation with men being falsely accused of harassment or assault, like so many other accepted truths can be traced to a moment in time during which a version of the idea was created and then absorbed into the culture. Also, the clergy in authority expounded punishment, rather than penitence and forgiveness, for those deemed witches. eNotes Editorial, 6 June 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-reasons-miller-gives-salem-witch-hunts-360670. why did the witch-hunts occur? 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. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. The Crucible by Arthur Miller tells the story of the vindictive town of Salem and its unproportional amount of accusations of witchcraft. 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. In the final analysis, the witch-hunt was nothing more than an eruption of the tensions and fears which had been repressed by a society which believed that suffering was a virtue and that the expression of one's dissatisfaction with one's lot was a sin. The play is set in Puritan Society in the late 1600s in Salem, where most people are devout Christians and hold a strong belief of both God and the Devil. Miller argues that the fundamental nature of Salem's construction made it a community where the Witch Trials were inevitable. Charges of maleficium were prompted by a wide array of suspicions. The visible role played by women in some heresies during this period may have contributed to the stereotype of the witch as female. Whether she was aware of the political conflicts around Massachusetts' status as a colony is not known.