How would the witch trials in the town of Salem affect you in 1692? The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, examines how life was affected by the Salem witch trials in 1692. Not only the community but from where they were built from, the Puritan society. The Puritan religion influenced how the community viewed government and beliefs as a whole. In turn, individuals within Salem were affected by the way people were brought to justice. In The Crucible, religion and government were so closely interwoven that it blurred the lines between right and wrong which affected the way people reacted and behaved. At the peak of the witch trials, the Puritan society was considered a theocracy. They build the belief of the religion around the idea …show more content…
40) Citizens within the town of Salem didn’t know how to react or what to think since this was the breaking point into society for witchcraft. Parris had to protect his family and blood but also his power. Unlike Tituba, Betty and Abigail would have been lucky to have someone with such authority to clear their name. Instead, they deny and turn to accusation. In desperate times, they started witch trials in an attempt to cleanse the town. Most evidence came from the behavior of the accused. Abigail was the center of the hysteria. Nobody wanted to be accused, so they became the accusers. Upon Tituba’s testimony, Abigail used God’s gift against her. Abigail explains, “She sends her spirit on me in church: she makes me laugh at prayer!” (I. 419) When Hale asks Abigail, she uses the fact that Tituba is a slave and sings Barbados songs which seems to be enough proof for him. New motives of suspicion are set against Tituba which casts others away from her. It’s not long before she tries to save herself and everyone turns against her. Abigail adding her voice left a new level of hysteria. Viewed by the law, all evidence of witchcraft was based on religious beliefs, not physical …show more content…
We are supposed to presume people innocent until proven guilty, and everyone should get a fair trial before judgment. This modern structure is the opposite of how things were run within the government in The Crucible. Governor Danforth was a man of power before the witch trials began. Danforth says to John Proctor upon his testimony, “We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment” (III. 95). Thus proving Danforth will get to the bottom of all confessions. No matter what John has to say, the truth will come out. Danforth would have previously known the confession John testified when presenting that bold of a statement. Governor talks about burning a hot fire which represents the falsely accused being condemned. Danforth justified condemning innocent people because he believed he was god-like and could bestow judgment on others without physical evidence. His religious beliefs were evidence enough for him, and nothing could stand in his way. In an attempt to get the last words, Danforth exclaims, “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption!” (IV. 296) He tries to condemn John to death for taking back his false confessions in the trial. The inability to recognize his wrongdoing left many innocent people dead. If Danforth wasn’t so conceited with his position of power, dozens of
Once Reverend Parris bluntly accuses her of conjuring spirits, Abigail immediately blames Tituba and Ruth, fulfilling her narrative as “an
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the Salem witch trials to show how a society can become flawed and corrupt, leading to an inevitably witch hunt and hive mindset. These mindsets have still carried on in modern day society. The community of Salem was run under a strict theocracy, where religious leaders held immense power and threat to the common people. With the large fear of the unknown and wide belief in apparitions and entities this added to and heightened the chaos of these witch trials. During the trials an unjust court is shown immediately in the first hearing, the presumption of innocence was ignored and all of the evidence was based on hearsay and rumors.
Abigail was telling her Christian uncle ,Parris, that his slave Titiuba was calling on the devil. This created hysteria because this was not allowed in the Chritian world and it created fear in the eyes of Salem because they are afraid that the Devil will drag them down to Hell. Many in Salem made speculations that Tituba would come after them due to her talking to the dead, the devil, as well as her conjuring spell. Due to all of the events she did it caused hysteria within
Tituba the witch The crucible by Arthur Miller is about the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Many people in Salem truly believed that witchcraft was real and lived by that. Majority of the citizens also often thought that they could see the devils spirit in people and they knew when someone was guilty of witchcraft.
Despite Abigail doing this to save herself from being hanged, she ended up causing Tituba, an innocent person, to be sentenced and put to death. "She comes to me every night to go and drink blood" (Act II, Pg. 44) This quote comes right after Abigail had said that Tituba cursed her with spirits while she was in church. In this quote, Abigail tries to argue that not only did Tituba send spirits to Abigail, but she also made her and the girls drink blood every night and conjured spirits. With Abigail’s multiple instances of scapegoating people like Tituba, she led many innocent people to their deaths, all just to save her own self.
One’s reputation can be the reason for nineteenth people being hanged. This tragic event known as the Salem Witch Trials is a major historical incident. The Salem Witch Trials is the main plot in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is set in Salem, a Puritan town. Puritans are strict with their beliefs and consider multiple normalities such as dancing, a sin.
The Crucible gives a firsthand account of the Salem witch trials in 1692. Although the characters are fictional, the story is not. One thing that can be learned from The Crucible is that nobody is safe when it comes to paranoia. Paranoia is the first step into societal failure.
(Miller, background) Abigail was dancing in the forest, which was prohibited, and then was caught. When her uncle found out she was in the forest, she tried to blame other people and the first person she accused was Tituba. (Miller, pg. 143) Abigail decided in her mind that blaming others and spreading lies about them would make her free to continue to do as she wished.
Under the interrogation of Parris and Hale Abigail makes an accusation against Tituba claiming, “She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer!” (44) Tituba Denies the accusations, but is threatened to be whipped until she confessed her doings of witchcraft. Tituba folds and confesses while naming others to become suspects of performing witchcraft. This brings in more innocent people to face trial and judgement that they so wrongfully endured. As time goes on in the play, Abigail begins to scheme and develop a plan to eradicate Elizabeth.
It is distinctly shown that witchcraft took place in the Puritans lives. This is because in the town of Salem, Massachusetts many people were accused of being witches after a group of young women were seen dancing in the forest, which is prohibited in the faith of the Puritans to give way to the woods. Altogether, this gets us to the driving question “How does the Salem Witch Trials impact today’s society? In The Crucible, the theme of hysteria is used to get the message of the Salem Witch Trials.
Danforth states, “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption!” (Miller 144). He says this because he wants to condemn John to death for taking back his false confession. Danforth’s impotence to understand that the witch trials were a false accusation and that he has taken part in the murder of dozens of innocent people is horrifying.
Danforth thinks he is being guided by God, so nobody will be punished unjustly. In Act Four, this was proven wrong. When it becomes evident the allegations are false, Governor Danforth refuses to accept the truth (1230). After failing to understand the truth, he hangs all of the innocent people to avoid destroying his own reputation (1232-12330. If, indeed, Governor Danforth would have been guided by God, the innocent would have been free, not wrongfully punished and hung.
Evidence proves this when Giles says "say nothin' more, John.(pointing at Danforth) He's only playin' you. He means to hang us all!" (Miller 513). Giles is trying to point out that the court is not listening and not believing the evidence that is given.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials had many effects on the town of Salem, Massachusetts. A lot of the effects were negative, destroying the community, government, even individuals. The Witch Trials affected the community of Salem in multiple ways. The witch trials created many tensions between several families in the town. The most acknowledgeable dispute from the play was between the Putnam’s and the Nurse’s.
Before John and the others are executed, Danforth states, “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these weeps for corruption”(Miller 1256). Danforth wants justice, but he has no idea what true justice really is, nor how to achieve it. His determination to find someone to punish leads him to become irrational; he completely ignores one side of the story, being subjective rather than objective, something a judge should never be. He lets this, as well as his extreme disconnect with the town, impair his