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. Salvation and Scapegoating: What Caused the Early Modern Witch Hunts? These can all be related back to The Crucible, in the way in which each character experienced. The witch trials offer a window into the anxieties and social tensions that accompanied New Englands increasing integration into the Atlantic economy. To every guy out there today whose greatest concern is being falsely accused, youve been manipulated by a frustrated playwright into genuinely believing that being callous and abusive with women dont have consequences. 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. Tituba, also known as Tituba Indian, was an enslaved person and servant whose birth and death dates are unknown. 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. Upon these people, the blame could be laid for all hardships endured by Puritan society. Witches sought to gain or preserve health, to acquire or retain property, to protect against natural disasters or evil spirits, to help friends, and to seek revenge. The accusations were usually made by the alleged victims themselves, rather than by priests, lords, judges, or other elites. Successful prosecution of one witch sometimes led to a local hunt for others, but larger hunts and regional panics were confined (with some exceptions) to the years from the 1590s to 1640s. ", In their book Salem Possessed, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum remark upon the prominent place the Salem witch trials have in America's cultural consciousness. He has wanted his Incarnate Legions to Persecute us, as the People of God have in the other Hemisphere been Persecuted: he has therefore drawn forth his more spiritual ones to make an attacque upon us. Miller echoes many of McCarthys ideas such as a war between two ideologies, a letter of names, and a society destroyed by enemies from within. How does Abigail turn the court against Mary Warren in The Crucible? Tituba was among the first three people accused of being a witch during the Salem witch trials of 1692. Furthermore, people could now freely express their hatreds for neighbors and take vengeance under the the guise of an attempt to identify those who communed with the devil. The ensuing witch hunt would result in the executions of 19 men, women, and children, along with the deaths of at least six others, and the suffering, torment, and calamity of an entire community. 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. During this time, witches and conspiring with the devil were frowned upon by the Puritan church, and were the cause of much fear and suspicion. 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 most common suspicions concerned livestock, crops, storms, disease, property and inheritance, sexual dysfunction or rivalry, family feuds, marital discord, stepparents, sibling rivalries, and local politics. The next day, Betty and Abigail named Tituba as a cause of their behavior. If theyre that much trouble? Parris and his wife. Both of these historic elements, however, were shaped by Miller into a story about a married man tormented by an orphaned, libidinous teenage girl seeking to punish him for a sexual transgression she participated consensually in. 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. 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. She confessed to witchcraft and accused others. 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. His 17 June 2000 article inThe Guardian/The Observer, "Are You Now Or Were You Ever?,"describes the paranoia that swept America in that era and the moment his then-wife, Marilyn Monroe, became a bargaining chip in his own prosecution. 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. How does he describe the witch-hunts. The malevolent sorcery more often associated with men, such as harming crops and livestock, was rarer than that ascribed to women. 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. Although many witchcraft theorists were not deeply misogynist, many others were, notably the authors of the infamous Malleus maleficarum. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. All this I understood. Again, the so-called witches made for the perfect scapegoats. Although the lurid trials at Salem (now in Massachusetts) continue to draw much attention from American authors, they were only a swirl in the backwater of the witch hunts. Aligns with CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5- Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. It was from a report written by the Reverend Samuel Parris, who was one of the chief instigators of the witch-hunt. Tituba was questioned about her role. Read the document introduction and transcript and apply your knowledge of American history in order to answer these questions. It is nearly impossible to determine a correct estimate of how many people were tried and executed for witchcraft during this time. They were Christians who originally left England because they felt persecuted. 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. Parris beat Tituba to try to get a confession from her. Men who brand women as dakan capitalize on deeply rooted superstitions and systems built on . To prove that the promise of salvation served as a reason for the sudden flare-up of witch hunts during this period of religious turmoil, we only need to look to the notable absence of witch trials in Catholic strongholds. Tituba was accused by the young girls of appearing to them (as a spirit), which amounted to an accusation of witchcraft. 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. Its the fact that one person didnt like a certain group of people besides their own so; they felt like they had the right to take away their lives. Charges of maleficium were prompted by a wide array of suspicions. The setting of a literary work refers to the time and place in which the action occurs. On February 29, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Tituba in Salem Town. 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. 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. Also the fact people would accuse people of witchcraft which would then accuse other people of witchcraft and etc. . How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials. According to Cotton Mather, what are the immediate and long-term goals of the Devil? 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 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. Why did Arthur Miller name his play "The Crucible"? With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. The Salem witch scare had complex social roots beyond the communitys religious convictions. 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. They claim the witches were making them do these bad things. Biography of Elizabeth Parris, Accuser in the Salem Witch Trials, A Brief History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Biography of Rebecca Nurse, Victim of the Salem Witch Trials, Profile of Elizabeth How, Persecuted Salem Witch, Rev. A witch hunt is seen as an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. These accusations would also be made by the Romans against the Christians, by early Christians against heretics (dissenters from the core Christianity of the period) and Jews, by later Christians against witches, and, as late as the 20th century, by Protestants against Catholics. Headquarters: 49 W. 45th Street 2nd Floor New York, NY 10036, Our Collection: 170 Central Park West New York, NY 10024 Located on the lower level of the New-York Historical Society, 20092023 Though the Salem trials took place just as. 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. (Include at least one play by an American dramatist.). They believe that witches work with the devil and that they can see the devil and his followers. In the early modern period, Protestantism emerged as a viable challenge to the Catholic Churchs firm hold on the Christian population of Europe. 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. No satisfactory explanation for the preponderance of women among the accused has appeared. Millers play helps one understand what the Salem Witch Trials did to peoples emotions and mentalities. This is highly similar to the homicides that led to rise of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. B.A. The hunts were most severe from 1580 to 1630, and the last known execution for witchcraft was in Switzerland in 1782. Calling all K12 teachers: Join us July 1619 for the second annual Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium. 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. This idea that when trouble comes, particularly when it comes to a man whos just trying to get laid, it comes at the hands of an unstable woman who should never be believed. Thus creating the different movements to bring awareness to the situations and hope that the citizens will work to change and or stop these homicides from happening. In the play some girls get in trouble for dancing in the woods. Many social and religious factors triggered . Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. Miller captured the events in a riveting story that is now considered a modern classic in the theater. Which is how we get to guys like Liam Neeson, Woody Allen, and today, Alec Baldwin, as well as women like Mika Brzezinski and Wendy Williams bending over backwards to find reasons not to believe the women coming forward about the harassment and assault theyve experienced. Other peers of Miller's, such as playwright Clifford Odets and actor Lee J. Cobb, also testified. As competition flared up following the Reformation, churches turned towards offering salvation from sin and evil to their congregations. Most readers are unfamiliar with McCarthyism. 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 invention. 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. The events in Salem and other towns in New England took place in a region of isolated villages and towns. In each paragraph these traits will be further explained. 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. Heres What We Know, INTERVIEW: Cary Elwes Understands the Assignment of Guy Ritchie Movies for Operation Fortune, Walgreens Caves to Republicans, Limits Sales of Another Reproductive Healthcare Item, Florida Man Fulfills His Destiny as a Netflix Crime Series, The 13 Best Ted Lasso Quotes to Read When the World Has Made You Feel Weary. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. From the 14th through the 18th century, witches were believed to repudiate Jesus Christ, to worship the Devil and make pacts with him (selling ones soul in exchange for Satans assistance), to employ demons to accomplish magical deeds, and to desecrate the crucifix and the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist (Holy Communion). I had not approached the witchcraft out of nowhere or from purely social and political considerations. 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. 'The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. In response to the mass hysteria over this communist infiltration, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible. 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. Like the Inquisition, the Parlement of Paris (the supreme court of northern France) severely restrained the witch hunts. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. The Crucible shows how fear can inspire hysteria, intolerance, and paranoia and mirrored what was happening in America in the 1950s when a different kind of witch hunt was afoot. The witch-hunt also provided those who were greedy for land, such as the Putnams, to seek satisfaction. Witches were considered Satan's followers, members of an antichurch and an antistate, the sworn enemies of Christian society in the Middle Ages, and a "counter-state" in the early modern period. Elizabeth Proctor had been the orphaned Abigails mistress, and they had lived together in the same small house until Elizabeth fired the girl. Arthur Miller includes Tituba in his 1952 play, "The Crucible", which uses the Salem witch trials as a metaphor or analogy to 20th century McCarthyism, the pursuit, and "blacklisting" of accused Communists. Tituba was questioned for two more days. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the true events of the Salem witch trials. 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. The witch hunts varied enormously in place and in time, but they were united by a common and coherent theological and legal worldview. The Salem witch trials of the 1690's portrayed by Millers the Crucible parallel The Red Scare of 1920's, both events revolve around the fear of foreign ideology causing hysteria. The notorious Spanish Inquisition formed due to the Counter-Reformation focused little on pursuing those accused of witchcraft, having concluded that witches were much less dangerous than their usual targets, namely converted Jews and Muslims. Another Information that imparted Arthur Miller . Most scholars agree that the prosecutions were not driven by political or gender concerns; they were not attacks on backward, or rural, societies; they did not function to express or relieve local tensions; they were not a result of the rise of capitalism or other macroeconomic changes; they were not the result of changes in family structure or in the role of women in society; and they were not an effort by cultural elites to impose their views on the populace. Through Abigails and Titubas actions of self-protection at the expense of others, Miller reveals the dangers of mass hysteria and its motivation towards self-preservation and false accusations. 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. "In Act 1, what explanation does Miller give as to why the witch hunts developed in such a community in The Crucible?" This is important because a large mass of innocent people were killed due to their race. Analysis. The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. eNotes Editorial, 6 June 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-reasons-miller-gives-salem-witch-hunts-360670. 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.