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In 20th Century America, it all started when a playwright named Arthur Miller had an affair with a Hollywood actress named Marilyn Monroe. Three women and two infants died while imprisoned. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, he shows us four ingredients that create a mass hysteria. Another approach would be to have students read and analyze the following informational text by Miller, which recollects his personal experience with the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1956 when he refused to name names. Miller was convicted June 1, 1957 for contempt of Congress. The American and European witch hunts of the early modern era had a significant impact on Western societys history, politics, and culture. On February 29, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Tituba in Salem Town. Parris in the Salem Village church conflict. Salem Witch Trials - Events, Facts & Victims - HISTORY . Lewis, Jone Johnson. Their acts were seen as patriotic and holy. 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. 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). He says they were caused by everyone being paranoid of the witches. During the examination of Elizabeth Procter, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam the two were afflicted teen-age accusers, and Abigail was Parriss niece both made offer to strike at said Procter; but when Abigails hand came near, it opened, whereas it was made up, into a fist before, and came down exceeding lightly as it drew near to said Procter, and at length, with open and extended fingers, touched Procters hood very lightly. Men who brand women as dakan capitalize on deeply rooted superstitions and systems built on . The latter was the greatest evil of the system, for a victim might be forced to name acquaintances, who were in turn coerced into naming others, creating a long chain of accusations. B.A. In 1692 hundreds of people were sitting in jail for being witches, but none of them were really witches. Rev. Soon, people feared, communist ways would come to the United States and would quickly corrupt the government system. Prior to the 15th century, the Church did not persecute people for witchcraft. Like the Inquisition, the Parlement of Paris (the supreme court of northern France) severely restrained the witch hunts. For The Crucible, Miller aged Abigail up from her actual age of 11 to a more easily sexualized 17, while aging down John Procter, who was historically 60 at the time the trials went down to 35. In response to the mass hysteria over this communist infiltration, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible. 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). . The witch-hunt also provided those who were greedy for land, such as the Putnams, to seek satisfaction. Because we are all taught that if we listen to women too closely, that way lies the unraveling of the fabric of society. In 1374 Pope Gregory XI declared that all magic was done with the aid of demons and thus was open to prosecution for heresy. "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. 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. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572. They viewed their difficulties through a theological lens, and rather than attribute the blame to chance, misfortune, or simply nature; they thought that they were the Devils fault in collaboration with witches. They believed in short that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. 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. She confessed to witchcraft and accused others. Tituba's confession, by the rules of the court, kept her from being tried later with others, including those who were eventually found guilty and executed. What part might this physical separation have played in turning neighbors against one another and stoking fears of demons? Also, the clergy in authority expounded punishment, rather than penitence and forgiveness, for those deemed witches. Witch Hunts In Arthur Miller's The Crucible | ipl.org Reputation In The Crucible By Arthur Miller | ipl.org In this text, the year is 1692 and the witch trials have diminished and are almost over in Europe. Read the document introduction and transcript and apply your knowledge of American history in order to answer these questions. Witchcraft | Definition, History, Varieties, & Facts | Britannica George Burroughs and the Salem Witch Trials, Mary Easty: Hanged as a Witch in Salem, 1692, M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School. 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. The same person may have enslaved John Indian; they both disappear from all known records after Tituba's release. Ecclesiastical and civil authorities usually tried to restrain witch trials and rarely manipulated witch hunts to obtain money or power. Both he and you are wrong. 'The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. Witch hunts I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! Cotton Mather, a prolific author and well-known preacher, wrote this account in 1693, a year after the trials ended. Most Americans knowledge of the seventeenth century comes from heavily mythologized events: the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Pocahontas purportedly saving Captain John Smith from execution in early Virginia, and the Salem witch trials of 1692. 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. In the 1960's few individuals primarily a band of girls accused innocent people of practicing witchery. He tells the story of a man in a cold marriage who because of this is pushed into an affair with a much younger girl who then goes crazy and accuses him of wrongdoing. 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. They were a wide cultural, social, political phenomenon. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. The Devil was deeply and widely feared as the greatest enemy of Christ, keenly intent on destroying soul, life, family, community, church, and state. 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. Along with this older tradition, attitudes toward witches and the witch hunts of the 14th18th centuries stemmed from a long history of the churchs theological and legal attacks on heretics. One of these women was Tituba, who was there at the. Some have speculated that this was a way of deflecting further suspicion of himself or his wife. Become a subscriber and support the site! 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. Explanations of the witch hunts continue to vary, but recent research has shown some of these theories to be improbable or of negligible value. Emailus. For many of them the witch-hunt provided an opportunity to release themselves from their own guilt and vent their impure thoughts under the cloak of seeking absolution. There have been many different "witch hunts" that have happened since 1692, that have shaped our world. While she was imprisoned, two others accused her of being one of two or three women whose specters they'd seen flying. In 1689 Parris was formally called as the minister, given a full deed to the parsonage, and the Salem Village church charter was signed. 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. Already a member? What was it about the time period that made such hysteria, and ultimately tragedy, possible. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. Miller presents the idea that vengeance ruins peoples lives or reputation so that you can get what you want and be satisfied. 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. How Does Arthur Miller Use Witch Hunts In The Crucible. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Essential Quotes by Character: John Proctor, Critical Context (Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series), Critical Context (Comprehensive Guide to Drama). What is it about this particular tragic segment of American history that appeals to the creative imagination? 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. Although these figures are alarming, they do not remotely approach the feverishly exaggerated claims of some 20th-century writers. Witches: Real Origins, Hunts & Trials - HISTORY In the 11th century attitudes toward witchcraft and sorcery began to change, a process that would radically transform the Western perception of witchcraft and associate it with heresy and the Devil. However, it must be taken into account that different regions experienced a flare-up of witch trials for a variety of localized reasons. 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. If witchcraft existed, as people believed it did, then it was an absolute necessity to extirpate it before it destroyed the world. Again, the so-called witches made for the perfect scapegoats. Nevertheless, the reasons for the decline in the witch hunts are as difficult to discern as the reasons for their origins. The Rev. Its origin lies in the establishment of a theocracy by the inhabitants of Salem, which combined state and religious power. One of the most known is The Holocaust that happened during WWII. 1692 Salem Witch Trial Education | Salem, MA History Through their reactions to the witch trials, characters in Arthur Millers The Crucible portray two major themes of self-preservation and 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. why did the witch-hunts occur? Many social and religious factors triggered . In Greco-Roman civilization, Dionysiac worship included meeting underground at night, sacrificing animals, practicing orgies, feasting, and drinking. 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. But there was one entry in Upham in which the thousands of pieces I had come across were jogged into place. And its this body of work, which students have been instructed to read at school for decades, that has permeated the culture and contributed to our modern version of blaming womens desires for societys ills. In his commentary, Miller names a variety of reasons for the injustice and atrocity which were the essential elements of the witch-hunts. As competition flared up following the Reformation, churches turned towards offering salvation from sin and evil to their congregations. Fear, accusations, and doing things for personal gain is a natural human instinct. 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. It was this combination of sorcery and its association with the Devil that made Western witchcraft unique. The inevitable need for a scapegoat, for someone to hold accountable for misfortune, seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. In the article Are You Now or Were You Ever, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions. 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. 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. Tituba, also known as Tituba Indian, was an enslaved person and servant whose birth and death dates are unknown. In the late 1940s early 1950s, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy made the grandiose pledge to uncover a communist plot to overthrow democracy in United States. Tituba was questioned for two more days. Elizabeth Proctor had been the orphaned Abigails mistress, and they had lived together in the same small house until Elizabeth fired the girl. Latest answer posted December 16, 2019 at 7:31:02 AM. 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. The malevolent sorcery more often associated with men, such as harming crops and livestock, was rarer than that ascribed to women. Historical Context. 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. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. Among others, it argued that those guilty of witchcraft should be punished, and equated sorcery with heresy. 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. Upon these people, the blame could be laid for all hardships endured by Puritan society. Resentment and fear of the power of the hag, a woman released from the constraints of virginity and then of maternal duties, has been frequently described in Mediterranean cultures. 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. Some may say it was just a part of war; however, it's much more than that. from University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Those include fear, personal motives, unfair treatment of the accused, and accusers. 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. This is also the place Arthur Miller has written about in his book The Crucible. She may have served as a household servant and a companion to Betty. 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. In The Crucible, what message is Arthur Miller trying to get across to the reader? 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. The figurative 'witch hunt' of McCarthyism becomes literal in Miller's play, which is . Miller's extensive stage directions suggest several reasons why the Witch Trials had to take place in Salem. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents a city named Salem, with contradicting people. 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.