In response to the mass hysteria over this communist infiltration, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible. My basic need was to respond to a phenomenon which, with only small exaggeration, one could say paralyzed a whole generation and in a short time dried up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse. The Crucible by Arthur Miller tells the story of the vindictive town of Salem and its unproportional amount of accusations of witchcraft. It used to be that women were only madthemselvesbecause of their lusts. Describe a relatively recent historical event that resembles the situation that unfolded in Salem. What part might this physical separation have played in turning neighbors against one another and stoking fears of demons? The ultimate purpose of such a system was to create unity and, therefore, to fight any force that sought to break it. Rather, recollecting others with distasteful memories such as witchcraft. In the 16th and 17th centuries, they left Britain for the New World to establish a society that, they believed, reflected their religious beliefs. How do you think Miller uses setting to help create mood in Act I? 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. The largest account of witch trials as well as deaths by witch trials occurred in Salem, a village heavily populated with the Puritans. Nevertheless, the reasons for the decline in the witch hunts are as difficult to discern as the reasons for their origins. According to Cotton Mather, what are the immediate and long-term goals of the Devil? Miller's extensive stage directions suggest several reasons why the Witch Trials had to take place in Salem. In this lesson, students will explore the characteristics of the Puritan community in Salem, learn about the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and try to . They believed in short that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. 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. Tituba was among the first three people accused of being a witch during the Salem witch trials of 1692. The process began with suspicions and, occasionally, continued through rumours and accusations to convictions. 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. Similar to The Crucible , a majority of the characters reacted the way they did out of fear. Because we are all taught that if we listen to women too closely, that way lies the unraveling of the fabric of society. Both the Catholic and Protestant churches, striving to maintain a tight grasp on their clergy, each made clear that they alone could offer a priceless, invaluable commodity; Salvation. But Tituba recanted her confession, and Parris never paid the fine, presumably in retaliation for her recantation. No one was safe from persecutions, and the witch hunts for communism began. Prosecutions of witches in Austria, Poland, and Hungary took place as late as the 18th century. Many teachers use The Crucible alongside their discussion of McCarthyism. Witches: Real Origins, Hunts & Trials - HISTORY eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. 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. This is also the place Arthur Miller has written about in his book The Crucible. Any source of witchcraft must be destroyed . The decline of witch hunts, like their origins, was gradual. Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. B.A. It all began in 1692 and 1693 when Salem in the United States . The witch-hunt provided the perfect opportunity for the settlement of old scores. Whether she was aware of Rev. Rev. John Indian, through the trials, also had a number of fits when present for the examination of accused witches. Those include fear, personal motives, unfair treatment of the accused, and accusers. Parris and his wife. (Include at least one play by an American dramatist.). By directing blame for misfortune upon others, various populations across Europe succumbed to the mass panic and collective fear ignited by those in authority. The author writes in a satiric tone to mock the McCarthyism era of communism. Part of their belief system was awareness for anything "evil". English The Crucible Test Flashcards | Quizlet Even though the clergy and judges in the Middle Ages were skeptical of accusations of witchcraft, the period 130030 can be seen as the beginning of witch trials. Again, the so-called witches made for the perfect scapegoats. This is important because a large mass of innocent people were killed due to their race. If theyre that much trouble? By 143550, the number of prosecutions had begun to rise sharply, and toward the end of the 15th century, two events stimulated the hunts: Pope Innocent VIIIs publication in 1484 of the bull Summis desiderantes affectibus (Desiring with the Greatest Ardour) condemning witchcraft as Satanism, the worst of all possible heresies, and the publication in 1486 of Heinrich Krmer and Jacob Sprengers Malleus maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), a learned but cruelly misogynist book blaming witchcraft chiefly on women. We do not know if the enslavement of Tituba was the settlement of a debt, though that story has been accepted by some. It is nearly impossible to determine a correct estimate of how many people were tried and executed for witchcraft during this time. 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. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials - Smithsonian Magazine 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. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. 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. "What are the reasons Miller gives for the Salem witch hunts?" 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. Where central authorityi.e., bishops, kings, or the Inquisitionwas strong, convictions were fewer and sentences milder. Accusations similar to those expressed by the ancient Syrians and early Christians appeared again in the Middle Ages. The story of that peripheral village is one that has lodged itself into the cultural mindset of people everywhere as a cautionary tale against the dangers of extremism, groupthink, and false accusations, perhaps calling to mind Arthur Millers The Crucible or Cold War era McCarthyism. By this time, I was sure, John Proctor had bedded Abigail, who had to be dismissed most likely to appease Elizabeth. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Some of the trial takes place in the actual courtroom, but the metaphor extends beyond the courtroom scenes. According to Miller, what caused the witch-hunts? While any number of marginalized groups could, in theory, have served as a scapegoat, the shift in attitudes towards witchcraft as heresy created the conditions that allowed populations to turn upon those accused of witchcraft instead. Parris in the Salem Village church conflict. Drawing on research on the witch trials he had conducted while an undergraduate, Miller composed The Crucible in the early 1950s. 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. 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. In the early modern period, Protestantism emerged as a viable challenge to the Catholic Churchs firm hold on the Christian population of Europe. 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. The witch trials offer a window into the anxieties and social tensions that accompanied New Englands increasing integration into the Atlantic economy. One of the most known is The Holocaust that happened during WWII. In the article Fighting Modern-Day Witch Hunts In Indias Remote Northeast by Vikram Singh, who works for the New York Times, she, In Arthur Millers The Crucible, he shows a mass hysteria that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Although accusations of witchcraft in contemporary cultures provide a means to express or resolve social tensions, these accusations had different consequences in premodern Western society where the mixture of irrational fear and a persecuting mentality led to the emergence of the witch hunts. According to Edinburgh Live's Hilary Mitchell, Scotland experienced four major witch hunts between roughly 1590 and 1727, when Janet Horne, the last Scot to be executed for witchcraft, was . 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). One of these women was Tituba, who was there at the. Scapegoating can be viewed as the main reason behind the American witch hunts. 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. Moreover, the evidence does not indicate a close correlation between socioeconomic tension and witchcraft, though agrarian crises seem to have had some effect. We now know that some of the accused were pre-teens. Miller presents the idea that vengeance ruins peoples lives or reputation so that you can get what you want and be satisfied. While she was imprisoned, two others accused her of being one of two or three women whose specters they'd seen flying. The authors purpose is to point out that falsely accusing outsiders will not have a good outcome in order to convince the reader to not divide society. The Little Ice Age was a period of climate change characterized by severe weather, famine, sequential epidemics, and chaos. 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. In act 4 of The Crucible, it is revealed that Abigail Williams has run away from Salem, but her motives are never discussed. Prior to the beginning of the early modern period, before the devastating impact of the Black Plague transformed European institutions and the political dynamic of the entire continent, many people throughout Europe may have believed in magic. Parris was, at the time he was in New Spain, not yet married and not yet a minister. What is a quote said by John Proctor in Act 3 in which he reveals his sin of adultery? Local courts were more credulous and therefore more likely to be strict and even violent in their treatment of supposed witches than were regional or superior courts. 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. 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. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Soon, people feared, communist ways would come to the United States and would quickly corrupt the government system. Society was undeniably affected by witch hunts, as people did everything in their power to either free themselves from blame or accuse someone else. Witches were considered Satans 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. The drastic effects of the Little Ice Age reached a height between 1560 and 1650, which happened to be the same period in which the number of European witch hunts reached their height. "In Act 1, what explanation does Miller give as to why the witch hunts developed in such a community in The Crucible?" There have been many different "witch hunts" that have happened since 1692, that have shaped our world. Tituba later testified that she saw visions of the devil and witches swarming. Moreover, just as the growth of literacy and of reading the Bible helped spread dissent, so did they provoke resistance and fear. Witch Hunts Today: Abuse of Women, Superstition and Murder Collide in 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. 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. In The Crucible, what message is Arthur Miller trying to get across to the reader? 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. The inevitable need for a scapegoat, for someone to hold accountable for misfortune, seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. Immediately Abigail cried out her fingers, her fingers, her fingers burned . Witch hunting became a prime service for attracting and appeasing the masses. Its interesting to look at this in the context of what was happening in Millers real life. Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of 1692. I had not approached the witchcraft out of nowhere or from purely social and political considerations. This unrest also contributed to the witch-hunting hysteria in another way. Salem was a pressure-cooker ready to explode. Yet, following the Protestant Reformation, such persecution was widespread. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. 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. In Act 1, what explanation does Miller give as to why the witch hunts Miller wrote the play during the . The Salem witch scare had complex social roots beyond the communitys religious convictions. In 1689 Parris was formally called as the minister, given a full deed to the parsonage, and the Salem Village church charter was signed. Indeed, Germany, one of the central countries of the Protestant Reformation, is often referred to as the focal point of the European witch hunts. As competition flared up following the Reformation, churches turned towards offering salvation from sin and evil to their congregations. Become a subscriber and support the site! 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. The emphasis on personal piety exacerbated the rigid characterization of people as either good or bad. It also aggravated feelings of guilt and the psychological tendency to project negative intentions onto others. 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. Charges of maleficium were prompted by a wide array of suspicions. Miller cites the reason for the witch-hunts to be "a preserve of manifestation of the panic which set among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom" and "a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins." What does the overture imply about human nature? Arthur Miller and The Crucible Background - SparkNotes The accusations of witchcraft - at a time when many peope did actively believe in the supernatural - become both a means and a cover for the pursuit of private conflicts. why did the witch-hunts occur? | The Crucible Questions | Q & A Salvation and Scapegoating: What Caused the Early Modern Witch Hunts? The hunts were most severe from 1580 to 1630, and the last known execution for witchcraft was in Switzerland in 1782. The overwhelming majority of processes, however, went no farther than the rumour stage, for actually accusing someone of witchcraft was a dangerous and expensive business. 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. This was a dissertation that endorsed witch-hunting and is believed to have inspired Shakespeares Macbeth. 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. 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. Tituba was questioned for two more days. 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. In essence, these infamous witch hunts took place because people came to believe that witches conspired to destroy and uproot decent Christian society. However, many were guilty of caving into their own weaknesses and only feared to be caught in their acts of hypocrisy. Accessed 4 Mar. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. Witchcraft: What Caused the Witch-Hunts in Early Modern Europe Arthur Miller's . Also the fact people would accuse people of witchcraft which would then accuse other people of witchcraft and etc. How can history be dramatic, and how can drama bring history to life? In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the weak people are taunted by the stronger people to give in to admitting to witchcraft. 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. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, witch hunts empowered towns and consumed people's lives with fear. In Salem people were afraid of not appearing christian enough, meanwhile during the 50s Americans feared of being accused of communism. They believed that witches were quite real and a gateway into the dark side, the Devil and all that. 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. The same person may have enslaved John Indian; they both disappear from all known records after Tituba's release. In early 1692, three girls with connections to the Parris household began to exhibit strange behavior. Although many witchcraft theorists were not deeply misogynist, many others were, notably the authors of the infamous Malleus maleficarum. Crucible by Arthur Miller Act 1 Flashcards | Quizlet Latest answer posted December 16, 2019 at 7:31:02 AM. 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 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. Written in the early 1950s, Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 1692 Salem witch trials . 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. The events in Salem and other towns in New England took place in a region of isolated villages and towns. 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). 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. 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. Lewis, Jone Johnson. 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.. The Crucible Act One: An Overture Flashcards | Quizlet If witchcraft existed, as people believed it did, then it was an absolute necessity to extirpate it before it destroyed the world. why did the witch-hunts occur? https://www.thoughtco.com/tituba-salem-witch-trials-3530572 (accessed March 4, 2023). Another was Abigail Williams, age 12, called "kinfolk" or a "niece" of Rev. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and recounts one such witch hunt. "Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of 1692." ", Latest answer posted October 02, 2020 at 10:46:39 AM. In the play, the people of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 sought to destroy the devils influence by seeking and destroying witches. As Headley points out, he cites his relationships as instrumental to his writing of The Crucible in an essay he wrote about his process for The New Yorker: I visited Salem for the first time on a dismal spring day in 1952; it was a sidetracked town then, with abandoned factories and vacant stores. 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. Prior to the 15th century, the Church did not persecute people for witchcraft. 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. The North Berwick trials serve as one of the more famous examples of witches being held responsible for bad weather. 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. A detailed study of a timeline accompanies their close reading of The Crucible.
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