The witchcraft hysteria essays

The witchcraft hysteria essays In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong puritan beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch, and then the accused would actually be forgiven if they admitted it and told the court of anyone else that was with the devil. This was one of the main themes of the play entitled, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In this play a group of young girls act up and are then accused of being witches. These girls then blamed other people in order to get out of trouble, and even pretended to be bewitched in front of the court during the trial. This leads into the deaths of some innocent people who were accused and automatically found guilty. I believe, in many ways the people of Salem were responsible for the witch hysteria in Salem. The person with the most influence was Abigail. Abigail had an affair with John Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor, Johns wife, then fired Abigail. Abigail was jealous because of Johns lack of attention. So Abigail, a few other girls, and a servant from the Caribbean named Tituba danced around in the woods hoping a spell would kill Proctors wife. Reverend Parris, Abigails uncle, sees them and reports them to the courts. When Abigail is questioned about this, she denies the accusations but doesnt tell the truth about what was going on. The news of Abigail and the other girls strange behavior gets around and the hysteria starts. Without Abigails superstition and her fear of telling the truth, I think the events in The Crucible would not have become as serious as they did or even started. John Proctor was another agitator of the witch hysteria in Salem. Proctor adds to the hysteria when he and his wife were talking about Abigail and why she is acting so oddly. Although John Proctor knows she is making up everything and blaming innocent people, he is relu ...