The Salem Witch Trials were a scary time but the director of this movie made it seem action packed. The actors made it seem like they actually lived in that time. The wardrobe in the movie also had a huge impact on how the movie appeared and it also told the viewer how to be emotionally. I would give this movie a thumbs up for many reasons. Now I am going to tell you about the characters and the directors perspective. The director of this movie is the famous Nicholas Hytner. He has directed many other movies including films like Don Carlo and Center Stage. He had help from a very important writer Arthur Miller. He has written many other works that include Death of a Salesman and Broken Glass. They worked very well together or else this I think people thirteen and older should see this movie. I feel this way because of some scenes in the movie. At one point one of the girls is naked. This was obviously skipped when I watched it at school but I went home to watch it and didn't even know if my sister should watch it. I hope that people can make the right decision for their kids and only show them this movie if they fully understand the meaning of the Salem Witch Trials and why it was such a tragic time. This is my only complaint I have to make towards the movie. Overall this movie was exciting. It had lots of important information about the Salem Witch Trails. The director of this movie knew exactly who his audience would be and hit it out of the park by adding things that the audience would understand. The writer also had made this appeal to a very special audience. He knew who would most likely see the film and tried to stay true to that. This movie has ups and downs of all kinds but the message it gives is hope. Even when people were accused of being a witch they still fought for the right to be free. I hope that the people in Salem in the 1960’s actually had that much courage. To say you were not a witch was a hanging trial. The taught and emotion behind this movie is why I give it a big thumbs
The problem with this is the fact that he only used one case. The case he uses shows how it was not the same as Salem but does not give the reader the idea that this was the norm. Salem is the most well known witch hunt and trial in American History, and most Americans know about it. But, for the ones who are not aware or educated on the event, Godbeer’s purpose of writing the book would be hard for the reader to understand. This is a downfall in this writing. If he would have included other sources and other accounts of witch trials in New England, his argument that Salem was not the norm would be more effective. The book does a good job of explaining how the trial was handled in Stamford and how the judges and townspeople took into consideration the evidence, although not all townspeople did this. Some were very quick to judge and wanted the accused put to death. Godbeer’s thesis would be much stronger if he would have included the other accounts around New
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
The Salem witch trials are a huge part of America's history regardless of whether because of it being an embarrassment or triumph. After reading the novel "The Devil in Massachusetts" by Marion L. Starkey it is evident she is trying to display this in her version of the trials. While it is true to historical documentation Starkey's version seems to be an attempt at an `easy read' for those wishing to learn about a detailed listing of events. I enjoyed the attempt at which she took to make historical facts more appealing and interesting to those who may find it dry. While the objective is supposed to be a more interesting way for those to learn about history, her vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure can often at times be confusing and cause there to be a break in the flow of the sequence of events.
In the following paragraphs I am going to show how Hollywood portrays the Salem Witch Trails and the 1690’s compared with what actual happened in history and that in the film "The Crucible".
avoid getting in trouble, the girls begin to make accusations against the townspeople, saying that these people are witches who forced them to dance. As the hysteria grows in Salem, people begin to question their own neighbors, simply out of spite and vengeance, among other things. The Crucible is certainly historically accurate in it's portrayal of the townspeople's beliefs and attitudes. It is a film that should be seen to view the way people were in the seventeenth century.
... life and goes back to these girls who turned on her in an instant. Others even confess to witchcraft because, once accused, it is the only way to get out of being hanged. The confessions and the hangings actually promote the trials because they assure townsfolk that God?s work is being done. Fear for their own lives and for the lives of their loved ones drives the townspeople to say and do anything.
Some may believe that the Salem Witch Trials were completely honest and fair, but most come to realize all of the unfairness behind it. The Salem Witch Trials occured in 1692, and now most look back on it as a foolish mistake that lead to the death of many innocent people. The reliability of the accusers, the evidence allowed in determining guilt or innocence, and methods of punishment were just three things that were completely unfair.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the summer and into the fall of the year 1692, and during this dark time of American history, over 200 people had been accused of witchcraft and put in jail. Twenty of these accused were executed; nineteen of them were found guilty and were put to death by hanging. One refused to plead guilty, so the villagers tortured him by pressing him with large stones until he died. The Salem Witch Trials was an infamous, scary time period in American history that exhibited the amount of fear people had of the devil and the supernatural; the people of this time period accused, arrested, and executed many innocent people because of this fear, and there are several theories as to why the trials happened (Brooks).
During the early winter of 1692 two young girls became inexplicably ill and started having fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucinations. Unable to find any medical reason for their condition the village doctor declared that there must be supernatural forces of witchcraft at work. This began an outbreak of hysteria that would result in the arrest of over one hundred-fifty people and execution of twenty women and men. The madness continued for over four months.
The movie is, most likely, done well enough to intrigue its intended audience. It captured the theme and story line of the book. It falls short, though, when compared to the beautiful, sensitive and contemplative prose of Natalie Babbitt. One could only hope that a viewing of the film will lead the watcher to try the book and be delighted all the more.
What surprises many is the fact that leaders of community laid the whole Salem Trial process on the basis and testimonies of very young girls whom were easily gullible and their testimonies could be easily altered. This suggests that the young girls were only seeking attention that they lacked in their homes with false hysteria experiences.
The Salem Witch Trials is a well-known topic taught in history classes and in English classes. It was a time in which numerous, innocent people (mostly women) were killed because they were believed to be partaking in witchcraft. There are many possible causes as to why the Salem Witch Trials occurred. These known causes stemmed from the belief that Satan is acting in the world whether it be through giving a disease or recruiting new witches to work for him, kids that were bored and brought it upon themselves to lie that they were witches to have fun, and confessions leading town officials to believe that their belief that witchcraft may exist is true since people are coming forward and confessing.
About twelve months after the first incident, nineteen of the accused were killed, four had died in prison, one man had been pressed to death, and two-hundred people were arrested. The Salem Witch trials was a horrific period in history. This was mainly due to teenagers having fun, family feuds, epileptic fits, or diseased rye. (The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary).
As Arthur Miller tells us in the introduction to Act 1 'no one can really know what their lives were like.' We would never be able to imagine a life with 'no novelists' and 'their creed forbade anything resembling a theatre or vain entertainment.' ' They didn't celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer.' They led a very austere and bleak life. The people of Salem - from which the audience derive their "good" and "evil" characters - were superstitious and highly religious, and their Theocratic form of government offered them security and unity.
Although I enjoyed the main portion of the movie, there were some obvious likes and dislikes in my opinion. I believe that I learned from this movie and it helped me understand more of what the people of that time were feeling.