More handpicked essays just for you.
Criminal behavior theories essay
Cause and effects of fear in our society essay
Salem witch trial economic and political cause
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In every chaos, causes are found. As for the witchcraft hysteria in the Crucible? Specifically speaking, three major causes attributed to the infamous Witch Trials in Salem, MA, as depicted throughout the novel. For example, fear devastated Salem and further succumbed the community into the growing hysteria. Secondly, jealousy played a huge role as it turned people on each other, also weakening Salem. Moreover, the insatiable greed of the members of the community allowed the hysteria to set in. Fear, jealousy, and greed all were prevalent contributions to the witchcraft hysteria in Salem.
The first factor, fear, settled in the colonies in the late 1600s. During this time, many colonies had the strong belief that Satan was present around them, and constantly attempting to take away children’s innocence. Activities such as dancing and singing in the woods correlated directly with the Devil, and became known as the Devil’s work. “...The Salem folk believed that the virgin forest was the Devil’s last preserve, his home base and the citadel of his final stand. To the best of
…show more content…
The Salem witch trials weren’t based as much on the Puritans and their God versus Satan and his followers, as it was on human greed. The greed of one man in particular, Reverend Parris. For Parris the witch trials gave him an opportunity to get rid of all his enemies. Many people who opposed Samuel Parris, a Salem minister were convicted as witches. One of the first people accused of witchcraft was Rebecca Nurse, “...a deaf old woman whose family had for years been contending with the Puritans in a fight for land.” Rebecca Nurse opposed Parris, and if she had been convicted of witchery she would have lost her possessions, and Parris would have gotten her land. The greed of Parris and his church, not only added to the witchcraft hysteria, but also costed many people their dignity, possessions, and
Yet, the theocratic society, the mass hysteria, and the girls’ desire for attention and power were the three most significant factors which caused the greatest impact. It is very likely that without one of the factors, Salem would have never had a downfall. The theocracy is what potentially led to the accusations because of how connected god and government were in Salem. The mass hysteria spread due to how the conditions in town created major trust issues. Finally, the because the children were so looked down upon in the town, it was hard for them to be noticed and once they got a chance to gain the people’s attention they went for it gaining the power they needed to bring down anyone they wanted. The main theme presented in the play The Crucible, is that social pressure can lead individuals to go along with actions they know are
There were a number of religious factors that contributed to the Salem Witch trials but most of the people in Massachusetts during the trials were Puritans. The Puritan lifestyle was influenced by the church and Christian beliefs. Puritans believed that God expected them to live according to the scriptures and to set a good example so the people that remained in England would change their sinful ways. Puritans were expected to follow a strict moral code and anything other than that was considered a sin and deserved to be punished. When difficulties in the community began the blame was on the Devil and the witches.
In Exodus 22:18, it says “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” It was chaos In Salem, Massachusetts, during 1692, 19 people were accused and hanged and one brutally pressed. this is because the puritans believed almost everything the bible said. One subject that the bible covers, is that the Devil is real and really clever, and is able to enter a normal person's body and turn them into a witch. There are three interconnected causes that might have caused the drama, and panic that was the Salem witch trial hysteria, which are: age, gender, and marital status, lying girls and they’re folk tales they made up, and a divided town.
In the small town of Salem, the year of 1692, people were being inaccurately accused as witches by people they did not know. The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been caused due to a combination of a civil war and the intention to cause a stir. There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. These were economic status, girls acting as if been affected by witchcraft, and a combination of gender and age.
The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”, Exodus 22:18. In 1692 , in Salem Massachusetts , the Puritans believed everything in the bible, they also believed in witches and that witches should not be able to live.There were at least 3 causes for the Salem witch trial hysteria. There are: age, gender, and marital status , lying girls, and a divided town.
“Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion, and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it.” – Elia Kazan. In the crucible, Arthur Miller describes the witch trials and the hysteria that was caused by it. The fear of the devil overwhelms reason and makes the town of Salem even more afraid. In the story, Marry Warren falls under hysteria and through her, Arthur Miller explains that fear causes people to leave behind all their logic and reason.
Hysteria does not just appear out of nowhere, though. There are driving forces such as revenge and abuse of power that bring about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; The Crucible parallels directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950’s. The story of The Crucible takes place against the background of the Salem Witch, but the themes lie much deeper. The main themes expressed in The Crucible relate to the events that occurred at both the Salem Witch Trials and during the McCarthy era.
As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria. Puritan Lifestyle was one reason that might have caused the witchcraft hysteria in Salem.... ... middle of paper ... ... He believed strongly in having the witches of Salem executed for their wrong doing (Fradin 26-27).
First, the Puritan values and expectations were strict, and those who had defied their teachings would have been at a much higher chance of being accused as a witch. Second, economic struggles within Salem Town and Village had further divided the two, by crop failure and livestock death. Ultimately causing economic damages. Third, personal opinions and disputes had contributed to the trials and accusations. The law system was unfair during the trials, so when or if someone was accused the court would side with the accuser, unless of course, they were a witch themselves. In conclusion, the people who died and who were accused of witchcraft were not really witches, Salem and it’s inhabitants were under the influence of mass hysteria, personal beliefs and grudges that eventually became the chaos of the Salem witch hunts of
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
The witch trials of the late 1600's were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much attention in 1692. More than a hundred innocent people were found guilty of practicing witchcraft during these times, and our American government forced over a dozen to pay with their lives. The main reasons why the witch trials occurred were conflicts dealing with politics, religion, family, economics, and fears of the citizens.
Hysteria is a psychological disorder that originates from an imagined or assumed threat that causes people to experience physical and emotional symptoms based on stories they hear. Hysteria, which was once a disorder diagnosed to woman, was a term that implies that females suffer from excessive emotions and mood swings because their Uterus, or hysterika disconnects from the woman. Hysterias pervade many societies as evident in Mattoon during the supposed Mad Gasser attacks of 1944 and Salem Massachusetts in the late 1600’s during the witch trials.
All of the drama during The Crucible originally started because of the fear Witchcraft, and the fact that Witches may be living among them. When people experience hysteria, they are aware of its presence, but at the same time they are left blind to the potential damage it can actually carry with it. The underlying of fear twists the way of normal people so much, that it causes them to lose a firm sense of the rational logic. This loss of reasonable thinking is what lead to the absurd ways they decided upon to determine how to expose a
Mass hysteria has caused many outbreaks and concerned many people with false threats. Mass hysteria is defined by dictionary.com as, “A condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.” In order to understand why mass hysteria in the little girls have caused the effects of rampant false accusations that lead to their unrighteous deaths, we first need to look at why mass hysteria affected the little girl and not the boys, secondly look at how mass hysteria allowed the little girls to be so influential in the trials, and finally look at how the Puritan Society gave the girls an illness that lead to the whole effects of the Trials. The Puritan