Alexis Padilla
Katie Montagna
English 100
19 September 2016
Wyrd Sisters
Introductory Paragraph with thesis
Body1: Granny’s courage
In the beginning story we see Granny Weatherwax, who is a highly regarded leader that the witches did not have, display acts of heroism by protecting a child that was just given to her in the middle of the night. Even though she is soon approached by three riders who have come to assassinate the dead King’s now orphaned child. The leader of the three assassins’ advises her to hand over the baby, but being the stubborn woman that she is she says no. He then results to threatening her when she continuously refuses. As his frustration grows with Granny he suddenly exclaims, “I can strike you down where you stand” (Pratchett 17). Now, even though Granny is the oldest woman of the three she calmly stands her ground, refusing to let his intimidation get the better of her. Another way Granny displays act of heroism is when she finds the
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They do this using only a washboard and copper stick, even though Magrat is continuously suggesting that they are not doing it the proper way. Magrat, the youngest witch, doubts Granny because she believes that a pentagon should be involved and an actual magic sword. Granny just tells her that magic is not about all of the grimoires she reads, it has to do with what you have in your head. She thus illustrates this by intimidating a demon they summon, by only using a copper stick, “We have the sword of Art…” (Pratchett 100) Granny tells the demon. At first he doubts her, just as Magrat does, until she brings down the copper stick without looking and cracking a nearby pile of lumber. She lets her heroism and courage support her until the demon believes she is actually powerful enough to hurt
Karlsen, Carol. "Witchcraft: Prejudice and Intolerance Targeted Gender During the Witch Hunts: Effects on Early Mode." setonhill.edu. n.p., 1998. Web. 18 February. .
Carlson begins her study with the theory that the afflicted among Salem's residents exhibited symptoms identical to those of individuals infected during the worldwide epidemic of encephalitis lethargica of the 1920s. She insists that "victims had nothing to gain" from coming forward to make their accusations, so that their torment must have been real; a bold statement, but one based on the author's opinion alone (27). Carlson tends to dismiss or simply fails to mention any material that does not neatly fit her theory. Any evidence that points to the fact that the afflicted girls were anything more than hapless victims of a virulent disease is not addressed. In fact, there is quite a bit of material from the testimonies produced at the trials of reputed witches that raises doubts about the accusers. But, Carlson sees cle...
. She claims that the proceeding force connected with lady as-witch in this combination creative ability handles the problem on the power that surpasses embellishment and design the particular discernment connected with witches and witchcraft throughout. Looking at these kind of queries could encourage selection that the mention of their imagination and prejudices attached to the particular "lady as-witch" idea that the current strain on females building in popularity can easily trigger anger these days. She slyly evaluates having less adequate traditional beliefs with regards to the part women performed inside creating our community, at a variety of instances.
...d to go through, and the obstacles that came in her way, which she took head on, without having any other option. She describes herself as once being "a young woman with the peaked Spanish comb in her hair and the painted fan". Granny Weatherall was changed from this young woman to a different young woman, a stronger, innocent, young woman, the day her groom, George left her at the altar. At the same time, we learn that she did move on with her life after some time.
In the story, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, written by Katherine Porter, Granny Weatherall is a character of depth. Her name is synomonous with her character. Three main qualities of her character are her strength, her endurance, and her vulnerability. Her strength is not so much physical but mental. She lies upon her bed contemplating all that she needs to do. Her daughter Cornelia does not even come close to handling affairs as well as she does in her own mind. In addition, she tell the Doctor Leave a well women alone...I'll call you when I need you. She does not like the patronizing position that she finds herself in. The fact that she has already avoided death once seems to add to her image of strength. As we follow her mental ramblings we obtain insight to her character as a woman that has endured heartache as well as hardship.
As the story of Tituba unfolds, it reveals a strong and kind hearted young woman, very different from the Tituba we meet in The Crucible. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem unveils for the reader, Tituba's life, loves, and losses. Her long and arduous journey through life is inspired by her many female counterparts, yet also hindered by her insatiable weakness for men, who also press upon her the realities of life.
The case of Anne Gunter fits the modern stereotype of witchcraft accusations and the trials that resulted from them; a young girl falsely claims that an older woman or women are causing her harm using supernatural abilities they have gained through nefarious means, sending the community into an uproar. Hysteria runs rampant through the community and the poor women are harshly punished – the formulaic story plays out similarly throughout popular media, must notably in Arthur Millers’ ‘The Crucible’. Yet in the case of young Anne Gunter from North Moreton, there is a deviation from the “standard plot” of a witchcraft trial – the women are acquitted and Miss Gunter’s subterfuge is revealed. The fact that the allegations are not only proven to be false, but a confession of such is given by Anne Gunter allows the focus to shift from the actual Gunter case to what factors played into why people were accused of witchcraft. What we can infer from the Gunter case is that people in England were accused of witchcraft because of three major things: lack of power, prestige, and plenty within society.
The children of Salem did not have many forms of entertainment, especially during the winter. There were no movies or radios, and the adults were always busy with work. Many took to reading as a form of entertainment. The young people of the town became interested in books about fortune telling and prophecies. Some formed a circle led by Tituba, slave...
When one evokes The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the image that comes to most peoples minds are that of witches with pointed hats riding broomsticks. This is not helped by the current town of Salem, Massachusetts, which profits from the hundreds of thousands of tourists a year by mythologizing the trials and those who were participants. While there have been countless books, papers, essays, and dissertations done on this subject, there never seems to be a shortage in curiosity from historians on these events. Thus, we have Bernard Rosenthal's book, Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692, another entry in the historiographical landscape of the Salem Witch Trials. This book, however, is different from most that precede it in that it does not focus on one single aspect, character, or event; rather Rosenthal tells the story of Salem in 1692 as a narrative, piecing together information principally from primary documents, while commenting on others ideas and assessments. By doing so, the audience sees that there is much more to the individual stories within the trials, and chips away at the mythology that has pervaded the subject since its happening. Instead of a typical thesis, Rosenthal writes the book as he sees the events fold out through the primary documents, so the book becomes more of an account of what happened according to primary sources in 1692 rather than a retelling under a new light.
Kocic, Ana. (2010). Salem Witchcraft Trails: The Perception of Women In History, Literature And Culture. Linguistics and Literature, Vol. 8 (Issue N1), 1-7. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal201001/lal201001-01.pdf
Carlson, Laurie M. A Fever in Salem A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1999. Print.
Toivo, Raisa M. ‘Women at Stake. Interpretations of Women’s Role in Witchcraft and Witch-Hunts since the early 20th century to the present’ Australia: University of New South Wales, 2005.
Mary Warren started out in a manner reminiscent to that of Peter Pettigrew from the famous “Harry Potter,” series; she was a timid follower of a popular group, and admired the bravery and kindness she lacked. After Mary and her so-called ‘friends’ are found dancing naked around a fire in their conservative town, they know they will likely be accused of a crime that could punish them with death; witchcraft. Mary’s friend Abigail, tells the girls to stick to their story that they were dancing in the woods and threatens to kill the girls if they reveal the truth; that Abigail was practicing witchcraft and drank blood in order to take the life of the wife of a man she had had an affair with; Elizabeth Proctor, the boss and friend of Mary Warren.
inflicts no damage upon her scaly skin. She thinks that he was quite foolish to
The witch is both vulnerable and a powerful figure. The resulting tension between power and powerlessness as a response to laws created by those in power, rather institutionalised power: men, can be seen as expressed through such binary metaphors as that of physical strength and beauty versus weakness and ugliness, kn...