Ecology is defined as the interconnections between human and nonhuman beings. Ecology addresses the full scale of life. The theme of ecology is commonly found in American literature. Such is the case of the memoir “Black Elk Speaks” written in 1932. “Black Elk Speaks” tells the story of a member of the Sioux tribe and a relative of Crazy Horse, named Black Elk. Black Elk was a witness to the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. Throughout this memoir, Black Elk narrates the horrors he witnessed happening during what was not meant to be a battle. Black Elk portrays his spirituality by standing up to defend his people from the inhumane treatment the American soldiers have inflicted upon them. He puts on what he calls a “sacred shirt” (440). “It has a spotted eagle outstretched on the back of it, and the daybreak star was on the left shoulder. . .” (440). With his vivid and lively descriptions, the reader is able to picture Black Elk’s attire during the battle. The use of descriptive words allows the reader to also identify Black Elk as a very spiritual and very loyal tribe member. The theme of genocide is also presented in the memoir. According to Merriam-Webster, genocide is defined as the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group (merriam-webster.com). The Native Americans were persecuted and attacked because of their beliefs. Although it is not directly stated, it is believed that the American soldiers were disarming the Native Americans because they feared of a riot taking place. Throughout history, many cases of genocide exist; however, some are worse than others. The tension caused by the Native Americans allowed the Americans soldiers to fear them and their beliefs.
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...nto a deep coma. The town begins to suspect witchcraft, and the girls all agree and begin to chime in with the accusations. Their first victim was Tituba, a maid from Barbados, who is believed to be a witch. Several town members are accused of being witches, simply because their style of living was different than the one the town was used to. Because of their beliefs, this group of people was brought to court and was found guilty of witchcraft. During this time, witchcraft was considered a crime, and the punishment was hanging at the gallows. The example of genocide is presented by the “witches” being accused of witchcraft because they chose to live differently than what the norms of society were set to. Also, because of their spirituality, the local town residents were afraid of what might happen if they allow for these “witches” to reside in their Christian town.
“Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native” by Patrick Wolfe In this reading the author argues that genocide and the elimination of the American Native population through colonial settlement are inextricably linked, though are not always the same. Also,during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Indian tribes located in the Southeast United States were forcibly removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to the
hysteria brought about by the witchcraft scare in The Crucible leads to the upheaval in people’s differentiation between right and wrong, fogging their sense of true justice.
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.
In the Town of Salem Massachusetts, 1692, a group of adolescents are caught dancing in the forest. Among the adolescents in The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Mary Warren. The girls are horrified that they have been caught dancing, a sinful act, therefore they devise a story to evade punishment: they claim to have been bewitched. The first person who they accuse of witchcraft is a the black maid, Tituba. This results in her jail sentence as well as fearful suspicion throughout the town. Arthur Miller demonstrates the impact of lying as the girls recognise and manipulate their power in the town. Lead by Abigail, they go further, claiming countless others guilty and dooming them to exile. Miller demonstrates that there power is so great that even when Mary attempts to stand against her friends, she is quickly overwhelmed and once again plays along with their trickery. As the girls’ conspiracy continues, controversy arise over their truthfulness; people choose sides often lying themselves to support their side, further altering the lives of all involved.
... 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.
The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
The world never seems to learn from its mistakes. Experiences that humanity never wanted to see again are surprisingly still present in today’s society. The Salem Witch Trials of 1693 are one of these experiences. Witch-hunts usually involve moral panic or mass hysteria, and in Salem’s case, the hanging of 19 people (Notes). Unfortunately, witch-hunts are still seen today. They target large masses of innocent people, often times because they fit a certain stereotype. Most of society does not want witch-hunts but personal and society values clash creating a hysteria-filled witch-hunt. The Crucible truly embodies the atmosphere and origin of witch-hunts. It shows that fear, strong beliefs, and greed cause both ancient and modern-day witch-hunts.
A group of teenage girls were secretly dancing in the woods with a black slave, named Tituba. When they were discovered of what they were doing, the girls started accusing certain individuals in the village of dealing with witchcraft. Within a blink of an eye, the entire village is controlled by a devil that exists within the fear of each person. A drama of suspense and impact, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, explores through the individuals' vengeance, fear, reputation, and quest for power.
Growing up Black Elk and his friends were already playing the games of killing the whites and they waited impatiently to kill and scalp the first Wasichu, and bring the scalp to the village showing how strong and brave they were. One could only imagine what were the reasons that Indians were bloody-minded and brutal to the whites. After seeing their own villages, where...
The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...
When Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam fall sick, Mrs. Putnam comes to visit Mr. Parris. She speaks of Ruth’s ailment by saying, “She ails as she must- she never waked this morning, but her eyes open and she walks, and hears naught, sees naught, and cannot eat. Her soul is taken, surely” (Miller 13). Miller uses a hasty generalization to set the entire play in motion. Mrs. Putnam makes the first mention of witchcraft in the play. Mrs. Putnam is suggesting that the girls are not sick, but bewitched. With this hasty generalization, friends, family, and neighbors start being accused of witchcraft, starting with Tituba in this scene. The villagers are fully willing to accuse each other of making deals with the devil. In fact, they use this to their advantage. With a neighbor hanged, their land is available to buy. The villagers make hasty generalizations because of their fear of the devil, their fear of sin, and their advantageous nature. Their belief that God damns all sinners makes them draw hasty conclusions to try to fulfill God’s work, which is taken to an extreme.
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The togetherness of the community, the church and legal system died so that the children could protect their families' social status.
Genocide, it’s violent and bares sadness, anger and misery. Genocide is the killing of a large number of people. This often happens to those of a particular group such as a religious group or nationality. In this case, it would be a genocide run against the Native Americans. According to United To End Genocide, about 10 million Native Americans inhabited the country by the time European explorers arrived. By around 1900, it was estimated that there were only less than 300,000 Native Americans living in what is now the United States. When the Europeans came to America, they took many of the Native Americans’ homes and killed many of them. This was wrong for the Europeans to do because as the population decreased, most of the Natives’ culture, history, and, of course, innocent lives have been lost.
In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.