Character Analysis Of Thomas Putnam: Husband Of Ann Putnam

Thomas Putnam was the father of afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr he is considered by many historians to of played an influential role in the Salem Witch Trials. He accused and testified against 43 people while his daughter testified against 62 people. A popular view is the Putnam family used the witchcraft hysteria in Salem as a way to get revenge against their neighboring rivals and enemies, Thomas had a lengthy list of perceived enemies, including the Porters and people who associated with them, Howe, Towne, Hobbs and Wildes families of Topsfield, with whom he had engaged in land disputes with. Once the village had finally won the right to build their own church and gain their own minister, the Putnams also sought to control the church, thereby,

All the horrified villagers and upperclassmen saw the witches in action they saw the monstrous effect that black magic was apparently having on poor little child Abigail and twelve year old Ann Putnam Jr., a spell bounded choreography of outburst and spasms. “Look to her! She will have a fit presently,” one girl would cry out, pointing to another, who would promptly commence convulsing. “At other times they warned, ‘We shall all fall!’ and about seven girls would pass out, babbling to the floor. The head of the courtroom on that day was Thomas Danforth, deputy governor of Massachusetts and Harvard’s longtime treasurer, one of the several senior colonial officials . Betty's father called in more authorities to decide if witchcraft was the reason for the girl’s illness. Seeing that nothing was working not the praying or the vigils nor the sermons. Reverend decided to call in the doctors. Being puritan they did not believe in science but there were no options left. Betty was sent away, and did not participate in the trials; the other girls were joined by other young women in staging publicly putting on displays of their distress when in the presence of accused

It might appear as if Tituba is the one who is most responsible for the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. Tituba said, “No,no, chicken blood. I give she chicken blood!” (1109). She had given Abigail blood to drink so Abigail could casts a curse that could kill Elizabeth Proctor. If Tituba had never given Abigail the blood, the girls would have never gone to the forest to conjure spirits. Mrs. Putnam said, “Tituba knows how to speak to the dead, Mr. Parris” (1095). Mrs. Putnam had lost seven children soon after their births which made her believe that there was witchcraft involved in the death of her babies. Mrs. Putnam sent her only daughter to go to Tituba to conjure up the spirits of all her dead children. Clearly, if Tituba had not tried to

After Abigail Williams and the girls are discovered dancing in the forest by Reverend Parris, there are rumours of witchcraft among them, when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are found "witched". Once the girls discover this, they become more and more frightened of being accused of witchcraft. Abigail is the first to "admit" to seeing the devil, and all the other girls join in, so

People lose their senses and blamed everything on witchcraft. For example,in the first scene when Betty got sick, she laid on the bed and could not move for days. Every now and then she would even call her dead mom. Seeing that, Putman concluded, “ She cannot bear to hear Lord’s name Mr. Hale; that’s a sure sign of witchcraft” (Miller 41). With little knowledge in illnesses during that time, many died from a common cold or fever that could be easily treated nowadays. Betty, who might have caught a cold or she might have been feeling sorrow over her dead mom. Instead of using their logic to cure the illness,people assumed Betty’s illness has something to

One of the most noble and well-respected citizens of Salem, this elderly woman is kindly and sane, suggesting that Betty 's illness is simply a product of being out too late in the cold. However, because she served as midwife to Mrs. Putnam, Rebecca Nurse is charged with the supernatural murder of Putnam 's children, who were each stillborn. Rebecca Nurse is the clear martyr in the play, the most pure and saintly character hanged for witchery.

Quits and leaves and tries to save the lives of the convicted in Salem but fails. Elizabeth Proctor- Wife of John Proctor. Fired Abigail for having an affair with Proctor. Virtuous but cold.

The young girls accused a slave of the Parris’s by the name of Tituba, a homeless beggar Sarah Good, and an older, poor woman by the name of Sara Osborn. They were brought before Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne for questioning and to see if there were other witches in the community. In the questioning the two Sarahs denied guilt but Tituba confessed hoping to save herself as acting as an informer.

Greed is another human failing that leads to the false accusations of the trials. Thomas Putnam uses the hysteria to his advantage by prompting his daughter, Ruth, to accuse people of witchcraft in order to take their land. Giles Corey points this out to the judges:

Amongst the dancers was Abigail Williams, an orphan and servant to Reverend Parris. When accusations of witchcraft targeted the girls, Abigail lies and confesses to Satanism: “I danced with the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Miller 48). The puritans fear the devil so much that they willingly believe Abigail’s accusations of those consorting with the devil and imprison those she points her finger towards. Thus, Abigail uses her newfound influence to arrest the wife of her paramour, John Proctor, revealing her true feelings of greed and passion during the madness of the witch trials. Abigail was not the only abuser of mayhem; similar acts of greed and jealousy surfaced as the trials proceeded. Giles Corey, an old farmer of Salem, accuses Thomas Putnam, a wealthy and influential citizen of Salem, of making his daughter accuse landowners of witchcraft: “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeits up his property—that’s law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land....The day his daughter cried out on Jacobs, he said she’d given him a fair gift of land” (Miller 96). Thomas Putnam 's greed uses the trials as means of monetary gain, thus prolonging the trials. Salem became a boiling pot of madness that melted away everyone 's pure and lustrous facade,

How do the characters respond to the accusation of witchcraft? Why do you think they act this way? Does their religion have anything to do with their reaction?

When Giles’ wife is accused of witchcraft because of him saying that she likes to read books, he automatically gets someone to say that they know what the Putnams are up to. This doesn’t help him because he won’t say the name, and so the court can only assume that he is making it up to get them in trouble. Mr. Putnam uses his daughter’s illness to accuse people of witchcraft. He is being too selfish to see that something is really going on and he won’t accept the fact that people can see what he is up to. What he won’t even begin to notice is the fact that there is something truly wrong with his daughter and he just wants to use her to make sure that he can get Giles’ land.

On March 24, Sarah Good's daughter was accused on the charges of witchcraft. At this time the accusation was even more unbelievable considering Dorcas was four-and-a-half. Either not knowing or tricked into it, she confessed to witchcraft. Her young age was not tolerable as an excuse. She was imprisoned for eight months, chained to the other witches.

Abigail Williams was Parris' niece and was accused alongside his daughter, Betty Parris. They were accused because Tituba, a slave accused of practicing vodou, showed them Witchcraft. Tituba was Parris' slave which points out that he must have known that she was practicing Witchcraft. The jury brought Tituba into the court and questioned her, she was then found guilty

Several characters that accused others seemed to have other motifs than to cleanse the town of witchcraft. One, for instance, was Thomas Putnam. Putnam was a wealthy and greedy citizen of Salem. During the play, he accuses people of witchcraft to acquire more land. In the play, Giles Corey states that Putnam told his daughter to accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft. If Jacobs were to hang, the only citizen in Salem wealthy enough to buy his land was Putnam. Giles reported this and when he would not name the man who told him, Danforth arrests him for contempt of court. They torture Giles by placing large stones on his chest, making it hard to breathe, until he confesses. The only words Giles spoke were “more weight”.