Comparison of The Crucible And Don't Ask, Don't Tell

During 1692 it was a very confusing time for the new Americans, known as The Salem Witch Trials. The witch trials was finger pointing and blame about who was a witch and who was not. People were afraid of the unknown and turned to religion and blamed witch craft on everything. This outbreak caused extreme confusion and disorder among an abundance of colonists in a community. The events that occurred describes a shameful time for colonists.

In the colonial era in Salem, Massachusetts the idea of witches became present in this time, this caused the Salem Witch Trials which killed and falsely accused many people from 1692-1693. Those accused of being a witch or part of the witch trials usually had some strange oddity to them, or they were different than the average person. People with any abnormality from the regular society of 1692-1693 would have been accused of being a part of the Salem Witch Trials and was the cause of this horrific event that happened from around 1692-1693. The largest “abnormality” group was the females at the time, most females in this area and time period would be accused of being a witch which would lead to the idea of sexism. People who wouldn't attend church like the rest society would be thought as outcasts or abnormal, and people who always had to depend on others and were less than average society, would most likely be accused of witchcraft.

Puritans in Salem were colonists that had left England to seek religious tolerance. The life of a Puritan was extremely restrained and strict. Reverend Samuel Parris, was appointed minister to the village’s only church in 1689, to later have strong objections lodged against him in 1691. Parris’ response was that the Devil was set on destroying their, to which his job was to bring God back to Salem village. The first to be afflicted was his daughter, Betty, and niece, Abigail. After trying to cure both girls, it was concluded that witchcraft was the cause of their inability to control their own bodies. The majority of villagers who were accused of witchcraft did not belong to the covenant, implying that those who didn’t live the same life as a Puritan were easily the ones behind the witchcraft. During these accusations, mostly women were accused of witchcraft. As mentioned in ___________ , it said that “As Richard Latner has recently shown, there was ‘an environment of divisive religious contention’ in

The novel A Delusion of Satan written by Frances Hill describes the history of the Salem Witch Trials (“Salem”) in 1692, the causes and effects of the witch hysteria, and the biographies of major characters associated with the trials. In the novel, Hill started out explaining the Puritans’ beliefs and customs, the gender roles of men and women in Salem and why women were easily accused of being witches and practicing witchcraft in the 17th century. During that time, women were easily accused of practicing witchcraft because they were viewed as physically, politically and spiritually weaker than men. Men were perceived as the power, status, and worthy in the society, and they dominated women’s behavior and social status. In the 17th century, “Hegemonic Masculinity” was the criterion, and women were seen as “physically weaker” and inferior compared to men in the society, which made them easily become the targets of witch hunt (Mammone). Women were politically weaker than men because all of the high positions in the society and the Puritan Church were held by men, such as the position of judge, prosecutor and minister. As the Puritan believed in the biblical story of Adam and Eve, women were viewed as spiritually weaker than men. The souls of women were perceived as vulnerable to the devil’s traps, while the souls of men were less susceptible to the devil’s temptations (“The Salem Hysteria”). Therefore, the gender roles of men and women in the 17th century Salem society showed

This condemnation eventually led to the introduction of the separation of homosexuals from military service as seen with the neutral blue discharges which were often given to homosexual servicemen starting in 1916 . This neutral discharge was then labeled “general” and “undesirable”, resulting in a less honorable discharge. Discharges concerning men who were found to be guilty in engaging in homosexual acts were severely different than those who were neutrally discharged. If this were the case then you were then dishonorably discharged (“Don't Ask, Don't Tell” - Wikipedia). The current policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Harass, Don't Pursue1, derived from the original 1993 Department of Defense Directive 1332.14 coined Don't Ask, Don't Tell, ensures that any American citizen can participate in the Armed Forces. This policy is a step-up from the usual immediate discharge, however, this is only if the service member does not identify

The issue of gays in the military has been controversial in the United States for many decades. Over these decades there have been many different proposals as to what approach to take in order to handle the situation of homosexuals in the military. However, in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for President of the United States, he made a promise to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military if he was elected (Washington Post). Bill Clinton followed through with his promise, and in December 1993 he instituted “a defense directive that military applicants should not to be asked about their sexual orientation” (Washington Post). This is now known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the result

Carol Karlsen 's "The Devil in the Shape of a Woman” was written to provide the reader with an understanding of the role of the “witch” in colonial New England. During the early colonial period, pilgrims lived in a male-dominated society and the classical witch hunts were conducted in an attempt to maintain this societal structure. Since these hunts were placed under a religious guise, it was simple for these individuals to act as if they were maintaining the safety and justice of society. Karlsen explains that in many instances, women who were labelled as witches were often females that had managed to acquire great economic and social status and society. In fear of these women, the neighborhood targeted them and called them witches to weaken their power. Independent of guilt, women who were accused of witchcraft could not possibly recovered. If they claimed their innocence, they would be stoned or burned to death because the counsel would decide that they were not being truthful. If they admitted to their guilt, their place in society would be marred and they would be embarrassed for partaking in these evil acts. Through this violence, men have been able to maintain their place in Puritan society. In her book, Karlsen aims to provide the reader new insight into the witch trials, demonstrating the societal, rather than religious causes for this well-known historic tragedy.

He attempts to squander the idea that every aspect regarding the troops were pleasant and agreeable. The system was not free from prejudice and discrimination. Minorities in the military was unpleasant, several black soldiers were killed or wounded for trying to integrate army facilities. “Others received dishonorable discharges for resisting discrimination.” Racist white MPs beat up black soldiers and white girls caught together. Jim crow was a part of the dominant military culture. Gay men in military were frowned upon during the war, according to Adams this is an understatement. Men who were caught and found guilty of homosexual acts received dishonorable discharges, which stopped them from getting veterans’ benefits and career advancement in Civilian Society. Sometimes those who were caught received heavy prison sentences or put in stockades where MPs often abused them. The pursuit to punish homosexuals wasted time and resources. The chapter features the events on the on the impact of America in World war II and the treatment of blacks, Indians, minority groups, women, and homosexuals in the military. He claims there are many myths surrounding World War II. Even Though, the achievement of the American War Machine was remarkable it was not the only factor in allied victory.  He dispels the idea that this era was a “golden era,” and does

Karen O. Donovan 's article about military culture explores military tradition, and the impact social changes in society has on the military. These changes included the policy change regarding gays six years ago. At that time gays were acknowledged in the military when the military ended years old

The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is a major policy of the armed forces of the United States, and allows a number of people to serve their country. This policy restricts the United States armed forces from discovering gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy has, in a way, limited homosexuals from completely fulfilling their military duties by forcing them to serve in the military silent about their personal lives. The policy is a violation of equal rights, forces homosexuals to violate the military code of honor, and causes disputes among fellow soldiers and should be repealed.

Throughout the witch hunts, women were the primary target; most victims being midwives, native healers, single women who lived alone, people against whom neighbors had a grudge or practitioners of ancient pagan rituals. Although not all were women, 75 to 90% of accused witches were in fact women (Levack,. p. 124), forcing one to question the affects of the harsh portrayal of women being placed on women.

The book The Devil in the Shape of a Women summarizes the witch in colonial New England, which then leads to more broadened subjects such as the role and position of women in a Puritan society. Karlsen writes about how in Colonial New England it is more likely for a women to be accused of witchcraft over a man. Most of these accused witches were in some way in a higher position than a man, either they stood to inherit land, had inherited, or had lost an inheritance. Karlsen steps away from the idea that witches were beggars and refers to them as “inheriting women.” This is her thesis. Older independent women who stood to inherit were more likely to be accused of witchcraft because they were thought to be threatening the impugned order of Puritan society or because they brought challenges to the economic, social, and gender hierarchies.

A Historical Critique of Homosexual Exclusions from the Armed Forces using the concepts of Michel Foucault

Witchcraft can be seen anywhere in today’s modern society, including movies, books, TV shows, fairy tales, poems, plays, and several other places and each of these examples show the evil of a witch. Belief in witchcraft has gone all the way back to the 400’s when St. Augustine told his people that there was no way for witches to live in God’s world and have supernatural powers, but soon people started to believe in the mystical powers of witches. These beliefs began to turn into fear and accusations, blaming witchcraft for all the bad that had been happening during this time, such as diseases, infertility, crops dying, and many more. The court of this time would execute or torture almost any person that had been accused of witchcraft. Salem, Massachusetts is a spectacle that has left a considerable mark upon the world due to witchcraft. This town holds great stories and gruesome deaths that many have been taught through school. The story that this town holds goes all the way back to the sixteen hundreds when many residents of Salem were considered to be strict Puritans which is known as a group of Protestants that sought to simplify and highly regulate forms of worship. Salem is well-known for the witchcraft trials that had taken place in this town due to young girls claiming that they had been hexed by a witch in their community. Many of the people of Salem grew extremely suspicious of others because of these accusations that were made by the preacher’s daughter and niece.

During the late 1940’s, early 1950’s Americans were dealing with numerous historical events. Soldiers are settling back into the states, becoming accumulated with their families and friends yet again after the end of World War 2. The difference now was the resurgence of homosexuality that was somewhat unchecked while the U.S was at war. Since the main focus was mainly on the war itself, the author describes how the evangelicals believed that now “a new type of man threatened the cultural dominance of strong fathers: gay men” (Author, 2017)