Essay on Persuasive Speech: Salem Witch Trials Persuasive Speech

In 1692, when the Salem Witch Trials thrived, everyone feared a common enemy, witches. Abigail Williams, the niece of the powerful Reverend Parris, begins accusing women of being witches after she herself is accused of conversing with the devil. “...I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!”(45) The people of Salem originally had nothing to fear until Abigail William’s wild accusations. These claims led to the majority fearing that anyone was capable was witchcraft. This turned friends and even family members against each other. John Proctor, a seemingly innocent man, had been accused of participating in dark magic. Reverend John Hale is conversing with his wife to convince her to persuade her husband to confess to his sins.

The deterioration of justice in Salem was well represented by the unjust sense of guilty until proven innocent that defined the court’s process of determining the outcomes of the trials. “I have no witness and cannot prove it, except my word be taken” (56). John Proctor’s reluctance to tell Hale what was discussed between him and Abigail portray the fear of being labeled as a guilty individual and losing a precious amount of dignity due to the unjust procedures in court. In order for him to maintain his dignity and innocence, he would have to have a witness and proof of his declaration, which he

Despite his being an insignificant and non-status-holding member of society, John Proctor is a much-respected man in Salem. However, in determining his fate, he continues to make several critical and irreversible mistakes that harm his reputation. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation plays such a large role in their daily lives, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but his affair with Abigail triggers a major series of events in Salem, where simple, unproven accusations escalate to a far larger issue: “Abby—you mean to cry out still others?” “If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead” (Miller 150). In the end, Proctor decides that for the sake of his desperate circumstances, it would be better to admit to his affair, but by the time he decides to reveal his crime, it is too late to reverse all past actions. He is convicted of witchcraft and doomed to be hanged, later, when given a chance to live, he caves in and confesses to seeing the Devil, only to go back even on this last lie, because he does not have the heart to be freed and saved by a lie.

Additionally, when John states that he believes the trials are nonsense, Hale defends the court and argues that people have already confessed to which John retorts “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that?” (Miller 61). John’s argument illustrates the extremity of the court system in Salem. His argument also portrays the guilty till proven innocent system of court which shows how those accused rights were taken away and the reasoning why many of the accused did, in fact, confess. Also, when Francis Nurse brings forth a signed testament of people declaring their good opinions of Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Martha Corey, Judge Danforth commands Cheever to “have warrants drawn for all of these- arrest [them] for examination” (Miller 76). This further illustrates the corruption of the courts in that witnesses are to be arrested for going against the courts and defending the accused. Moreover, those accused in Salem were allowed virtually no representation in court and any witnesses to possibly prove their innocence to the biased courts were arrested. The occurrences mentioned demonstrate the true stripping of rights of the accused by the court during the Salem Witch Trials.

In Salem, Massachusetts today, three more people were hanged at dawn. John Proctor, Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse lost their lives after not confessing about their apparent engagement in witchcraft. Accused by the word of the girls who were once their house helpers, and who have now become officials of the court, they each stood before hundreds of people of the town who witnessed the three. Each one standing in front of a rope as they recited the prayer in unison, and were hanged one after the other.

“I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang.” John Proctor is the protagonist of the Crusible, though for the first two acts, he does little to effect the flow of the story as the reader is introduced to their setting. One is thrown into Salem village as the sparks of accuzations begin to fly setting ablaze paranoya in the name of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, our antagonist uses a lie to cover up her mistakes and decides to get something out of it when she discovers that people are ignorant enough to believe her. She takes the chance to throw allegations of witchery onto John’s innocent wife, Elizabeth. The thrust behind this action comes from the fact that a year earlier she had found her way into John Proctor’s arms and with his wife out of the picture, they could dance together on her grave… though Abigail had been in his arms, she had never been in his heart. Abigail would loose complete control of her seemingly simple scheme as she would loose her only purpose she had left in life- John. John Proctors downfall occurs before our story ever begins.We watch his once stregnths become his weaknesses. The standards he held for himself were shattered and he fumbled in picking up the pieces. His downfall did not end his story, but began it as he would have to rebuild his honor and self respect when it mattered the most.

Life in the 1600’s was arduous for members of Puritan society. Strict social rules, including defined gender-specific roles, mandatory attendance at church, no self-indulging activities, and limited personal freedoms, forced people to repress their feelings and opinions to maintain a good reputation. God was involved in every aspect of life, and punishment fell upon those who were seen as not doing God’s work and deviated from the norm. The Crucible, a play set during the events of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts during this time, focuses on the mass hysteria which plagued the people and their reactions. A group of girls went dancing in the woods, and were caught by Reverend Parris. To avoid getting in trouble, the girls, led by Abigail Williams, claimed being the victims of witchcraft. John Proctor, who previously had an affair with Abby while she worked for his family, refused to believe the accusations of witchcraft. After Abby accuses his wife, Elizabeth, John does his best to prove her innocence, yet ultimately ends up being hanged himself. The events are tragic, and many people died as a result. Abigail’s “in the moment” survival is evident in her disregard for virtue in favor of reputation throughout The Crucible, whereas John Proctor ultimately decides integrity is more important than survival through his admission of guilt.

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12) The late 1600’s to early 1700’s was a time of much happiness as well as sorrow in the small town of Salem. one man, John Proctor, was always caught in the middle of what was going on as rumors spread that witches were in the small town. Young girls control the town and the people there live in constant fear. Proctor’s relations with one of the girls ends up causing all of this to begin, and it seems that Proctor is the only one who is trying to stop it all. He is a good man and it is shown by his perseverance, genuineness, and appearance as a Christ figure in The Crucible.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 caused hysteria throughout the town rapidly. Fear and paranoia were major causes of why this incident blew out of proportion and became such an intense historical event. When terror struck in the small town of Salem, the society went berserk. The fear of being hanged for witchcraft overcame the women of the community. The constant fright to be accused of trafficking with spirits, even if one knew they were not guilty, created this accusation frenzy. All the girls who had originally claimed they were “possessed by the devil” started blaming others for being witches and conjuring these spirits upon them, especially Abigail Williams. The court of Salem had said that all who did not confess were to be hanged because they were paranoid that if the women were to lie, there still would be witches lingering in their town. Some women decided to confess, even if they were innocent, because of the fear of death. Others did not confess because they were afraid of their reputation being ruined. Rebecca Nurse, a sweet, frail old woman in the town, exclaims, “Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot” when the court tries to convince her to follow John Proctor’s lead and confess her sins. She will not confess because she knows she truly is innocent; she would rather be hanged over creating a lying confession and ruining her name. Fear and paranoia was the root cause of the Salem Witch Trials.

Elizabeth Proctor being accused of witchery by Abigail Williams has garnered the attention of all of Salem. If she is proven guilty, she will be sent to prison for eternity. Goody Proctor is known in Salem as a good Puritan with Christian values, but this accusation and her possible hanging could ruin it all. Abigail Williams, on the other hand, has gained power in the courthouse and has accused others. However, many rumors circulate the village saying that Ms. Williams is not the good Christian girl that she has recently been made out to be. I am here to deny or confirm these rumors for good and find out the answers from Ms. Williams by investigating and interviewing her.

This created a valuable tool for the empowerment of those previously not in power in Salem. Trusted individuals with sparkling reputations like Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor suddenly lost all authenticity when accused of witchcraft by those of lower social rungs. Anybody accused suddenly have their reputation and whole lives in danger unless they then confess and lay the blame on someone else. Thomas Putnam uses the charge of witchcraft in order to secure land from George Jacobs. Rebecca Nurse ends of charged simply because of infant mortality, the grief of a mother mourning her stillborn

Recent reports reveal that the people of Salem are convinced that Rebecca Nurse is innocent. There are rumors around town that a rebellion is sparking, something Reverend Parris especially fears. Another rumor is that Andover has thrown out the courts and will no longer hear anything of witchcraft. As a result, Reverend Parris asked Judge Danforth and Hawthorne to postpone the executions of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor, but Danforth refuses.

John proctor was a successful farmer who lived outside of town, Married to his wife Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor was called over to the home of reverend parris to help determine if Abigail ,who is the niece of reverend parris, Is In fact a witch. John proctor then realizes that the rumors are true of the witchcraft talk that his has heard around town. John proctor knows the truth about Abigail but does not tell. Why? John Proctor committed MAL behavior with Abigail, He had an affair with a 17 year old girl while married to his wife Elizabeth. He knows that if he tells the truth about Abigail being a witch that the truth will come out about him and his affair, so he tells lies to keep

An American literary theorist and novelist, Kenneth Burke, once said, “Wherever there is persuasion, there is rhetoric, and wherever there is rhetoric, there is meaning.” (Burke) Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer all delivered powerful persuasive speeches that will go down in history. The use of these motivational individuals’ language and persuasion played a pivotal role within the civil rights movement, the movement that achieved the most important breakthrough in the equal rights legislation. We can observe this in the speakers’ rhetoric devices like ethos, logos and pathos.