What Are The Lessons Learned In The Crucible

All participants in the witch-hunt were influenced by the society that existed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem operated as a theocracy, a government ruled by and subject to religious authority. In a theocracy, people's sins are not forgiven, so that when they commit an indiscretion, they are left feeling guilty. "The witch-hunt was....a long overdue

During the year 1692, the town of Salem found itself faced with a new threat: witchcraft. According to Cotton Mather, the people believed that the devil had “tried all sorts of methods to overturn this poor plantation” (Baym and Steven 151) in order to disrupt the Pilgrims in America. Pilgrims believed that the devil had “made a dreadful knot of witches in the country… to do all sorts of mischief to the neighbors.” (Baym and Steven 151). Although Mather did not endorse this behavior, many others did, and thus the people of Salem executed the accused. However, in doing so, these Pilgrims forgot the teachings of Christ, specifically against killing others. Despite their good intentions, the Pilgrims went against their own biblical ideals with their use of execution.

In The Crucible, the theocratic Christian society where God and the law are the same, the faith of the Salem community becomes flawed and twisted as Religion is taken advantage of to serve private interests, ultimately poisoning society. This worldly abuse of Religion can be seen when members of Salem twist their faith to secure their reputation, grapple for political power, and carry out personal vengeances.

“Witch Hunt” is a term often thrown around whenever a group of people is being sought out and punished for their actions, regardless of whether they are actually guilty or not. Throughout history, there have been hundreds of different “witch hunts”, and not all of them have been hunting for witches. A few examples include the persecution of Muslims in post-9/11 USA, the sexual assault allegations of male celebrities and politicians being brought to light in 2017, and the search for communists through McCarthyism in the 1950’s. The most famous witch hunt that involved witches, though, occurred in a small village in Massachusetts called Salem, in 1692. But what caused these trials, and what made them so different from all of the others? There were no witches in Salem, but there was the impact of a sexist society on teenage girls, a desperate grab for land, and a malfunctioning legal system that allowed innocent people to be put to death. These are the three main causes of the famed Salem Witch Trials.

The view that religious beliefs were behind the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is predominantly incorrect. While the Puritan culture’s strong Christian beliefs did dictate the behaviour of New England society, for the authorities that instigated the Witch Trials, religion was a mere justification for their actions that allowed them to gain support by instilling in the masses the fear of a higher power. Their true motives lay in the political and social issues of the time, with Salem Town’s division due to two disputing families, the ever-present fear of smallpox, and the male population’s immense opposition to female independence and sexuality. Thus, while society had strong religious beliefs, they were merely a pretext for the political and social factors of family conflict, disease, and fear of women that were the true bases for the accusations dealt in 1692.

Many people are aware of the witch hunt that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692, however these same people may not be as familiar with the other witch hunt that also occurred in New England during the same year. Escaping Salem: the other witch hunt of 1692, written by Richard Godbeer, is a historical monograph that reconstructs the, mostly unheard-of witch hunt, that occurred in Stamford, Connecticut. The book also gives its readers insight into the minds of early American citizens. Thus, the theme of Escaping Salem, beside witchcraft, is human nature and Richard Godbeer’s thesis is that humans demonize others before recognizing their own share of human frailty. It is evident that he is biased toward the witches and sympathizes with them. This, of course, is not surprising since they were irrationally punished because of their neighbours unsubstantiated accusations. Richard Godbeer is currently a Professor of History at the University of Miami, who offers courses on a broad range of topics, including sex and gender in early America, witchcraft in colonial New England, religious culture in early America, and the American Revolution. He is also the author of 11 other historical monographs.

In the strict religious theocracy of Salem in the year 1692, “patrols invigilated every single activity and redressed the slightest mistake” (Lejri 91). The society affords little natural privacy to the villagers and they thus must strive to conceal their wrongdoings or risk becoming socially ostracized. In Arthur Miller’s 1953 tragedy The Crucible, this atmosphere of paranoia inevitably results in an internalization of guilt that any villager must ameliorate prior to attaining a sense of tranquility. Miller traces protagonist John Proctor's relationship with guilt to reveal that, in a society that values strict adherence to established relationship norms such as monogamy, those burdened with guilt for failing to conform to such norms will suffer from its internalization until they finally take ownership of their actions and accept the resulting consequences. In the short term, they often attempt to redistribute their guilt privately. Should that not succeed, they will resort to more frantic methods of relieving themselves of culpability in the long term, even risking their own statures in the process. Ultimately, these tormented souls hold themselves accountable, achieving both intrapersonal and interpersonal harmony by taking full responsibility for their actions.

The Salem Witch Trials were a prime part of American history during the early 17th century. During this time, religion was the prime focus and way of life within colonies. This was especially true for the Puritan way of life. Puritans first came to America in hopes of practicing Christianity their own way, to the purest form. The Puritans were fundamentalists who believed every word transcribed in the Bible by God was to be followed exactly for what it was. The idea of the devil controlling a woman and forming her into a Witch was originated from people’s lack of awareness on illness, disease or simple hysteria. The Colonists lack of expertise on the methodical approach through sciences, left them concluding to a spiritual phenomenon.

In 1692 a troubling time began in Salem, Massachusetts. It ended a year after that in 1693. It was called the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are known as a prime source of scapegoating. If you mix fear with something traumatic and stressful then the outcome will be scapegoating. Salem was a place full of fear of the devil and the witches he chose to harm others. Christians during this time had an idea that the devil chose certain people to have some wicked power to hurt and potentially kill someone. They were very afraid the devil would try to find a way to kill the Christians and all of the Christian communities.(Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice) When it was all said and done a few of the town officials publically declared that it was much overreacted and that it was a pretty big mistake. They compensated all the families of the ones who got convicted afterwards.(A Brief History)

Many people may have heard of Witch Hunt, but only a very small number of people really understand the reason behind the comical history. The 17th century New England was in change. At that time, the traditional way of dealing with things, the means of facing dissension and the laws and rules of the new era caused a dramatic tension: the confrontation between judicial system and tradition mode. In the past, people's methods of dealing with difficult things tended to appeal to supernatural powers, which led to the truth distored or buried. The emergence of the judicial system had greatly challenged this traditional method. By reading Escaping Salem we can feel the transformation process.

That wasn’t the case for a farmer in Salem named John Proctor. After John forgets to recall one of the ten commandments while reciting them to reverend Hale, Hale quickly corrects him by saying “theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small”. (Miller 1130). Theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief. Hale’s statement affirms the fact the people of Salem were supposed to be one hundred and one percent immersed in the study of and worship of God. This is important because it emphasizes that religion and life in Salem were constantly pressed on the complete reliance, and wholesome obedience to the church and God. This zealous following of their religion opened a door for the Salem Witch Trials to begin and spread like a wildfire because if you were against them, you were against what God wanted and therefore you were deemed a witch. This connects with the allegory of patriotism, because in the time of McCarthyism if you spoke against the House unamerican activities or the search for American communists, then you have put in the limelight as one yourself. This plays into the intense fear in both The Crucible and the 1950’s in which they have to allowed fear to drive them to condemn others. Evil was a large pinpoint in both societies that the pair wished to root out

Massive witch hunts were common in Europe before Salem. Since witchery was frowned upon and considered a sin and when paranoia occurred in the community, the people were determined to execute the accused. In the Puritan’s religion, it was believed that not only one’s own faith determined their destiny to Heaven or Hell, but also the communities. When one was considered to be against God’s faith, it was a top priority to purify the colony. But, there had to be some sort of proof that the accused really was a witch to justify further punishment.

Salem Witch Trials Essay The Salem Witch Trials hysteria has been imbedded within many morals and lessons throughout the course of history. These chaotic events occurred in a time where the Puritans, who had come to America seeking religious freedom, formed societies in which strict rules were set in place that were designed to go along with the will of God. The Puritan religion and the people who carried out this religion were known for being naturally suspicious of unfortunate events. They believed that if a misfortune occurred within someone's household that it was simply the will of God and would not provide help.

Many people have heard of the Salem Witch Trials and also many people have not. “The Salem Witch Trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693.” Blumberg, Jess. Some people say the Witch Trials occurred because of a fungus the people did not know about, and the fungus was consumed by them. Yet, some people believe that the people in the town just had gone completely insane. To an extent the fungus accusation was a big possibility, but it’s a possibility to an even bigger extent that many of people were hung or executed for a crime they did not commit. Living in Salem at this time was like living in a warzone, everybody was against everybody just to keep themselves safe and that is just how it was for the people

Justice, also known as fairness, isn’t apart of everyone’s minds in the Crucible, but they are limited to some choices. People had to live by rules, but even with these rules, people were able to make their own choice, by having kids, what they want for dinner, maybe even what they do in their own homes. But the main point is that there aren’t many ways to show that life during Salem was different to now days, and there aren’t many ways to show justice in a society in Salem. Justice is a hard expect to accomplish, which in Salem, it is.