Salem Witch Trials

There are several other terms that could replace mob psychology such as group think, group control, social psychology. Social psychology is termed as a branch of human psychology dealing with the behavior of groups and the influence of social factors on the individual. (Donahue) “An individual is subjected to a more powerful control when two or more persons manipulate variables having a common effect upon behavior”. (Skinner 323) The psychology behind this simply states that two people are more influential than one and four people more Influential than two, etc.

In the case of the Salem witch trials, this Is extremely evident. Having started with just two young girls from the same household and to grow into a state wide panic at such a fast rate supports this idea. In 1692, Salem was a Puritan village outside of Boston. The puritan teachings and beliefs were deeply revered and a way of life for the followers. The preacher of the church was Reverend Samuel Paris. His sermons were fiery, emphasizing on spiritual warfare between the saved and the dammed. Norton 18) Before the trials began, Pearls preached a series of sermons about the first verse of Psalm 1 10: “Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thin enemies thy footstool. ” (Norton 1 8) His reticular style of teaching emphasized on the vast differences between “us” and “them”; “us” being the saved and “them” being the dammed, thus instilling fear in the congregation and giving him control of his followers. To put it in a better perspective, David Hackett Fisher wrote concerning Puritan religion “Anyone outside of or contrary to that church was an agent of the devil…

It was the responsibility of the church to help such a person by introducing him to confess the indwelling of an evil spirit and free himself. If he did not confess, it were better he be killed, lest he be a vehicle through witch the devil contaminate others. (Elephant 134) With this being the Puritan mindset, it would be common to fear the repercussions of not conforming to the rules and standards of the religion. Some religious leaders use the fear that sin will keep you from Heaven and that only the leader could save you from damnation. Skinner 3 The Puritans were on a crusade against evil and those who practiced witchcraft. (Schnapps, Ties 133-148) Samuel Paris was not the only religious figure who was preaching these messages at the time. Cotton Matter was a very well known and prestigious minister at Boson’s Old North Church. He firmly believed in the practice f witchcraft. His father, Increase Matter, was extremely influential as well at the time. Both had published works about evil in the very real presence of witchcraft. These, as well as other writings were available to the public and influenced public thinking.

Cotton Matter’s first book length publication was Memorable Providence’s, Relating to Witchcraft. This publication was based on his experience with the Goodwin family. Their children became “possessed” and Matter was personally involved in the children’s deliverance. (Hill 20) Eighteen months after the Goodwin trial in Boston, Samuel Paris’ young daughter ND niece began exhibiting the same strange behavior. Having read Cotton Matter’s book, he feared the worst for the children. Once examined by Dir. Grids, and finding no plausible reason for their illness, the doctor concluded that it must be witchcraft. Starkey 45) The Paris’ owned a slave couple named Tuba and John Indian. Tuba’s growing concern for the girls inspired her to bake a witch cake. This cake contained the young girls’ urine and was to be fed to a dog. If the dog were to behave strangely, the presence of witchcraft would be confirmed. (Hill 23) Samuel Paris was horrified of these actions. After hearing what Tuba did, the girls announced that it was in fact Tuba who had bewitched them. Along with these accusations, the girls also stated two other women in the community were responsible: Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good. Norton 44) The three women were of lower nobility which made the accusations much more plausible. These women were typical suspects of witchcraft. In both Europe and America, witches were mostly female, in their forties or older, had no social power, and did not conform to the social norm. (Elephant 136) “It was easy to make that assumption because they seemed more obnoxious, that kind of seasoning is dangerous. ” (Borer 137) Many references to the accused are merely called Hags thus placing the women beneath those accusing her. In no time at all, the number of accusations and accusers increased rapidly.

Young women were receiving attention and had access to public power. The girls could shriek and scream and not be punished, but instead be looked upon as victim. (Elephant 137) The amount of fear greatly increased through out the village. To be against the group would put you in danger, thus the group grows out of fear. (Skinner 323) The girls not only grew in number but in age as well. Each girl would vary in heir emotional patterns and would feed off of each others reactions. (Starkey 45) Those who were imprisoned were accusing others and chaos rapidly ensued.

The community response became more agitated as the trials continued. Those who confessed were neither tried nor sentenced. (Elephant 138) The number of confessions only supported the girls’ accusations allowing them more credibility. Those who claimed to be innocent were hung following their trial or for one man tortured. At this point, the presence of a strong governing body could have brought a more peaceful solution and calmed the growing fear of the people. Instead, the Judges a owe ten tentacles In ten courtroom anon ten solution spun quickly out AT control.

This is an example of how mob psychology affected the outcome of these trials. The peoples’ fears were compounded by the girls’ emotional out bursts, the religious view points being expressed at this time and growing distrust of people seen as different from themselves. There was no governing body, civil or religious, that was willing or able to control public response. On the contrary, the establishment of Court of Ore and Determiner, in May of 1692, brought a new level of seriousness. Norton 194) Grand and petty Juries were formed, witnesses were called in and the charades escalated.

On December 23, the court appointed new Juries of men who felt the proceedings were too violent and they would use “another method” while conducting future trials. (Norton 291) Once these men took control of the trials, order was slowly becoming restored into play and the storm began to calm. Many who were still imprisoned were only there because they could not pay the fees to be released. Tuba was one of the last remaining to be freed since Samuel Paris refused to pay her cost of imprisonment. Norton 292) When the trials finally came to an end, twenty people had died.

This tragic and unfortunate event could have had a much more positive out come had the control of the group been enforced at an earlier time. It is clearly evident that the force of the mob caused the Salem witch trials to become so overwhelming. Increase Matter played a major influential part toward the end of the trials by opposing the manner in which Salem officials handled the allegations. (Norton 291). Luckily for the town of Salem, new laws were put into action as to how to conduct a witch trial properly. Works Cited Borer, Paul S, and Stephen Einsteinium.

It is because of this that the most prominent themes of this novel to me are hat of oppression and feminism, which I find to be constantly tied together throughout the novel. Tuba, as well as many other female characters in this book are constantly pushed around and abused simply because they are women. It seems like anytime a women in this novel tries to defend her rights as a human being they are punished for it In the most extreme ways. Tuba’s mother Bean Is the first example we see of this type of oppression.

As I have previously stated Tuba is a child of rape and it is because of this that Bean has always been distant from her daughter. Bean was a beautiful woman and this tatty gets her unwanted attention from her owner who attempts to rape her. Bean defends herself and fights him off and it is because of this that she is hung and killed. This is where you truly see how being a woman during this time seemed to be a curse because of how little respect and compassion women received from men. Bean Is treated Like she has no rights at all.

She is treated Like a piece of property who is supposed to do what she is ordered to do no matter what it is. Simply because Bean decided to defend her rights not only as a woman, but as a human being she is executed. This is one of the reasons why I feel feminism and oppression are constantly linked in this novel, Bean tries to defend herself from not only being raped but from being raped in front of her daughter and has to pay the ultimate price for It. The second a woman tries to stand up for herself she is shutdown Immediately and refused her right to a voice, freedom, and respect. N page 6 Tuba states, “My mother sorely regretted that I was not a boy. It seemed to her that a women’s fate was even more painful than a man’s. ” When you read this novel it is unfortunate how true that statement proves to be to Tuba and several there women. Women of this time lived in constant fear of the men in their world. When Tuba meets John Indian, the spirit of her mother and Mama Way warn her not to fall In love with him or any other man. On page 14 Mama Way tells Tuba, “Men do not love. They possess. They subjugate. ” It is in that moment when you see the first hint of feminism in the book.

Mama Way and Bean see that a woman does not need a man and that Tuba should have pride in her independence. To me they seem to act as Tuba’s conscience, as if she knows what they are saying to be true but she cannot help but fall into temptation. If only Tuba had listened her future men around them. They give up their own independence for the companionship of a man, which is what Tuba does with John Indian. The men in this novel control the women and the women live in fear of not only the men themselves, but of the men leaving them.

There is no sense of power for women without a man by their side. An example of this is Elizabeth Paris’ constant fear of her abusive and terrible husband, Samuel Par’s. On page 38 Elizabeth shows her fear in a conversation with Tuba, are most fortunate if you believe that a husband can be a pleasing companion ND if touching his hand does not send shivers up your spine. ‘ There she stopped as if she had said too much. ” It is this fear that bonds Tuba and Elizabeth giving Tuba her first real bond with a woman other than her mother or Mama Way, which in turn gives her a small sense of comfort.

The most prominent character for feminism and oppression in this book is Hester Preen, Tuba’s cellmate and the star of the book The Scarlet Letter. I find that Hester is a symbol for feminism and a reminder for Tuba that she does not need John Indian, nor any other man for that matter, to make her strong. Hester is a strong minder of the hardships that women have to face and the consequences of not abiding by the rules that the men have set up for them. She rejects all the ideas that are forced upon women in society, even how women are named.

During Hester and Tuba’s discussion it dawns on Tuba, “She was yet another case of a victim being branded guilty. Are women condemned to such a fate in this world? ” (page 98). Hester Preen stands as a symbol for feminist thought, hope, and equality for women. The Salem Witch Trials are responsible for many innocent women’s deaths. During these trials so many women were wrongfully accused of practicing witchcraft and hey were never even given the chance to defend themselves. All it took was one doubt and the women would be executed.

The Salem witch trials took away all the rights of the women accused and stripped them of their voice. Oppression and feminism are constantly butting heads throughout this book. When feminism begins to rise there always seems to be a man or an obstacle waiting to tear it down again. A woman during this time was forbidden from fighting the restraints that were constantly against them. Women were property and had no real rights in the eyes of a man, especially a black woman. Tuba faces many struggles during her time. Everything seems to work against her and force her into a world of darkness, tragedy, and despair.

Unfortunately Tuba was one of many women who lived in a world ruled by man’s law. There was no choice other than to abide by those laws or pay the price with their lives. Unfortunately throughout this novel that is what happened to almost every woman, starting with Bean, then Hester, then the women of the witch trials, and finally Tuba herself. Feminist rights Just simply did not exist in this time but it is the fearless women like the ones shown in this novel that I believe are the reason women have the rights that they do today.

The Crucible: Elizabeth Proctor “Let them that never lied die now to keep their souls” (1353). This quote, spoken by John Proctor, in the Crucible represents what the Salem Witch Trials were about. The Crucible, written by Aurthur Miller, was a playwright based in the 1600’s of the Salem Witch Trials in Province, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were during the time of McCarthyism; McCarthyism suggested people were guilty without hard proof. Elizabeth Proctor was a character in the Crucible that stood by her husband John, even through the lies, miscommunications, and even his death.

Elizabeth was a typical housewife, and honest women who had many mixed emotions about her marriage. Elizabeth Proctor was a Puritan housewife that tended to her husband and children. She never showed anyone of her emotions. Elizabeth was all was content and kept to herself. She also tried to please John every chance she could. “I took great care” (1292). This quote taken from the Crucible was Elizabeth making her husband stew after a long day. She wanted the stew to be up to standards so that John would be happy with her. In Act II Elizabeth had been accused of sending her spirit out. “I will fear nothing.

Tell the children I had gone to visit someone sick” (1307). The line represented here was spoken by Elizabeth after Herrick and Cheever had taken her away to the court to be questioned. Being a good housewife and mother she feels the need to keep her children happy and not worried. She tells John not to worry because she knows she is innocent and she “will fear nothing” (1307). Elizabeth Proctor was John Proctors wife and their children’s mother who looked after everyone else before herself making her a typical housewife. Honesty was a key trait to Elizabeth Proctors personality. Elizabeth had a good heart and never told a lie.

When she and John were discussing Abigail and the girls, they knew they were lying about seeing the devil and being with the devil. Elizabeth Proctor says to John “I think you must go to Salem, John; I think so. You must tell them it is a fraud” (1293). Knowing that the girls are frauds could potentially jeopardize anyone in the community if they didn’t tell anyone. She is an honest person who does not want to keep anything hidden. “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John only somewhat bewildered” (1295). Elizabeth was honest toward the man she loved.

She knew that he was a good man inside and that no matter what would happen to him that she couldn’t be the one to judge his wrong doings. Elizabeth was an honest individual with good morals. `Last, Elizabeth had many mixed emotions about her marriage. were in a silent war so to say. John had had an affair with Abigail and to get back at John, Abigail had said Elizabeth Proctor had been with the devil. Elizabeth was furious when she found out about Johns affair. Elizabeth screams, “Then go and tell her she’s a whore. Whatever promise she may sense-break it. John, break it” (1299).

Elizabeth had told John to tell Abigail this. Elizabeth was hurt and felt betrayed by John, and by telling this to Abigail I think it would have brought Elizabeth a sense of pride. Elizabeth felt guilty about never showing her emotions to John. In this quote, “John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me, Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept! ” (1295), she expresses that love could never find its way to her. When she finally found John she was happy but never showed how happy she was with him.

John was going to be killed in the end and he knew it. Judge Danforth wanted John to sign over his name that he himself was a witch. John Proctor refused and said that he would not sign away his name for something that wasn’t true. When John was taken away to be hanged, Elizabeth cried and was so sad. They, as a couple, finally had a chance to talk about their love for each other. “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him” (1358). Elizabeth Proctor spoke about her husband in this quote. He finally did something honorable and lived up to the person she knew he was and she didn’t want to take that away from him.

John and Elizabeth Proctor had a confusing marriage, but in the end they figured each other out. Elizabeth Proctor was a women in the Crucible that was honorable and trustworthy. She made sure her husband died with respect and that she, herself, was also respected. She was a good mother to her children, a good housewife to her family, and learned to be a loving women to her husband John. Elizabeth Proctor may have had mixed emotions about her marriage, but she was honest and a housewife that would do anything to make her family happy and her husband proud.

John Proctor’s Development The Crucible, first published in 1953, is about the dramatization of the Salem witch trials that takes place in Massachusetts in 1692. In The Crucible, John Proctor is the most significant person that has most effect on the ending. Every decision he makes alter the outcome of the witch trial in Salem. In the beginning, he seems reluctant to confess the truth, but in the end, he finally comes upfront and admits what he has done due to his desire of saving others.

John can be compared to a crucible because he is like a vessel that when heated to extremely high temperatures, melts down and purifies owing to the fact that he has changed tremendously throughout the book. John Proctor seems to be self-centered and inconsiderate, but because of his guilt for causing all the persecutions, he becomes ingenuous and forthright. At the outset of the book, it is revealed that John Proctor, a man in his middle thirties, once had an affair with Abigail Williams, a girl age of seventeen, when Abigail says that, “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!

Or did I dream that? It’s she put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now” (22). They not only had feelings for one another for a while but, they did more than that. According to the ten laws in Salem, one of the laws states that thou shall not commit adultery. Once Proctor realizes his immoral doings, he immediately stops his relationship with Abigail and refuses her every time she tries to get close to him. An example that clearly exemplifies this is when they are in Parris’s house, talking about what happened in the woods concerning last night.

When Abigail and John are left alone inside the room, John says, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby” (23). This shows that Proctor has changed since at first he had an affair with Abigail but when she wants to prolong it, he stands up firmly and rejects her. As people are being arrested as a result of Abigail’s accusations, John knows that it is all a pretense.

Nonetheless, he doesn’t have any eagerness to help the others that are affected due to his actions. An event that proves this is when Elizabeth encourages him to help the others. She says, “God forbid you keep that from the court, John. I think they must be told…You cannot keep it John” and he replies by saying, “I know I cannot keep it. I say I will think on it” (53). However, on the night his dear wife Elizabeth is arrested, he promises her that he will do anything in his power to free her and show everyone that Abigail is unscrupulous.

He acknowledges that the only way to make others believe that Abigail is telling lies is to tell them about their affair. In the end, he goes to Judge Hathorne ad Deputy Governor Danforth and admits by saying, “In the proper place—where my beasts are bedded. On the last night of my joy, some eight months past. She used to serve me in my house, sir…She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands” (110).

This demonstrates his want to come clean and confess what he had done wrong in the past in order to save his wife and those around him. After John tells the truth, Abigail denies it and acts as if she is a poor girl who is being treated unjustly by others even though she is doing a good deed. When Elizabeth is called forth to tell the real story, she lies in order to protect her husband’s name but, has no knowledge that he himself has confessed. As a result, the judges believe Abigail’s story and sends Proctor to jail.

While he’s in jail, people, such as Hale, persuades him to confess even though they know that he will have to lie but, they think that if he confesses, at least he will not be hanged. Proctor wants to live, so he confesses. Danforth then gives him a paper to sign and after John signs it, Danforth demands that he must also go tell the truth to the public as well. However, Proctor says, “You are the high court, your word is good enough! Tell them I confessed myself; say Proctor broke his knees and wept like a woman; say what you will, but my name cannot—” (143).

He doesn’t want to live without his name and tears the paper. As a result, he isn’t freed and is condemned to hang. This reveals at first, he wants to live so he lies, but when the judges want him to confess to the public, he rejects. Even though what he did cost him his life, he is able to have his goodness. John Proctor’s development has shown that he has truly become a good person and admits to all his actions. Throughout the book, he faces many obstacles which put him in a situation where he has no choice but to tell the truth. These obstacles allow him to make the right decisions and finally change.

What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria? 1692 was a year packed with excitement and terror for the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts. Belief and accusations of people being witches/warlocks under the possession of the Devil swept across the town and wreaked havoc among its settlers. There are many possible ways to justify this madness. However, the 3 most valid and evidential reasons are: attention-seeking, jealousy (of one another and the amount of land owned), and lack of acceptance towards each other’s physical flaws and behaviors.

Attention-seeking is bound to become an issue in a town such as Salem, merely due to the daily, mundane activities one must pursue in order to live properly. Document G states, “It was perhaps their original design to gratify a love of notoriety or of mischief by creating… excitement in their neighborhood. ” This quote is relating to the behaviors that people were displaying which made them a suspect.

Document H revolves around the idea that maybe these young girls were acting out and faking the “convulsive attacks” that were believed to be evidence in order to give the public what they expected, or wanted. These young girls created an issue much larger than they’d planned to. They most likely were just trying to make themselves known and didn’t understand the impact that their actions would have on the vulnerable minds of their town. Although attention-seeking seems to play the most obvious role in the hysteria, jealousy was also a major contributor.

Land ownership was a big deal in this time period (15th century), and the division between the farmers’ and the residents’ amount of property became a cause for vengeance (Document J). Documents K & L are perfect examples of people feeling the need for revenge. The Putnams must have believed that Rebecca Nurse did them terribly wrong when her family took over some of their land, so (as one of the wealthiest families in Salem); they used their word against hers by accusing her to be witch.

They probably wouldn’t have done so if they did not genuinely believe she had something more than they had or she did something to personally attack them. This kind of resentment towards one another must’ve became a common issue in Salem, for it seems that many accusations came from people being jealous of each other. Along with jealousy, unacceptance and judgment of people’s features and behaviors became a leading cause for someone to be called a witch. Document E uses statistics to show that a majority of the accused were middle-aged, married women.

This document’s information alone gives clues related to sexism and discrimination of age and marital status. In Document M, Linda Caporael suggests that Ergotism, an illness caused by a parasitic fungus called “ergot,” caused people to hallucinate, become delirious, and go through manic episodes. Perhaps these symptoms were misjudged to be evidence that someone was possessed. Or perhaps the people who ate and retracted the sickness from the food contaminated with ergot were the accusers, and they simply weren’t in their “right mind. In any event, there was a massive amount of judgment and lack of acceptance to one another, and this played a key role in the chaos of the Witch Trials. Accusations of witchcraft and possession put a scare and a drive to defeat into the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts that year. 20 people were killed, and more than 100 people were accused. There’s a multitude of different explanations as to why. All in all, though, the whole thing could have been avoided if it weren’t for people’s desire for attention, envy, and judgmental mindsets.

The real hero is always a hero by mistake, in my understanding this quote means, true acts of courage and bravery are always performed by people who do not intentionally set out to become heroes. I agree with this quote because a person can become a hero without realizing the impact they cause to the people around them, like they didn’t know they were going to do it, they just did it. And I’ll use the play The Crucible to justify my position.

In the play The crucible, one of the main characters displayed remarkable courage and heroism, John realizes that he must confess his sin of adultery to the courts, only to stop the fury in Salem. After he confesses, he encourages his wife to do the same, “Elizabeth, tell the truth! Elizabeth, I have confessed it!” He confesses his sin, and speaks those words, only because he is looking out for the good of the community, and others around him. He hates that his name is damaged, but feels that God will forgive him for it.

Proctor accepted the truth for what it was, not because he had to, but because speaking words of truth are actions of an honest and prideful man, that’s why I consider him as a hero. In addition there is another character in this play that I consider as a hero too, his name is Giles Corey, in the play he is killed for two different things. One thing was that he would not give Danforth the name of the person who told him that Thomas Putnam was trying to get rid of the people in the town so that he could buy their land when they were gone. This is what originally got him arrested. Later they charged him as a witch and he would not answer his indictment.

Because he didn’t answer his indictment they could not charge him with being a witch. Therefore, he saved his name and his pride. You can kill him and his wife but you are not taking his property. ‘’more wait’’ were his lasts two words. Betrayal and intolerance are some of the themes we can find in this book. The crucible is a story of betrayal, the betrayal between a husband and a wife within the sanctity of a conventional marriage. However, John Proctor who is guilty of infidelity is not alone. Many of the characters are guilty of betrayal.

Abigail betrays her whole community in order to seduce John. Those who falsely confess to witchcraft betray their relationship with God and their church. Intolerance, The accusations throughout the witch trials are an expression of intolerance. In conclusion the people turned to the girls to rely on who was a witch. The girls were led by Abigail she stunned everyone with her attitude and her ability to see the Devil. It also shows that you cannot always believe what you hear because it may not be true. It also tells us that man is not perfect, and that we can make mistakes. However, even with these mistakes, we can cleanse ourselves and purify ourselves by making what is wrong right.