In 1692, adult women and a few men accused their neighbors of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts. The core group of accusers were girls, led by Abigail Williams, who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft. The Salem witch trials began when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local people. The accused were William Barker, Sr., Mary Bradbury, and others.
Three local women with the power of witchcraft were Tituba, a West Indian woman. Abigail Williams, who manipulates the situation for her own ends, and other girls who follow her lead became key accusers. Figures like Reverend Parris and Elizabeth Booth, among others, played a prominent role in the trials, accusing countless citizens of witchcraft.
In 1962, accusations of witchcraft wreaked havoc in the isolated and theocratic society of Salem. Abigail, a 17-year-old girl, encouraged these rumors to frame Elizabeth, a prominent figure in the trials. Other young girls accused of witchcraft included Ann Putnam Jr., Elizabeth Booth, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Warren, and Mercy Lewis.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The accused were mostly women over 40 years old. Miller’s piece “The Crucible” reminds readers that many innocent people were being accused during Witchcraft.
In The Crucible Act 2, the character accused of witchcraft is Elizabeth Proctor. This accusation comes amidst the mass hysteria and witch trials. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.
📹 What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials – Brian A. Pavlac
Dig into how the infamous Salem Witch Trials began and why they remain a cautionary tale of the dangers of groupthink and …
Who is most to blame for the Salem witch trials?
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible revolves around three key characters: Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail is the primary figure responsible for the Salem witch trials, as she is the first to accuse innocent people of witchcraft. Putnam, driven by greed, is completely controlled by his desire for more land. The girls of Salem, particularly Abby, are also heavily controlled by their greed, with them being members of the court and having the power to be executed for any accusations.
Abigail is not greedy for land but for the power bestowed upon her and the other girls. She enjoys being seen as a saint, as girls in this time were used to being ignored and powerless. Thomas Putnam is a significant character in initiating the Salem witch hunt, as he blames unnatural causes for the illness among the children and firmly believes in the witchcraft.
How many people did Abigail Williams accuse in The Crucible?
Abigail Smith accused a total of 57 individuals of witchcraft, but only provided testimony against eight of them. She subsequently ceased to participate in the court proceedings, presumably departing Salem Village with Parris after the congregation dismissed him. She never offered an apology for her actions.
Who is the most responsible for witchcraft in The Crucible?
Abigail Williams is credited with spearheading the witch trials in The Crucible. Initially, she accused Tituba and then mobilized the other girls to join her, thereby deflecting the blame from herself.
Who were the main people accused in the Salem witch trials?
The Salem witch hunt began in 17th-century Puritan New England when a minister’s daughter, Betty, began to exhibit strange symptoms. The doctor suggested supernatural causes, and by March 1, 1692, three women were accused of witchcraft: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indigenous woman from Barbados. The witch hunt resulted in the deaths of 20 people, including one who was accidentally killed during torture. The Salem witch trials are still fascinating to people today because 17th-century Puritan New England was a highly codified patriarchal society.
Young women seemed to be on the same page for reasons that nobody really understands, even to this day. They may have dabbled in fortune telling to ease their anxieties about their marriage prospects, which determined their futures and financial stability. Many of the women were servants and nieces, who may have experienced heightened anxiety about their marital prospects due to lack of money and family connections. Many of them were orphaned during skirmishes with Native Americans on Massachusetts’ northern frontier and had recently experienced bloodshed, loss, and trauma.
Who accused people of witchcraft in The Crucible?
Betty Parris accused Abigail of preparing a potion in collaboration with Goody Howe, Martha Bellows, Goody Bibber, Goody Sibber, Goody Hawkins, Goody Booth, and Elizabeth Proctor. She further alleged that Goody Ballard and Isiah Goodkind had confessed to witchcraft.
Who did Tituba accuse?
Tituba, an Indian woman, was enslaved by Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem Village in Massachusetts Bay. She was crucial in the Salem witch trials, confessing to witchcraft and accusing two other women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, of the same crime. She was imprisoned for over a year but never tried. The only records of Tituba pertain to her central position in the trials.
Tituba’s birthplace is not known, but Thomas Hutchinson wrote in 1764 that she was brought into the Country from New Spain. Later historians have taken this to mean the Caribbean or Barbados, but this is speculation. Elaine G. Breslaw identified her with a “Tattuba” born circa 1662-1666, who was documented as enslaved to Samuel Thompson in Barbados in 1674. Other historians have suggested that Tituba was born in Africa.
Bernard Rosenthal objected to both lines of argument as compounded speculation, stating that Barbadian slaves were generally African, but Tituba was universally described as Indian in Puritan sources.
How many people did the Putnams accuse in The Crucible?
Thomas Putnam, son of a wealthy resident of Salem, was excluded from major inheritances by his father and father-in-law. His half-brother, Joseph, married into the Porter family, fueling ill will between the clans. Putnam, his wife Ann, and their daughter Ann Jr. all levied accusations of witchcraft, many against extended members of the Porter family. Putnam was responsible for 43 people’s accusations, while his daughter was responsible for 62.
Both Putnam and his wife died in 1699, leaving their ten children orphans. In Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible, Putnam is married to Ann Putnam and has a daughter, Ruth Putnam, who suffers from a grave illness similar to Betty Parris. They both have lost seven children in childbirth and point to witchcraft as the cause. Putnam manipulates Reverend Parris into supporting his side, using witch trials to get other villagers’ land, such as Giles Corey’s, and later takes Putnam to court regarding the issue.
Who was blamed for witchcraft in The Crucible act 1?
Act 1 alleges that multiple individuals, including Goody Good, Goody Osburn, Goody Howe, and Bridget Bishop, engaged in witchcraft practices within the forest. Some have postulated that Abigail, Becky Parris, Ruth Putnam, and Tituba may also have been involved.
Who were most of the victims of witch trials?
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions in colonial Massachusetts between March 1692 and May 1693, resulting in the executions of twenty people, most of whom were women. The trials resulted in the deaths of several individuals, including Bridget Bishop, Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, and Elizabeth Howe.
The names in parentheses preceded by “née” indicate birth family maiden names (if known) of married women who upon marriage generally took their husbands’ surnames. Due to the low population of the Massachusetts North Shore at the time of the trials, a significant percentage of local residents were related to other local residents through descent or by marriage. Many of the witchcraft accusations were driven at least in part by acrimonious relations between the families of the plaintiffs and defendants.
The list includes individuals such as Eleanor Hill-Babson, Joseph Bailey, Elizabeth Phelps/Phillips-Ballard, Sarah Bibber, Hannah Chandler-Bixby/Bigsby, Alice Booth, Elizabeth Booth, Elizabeth Wilkins-Booth, George Booth, William Bragg, Mary Fellows-Brown, Phebe Chandler, Sarah Churchill/Churchwell, John Cole, Sarah Aslebee, John DeRich, Joanna Dodd, Ralph Farnum, Mary Stevens-Coit-Fitch, Hannah Eames, Rose Foster, Mary Fuller Jr., Mary Herrick, Betty Hews, Mary Hill, Deliverance Hobbs, Elizabeth Hubbard, Jane Phillips-Hutchinson, John Indian, Mercy Lewis, Mary Swain, Abigail Martin, Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, Sarah Phelps, Mary Pickworth, Bethshua/Bethsheba Folger-Pope, Ann Carr-Putnam Sr., Ann Putnam Jr., Jemima Rea, Mary Gould-Reddington, Joseph Ring, Mary Duncan-Sargent, Susannah Sheldon, Mercy Short, Martha Sprague, Timothy Swan, Mary Thorne, Mary Walcott, Mary Warren, Mary Watkins, Elizabeth Weston, Bray Wilkins, Daniel Wilkins, Rebecca Wilkins, Samuel Wilkins, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Woodwell, and Frances Wycomb.
The trials were characterized by acrimonious relations between the families of the plaintiffs and defendants, with many accused of witchcraft being driven by acrimonious relations between the plaintiffs and defendants. The dates provided in this list use Julian-dated month and day but New Style-enumerated year (i. e., years begin on January 1 and end on December 31, in the modern style).
Who is the most to blame in The Crucible essay?
Abigail Williams, the protagonist of The Crucible, is the driving force behind the dramatic events of the story. She incites the girls to accuse others of their crimes, forcing everyone to confront Tituba in the woods rather than admit their actions.
Who is most at fault in The Crucible?
In The Crucible, Abigail is the villain as she does nothing to stop the witchcraft craze. She initially joins the girls dancing in the forest with Tituba to use the power of spirits to kill Elizabeth Proctor to be with her husband. She is jealous and desires to eliminate her competition, leading her to convince other girls to go to the woods. When caught, she realizes she should blame someone else for avoiding persecution and kills Elizabeth. Abigail conveniently accuses Elizabeth and others, using the gullibility of Salem citizens.
The Salem witch-hunt is rooted in human qualities of greed, jealousy, and manipulation. The characters in The Crucible contributed to the deaths of innocent people by pursuing personal agendas instead of being diligent members of society. Parris was terrified for his reputation, while the Putnams sought to get rich by exploiting the chaos in the town.
📹 Tituba: The First Accused Witch (WAMS E52)
Women & the American Story, Episode 52 The Salem Witch Trials are one of the most infamous tragedies in American history, yet …
Add comment