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Moises Roman

Ms. Smith

English 11 - Period 1

26 January 2018

Accused for the Right Reason?

The Salem witch trials were caused by hysteria, or so people thought that’s the reason

why it was made. The trials were an event made by a religious group called “Puritans” in which

would kill or arrest suspected witches, that would “haunt” many villagers. Many suspect, that it

was caused by a few main reasons were fear, power, revenge, jealousy, and reputation. They

were all caused for these own reasons because they all are shown in The Crucible as also

discussed in other outside resources.

In The Crucible, shows that many fell in the hysteria by fear. Fear was a big reason to

agonize because people show that they are terrified and lead to anger making people aggressive.

Also many have been brought together to see many executions of the cursed people that live in

Salem. As in the beginning of The Crucible, “As the time of these events Parris was in his

middle forties. In history he cut a villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for

him”(Miller 459). What the author states is that Parris was seen as a person of distrust and was

feared by few in the town. Which shows that he could have been traumatising the people that live

in Salem for many reasons. As shown in a Salem Witch Trials DBQ, there is a quote coming

from the Bible(King James version), “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”(DBQ 4). This shows

that once a witch is found or suspect of a witch they should be killed in order to save them from

their suffering. Could also be represented as to kill any women who does any kind of evil magic.
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The town’s people would show that many would be hanged by their own people and for that they

were petrified and did not accept them back in town.

Many in today's society they all have one goal, having power. The reason is because once

a person has capacity they could go mad with it. According to document number 9, it gives a

map that shows accusers, defenders, and accused witches. It shows that the witches were mostly

found from the right side of the Salem village, while on the left side were accusers(Document 9).

As discussed in class, it said that the poor would be the left side and the right were the rich,

which would demonstrate that the poor could have accused the rich on purpose to take power

over them after the trials. Onto the point, the trials were connected to the objective, for they

would brawl in order to sustain power over others. According to Miller,“Putnam: A moment, Mr.

Proctor. What lumber is that you’re draggin’, if I may ask you? Proctor: My lumber. From out

my forest by the riverside. Putnam: Why, we are surely gone wild this year. What anarchy is

this? That tract is in my bounds, it’s in my bounds, Mr. Proctor” (Miller 475). In this quote, it

shows what kind of person he is and how he wants to have “his land” to himself. Which later

shows that he is wanting to keep other people's land for himself and would make his daughter act

to get a man prosecuted.

Many people do crazy things when dealing with revenge. The reason why revenge makes

a huge impact on “The Salem Witch Trials” is because others would accuse another for revenge.

According to history.com, “The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692,

after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the

devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.Such as Parris making Proctor a menace to

the town”(History.com 1). This shows that many women were accused it does not go to detail in

this part but it goes on that many young girls would accuse older women just by having more
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authority. As Parris tries to accuse or create a bad reputation for Proctor,“Parris: Such a Christian

that will not come to church but once in a month”(Miller 509). As this quote shows, Parris give

information about Proctor that only the Church would know, giving proof of him being a

possible witch. The reason why Proctor does not go to church is because he think that Parris is

not good enough for the Church to be in his power.

In The Crucible jealousy is the the reason that makes the biggest effect in the play. The

reason is because the antagonist of the play, Abigail, decided to make the trials a thing. This

gives an idea of why Abigail became the bad person, “Abigail:(with a bitter anger). Oh, I marvel

how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be- Proctor:(angered-at himself as well).

You’ll speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!”(Miller 470-471). The reason is because she wants to have

Proctor to herself but he is married to Elizabeth. Abigail’s hatred bitterness and jealousy envies

her, therefore wanting to kill Ms.Proctor and accuses her as a witch. According the the New

York Times articles, “The dateline is as recognizable as any in American history. Fourteen

women and five men, convicted of witchcraft, were hanged…”(Kamensky 1). It states that many

were accused of being married or not single, in the other case the men were killed for have more

authority over things such as land and power of things.

For many in the world their reputation is something many protect from others harming it.

Such as in the ending of The Crucible Proctor wants to keep his reputation safe and decides not

to confess as being a “witch”. There are two people in this play that always end up fighting for

their own reputation, which is Reverend Parris and John Proctor. “Parris: Beware this man, Your

Excellency, this man is mischief”(Miller 508). This shows that Parris has distrust of Proctor and

wants the people of the court to do the same. Also that Proctor could say something that could

make sense and could affect Parris in a bad way. Another scene shows the true colors that
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Proctor is,“Proctor:(with a cry of his whole soul). Because it is my name! Because I cannot have

another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the

feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me

my name!”(Miller 538-539). This shows that in this time many people only cared about what

their name represented to the townspeople. Sad to know that many in this situation only cared of

what people thought of them after death, which make Proctor a perfect example because he

decided to die instead of meeting his new child and have his life. He ends up dying and keeps his

name as a man of his word and other cared of how people thought of him.

In conclusion, many hysterias are build up by many things but a few were fear, power,

revenge, jealousy, and reputation. In today’s society many men are being accused of sexual

misconduct such as numerous people were accused as being witches. It is shown that with a

ability of showing some kind of proof many things could be problematic. Such as many

reputations could be destroyed as these things are being processed by time.

Works Cited

Beers, G. Kylene, et al. California Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Accessed 17

Jan. 2018.
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History.com Staff. “Salem Witch Trials.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2011,

www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials. Accessed 17 Jan. 2018.

Kamensky, Jane. “'The Witches: Salem, 1692,' by Stacy Schiff.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 27 Oct. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/books/review/the-witch Es-

salem-1692-by-stacy-schiff.html. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

King James “Exodus 22:18” Salem DBQ.2002.http://sehnhs.org/ourpages/auto/2014/9/22/36654

36/Salem%20short.pdf. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

"Salem witch trials." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 26 Jan. 2016.

school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Salem-witch-trials/65052. Accessed 17 Jan. 2018.

“The DBQ Project.” Salem DBQ. 2002.http://sehnhs.org/ourpages/auto/2014/9/22/3665436/Sale

m%20short.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan. 2018.