“HALF-HANGED MARY” by Margaret Atwood In “Half-Hanged Mary,” by Margaret Atwood, it explores the mind of Mary--- a woman convicted of being a witch--- during her execution. Through a sequential order, the author was able to properly illustrate the rapid changes the main character undergoes during this process. As stated in the first section, Mary was supposedly convicted of being a witch, because of her sunburned skin, blue eyes, tattered skirts, and having a weedy farm in her name. Similar to “The Crucible,” the evidence they used to convict witches, helped to shed light on the town’s fear of the unknown. The significance of the title, refers to the strength Mary gains throughout her time being hanged. Even though she wanted to
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Rumor’s especially in a Puritan society was strong enough to get someone hanged without trial and order. The next line, however, counterfeits the first line as it states “I was milking the cow, the barn door open to the sunset.” Mary’s behavior seems ‘normal,’ in comparison to typical witch behavior. This line, also gives readers an idea of Mary as a person. Later in the stanza, Mary then states “I didn’t feel the aimed word hit and go in like a soft bullet.” From this quote, we as readers are able to connect to Mary emotionally, in terms of her feeling towards being accused as a witch. The real crime was that Mary was a woman. Women especially during this time were not respected. With a hint of sarcasm, she states “whenever there’s talk of demons these comes in handy.” In the second stanza, Mary begins to describe the hanging. At the beginning, she illustrates the rope as an ‘improvisation---’ a source of entertainment for the townspeople. If they wanted to actually kill her faster and more brutally they would’ve ‘thought of axes.’ Margaret Atwood evokes imagery when she digs deeper into Mary's current state; “trussed hands, rag in my mouth, a flag raised to salute the moon.” At the end of this stanza, she states “their own evil turned inside out like a glove, and me wearing it.” Here, she uses the glove as a metaphor
Rumor’s especially in a Puritan society was strong enough to get someone hanged without trial and order. The next line, however, counterfeits the first line as it states “I was milking the cow, the barn door open to the sunset.” Mary’s behavior seems ‘normal,’ in comparison to typical witch behavior. This line, also gives readers an idea of Mary as a person. Later in the stanza, Mary then states “I didn’t feel the aimed word hit and go in like a soft bullet.” From this quote, we as readers are able to connect to Mary emotionally, in terms of her feeling towards being accused as a witch. The real crime was that Mary was a woman. Women especially during this time were not respected. With a hint of sarcasm, she states “whenever there’s talk of demons these comes in handy.” In the second stanza, Mary begins to describe the hanging. At the beginning, she illustrates the rope as an ‘improvisation---’ a source of entertainment for the townspeople. If they wanted to actually kill her faster and more brutally they would’ve ‘thought of axes.’ Margaret Atwood evokes imagery when she digs deeper into Mary's current state; “trussed hands, rag in my mouth, a flag raised to salute the moon.” At the end of this stanza, she states “their own evil turned inside out like a glove, and me wearing it.” Here, she uses the glove as a metaphor