Facts on Crucible Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, take place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and was inspired by infamous Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials began in early 1692 when a bunch of young girls cried and claimed to be possessed by the devil and then later accused many women of witchcraft. Witches came from the belief of gaining from power devil “specifically in the devil’s practice of giving certain humans (witches) the power to harm others in return for their loyalty” (history p.1 2017). This was plot for the movie and the play. The movie follows several characters, the most notable being John and Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams and her entourage. John Proctor, one of the main characters in The Crucible, was based
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Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathrone were the only two judges in the Salem Witch Trials. In contrary to historical fact, “Thomas Danforth was Deputy Governor, a member of the Governor's Council. He joined the magistrates on only one occasion (for an examination in mid-April of Sarah Cloyce, Elizabeth Procter and John Procter).” (Gracyk p.5 2012) Miller even excluding some major characters to even further simplify the movie, as there were full panel of judges, “The full panel of magistrates for the special Court of Oyer and Terminer were in fact named by the new charter, which arrived in Massachusetts on May 14, 1692 were William Stoughton, John Richards, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Wait Winthrop, Bartholomew Gedney, Samuel Sewall, John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin and Peter Sergeant. Five of these had to be present to form a presiding bench” (Burns p.3 …show more content…
In the movie, Ruth and Betty were fallen to “illness”, however history suggests “Abigail and her 9-year-old cousin Betty began showing signs of illness in mid-January 1692.” Very concerned about his daughter’s and niece’s health, Parris calls in a doctor to identify what ails his family. “Reverend Hale writes that the girls, “were bitten and pinched by invisible agents; their arms, necks and backs turned this way and that way and returned back again so as it was impossible for them to do of themselves and beyond the power of any Epileptic Fits or natural Disease to effects.” (Yost p.1 2003) However, in the movie, Betty is shown to be completely clean, bruised free of any physical injuries and in a comatose state, whereas historically, according to Burns, both Betty and Abigail, “they had violent, physical fits, not a sleep that they could not wake from. Rev. Deodat Lawson's eye-witness account described Abigail trying to dig under chairs and attempting to run up the chimney. One interpretation of this behavior is that she was experiencing PTSD” (Burns p.5,
Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathrone were the only two judges in the Salem Witch Trials. In contrary to historical fact, “Thomas Danforth was Deputy Governor, a member of the Governor's Council. He joined the magistrates on only one occasion (for an examination in mid-April of Sarah Cloyce, Elizabeth Procter and John Procter).” (Gracyk p.5 2012) Miller even excluding some major characters to even further simplify the movie, as there were full panel of judges, “The full panel of magistrates for the special Court of Oyer and Terminer were in fact named by the new charter, which arrived in Massachusetts on May 14, 1692 were William Stoughton, John Richards, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Wait Winthrop, Bartholomew Gedney, Samuel Sewall, John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin and Peter Sergeant. Five of these had to be present to form a presiding bench” (Burns p.3 …show more content…
In the movie, Ruth and Betty were fallen to “illness”, however history suggests “Abigail and her 9-year-old cousin Betty began showing signs of illness in mid-January 1692.” Very concerned about his daughter’s and niece’s health, Parris calls in a doctor to identify what ails his family. “Reverend Hale writes that the girls, “were bitten and pinched by invisible agents; their arms, necks and backs turned this way and that way and returned back again so as it was impossible for them to do of themselves and beyond the power of any Epileptic Fits or natural Disease to effects.” (Yost p.1 2003) However, in the movie, Betty is shown to be completely clean, bruised free of any physical injuries and in a comatose state, whereas historically, according to Burns, both Betty and Abigail, “they had violent, physical fits, not a sleep that they could not wake from. Rev. Deodat Lawson's eye-witness account described Abigail trying to dig under chairs and attempting to run up the chimney. One interpretation of this behavior is that she was experiencing PTSD” (Burns p.5,