Witch Hunts 101 “Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.” The Salem witch trials took place from 1692 to 1693, when the civilians of Salem believed that witchcraft was consuming their town. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the restrictive Puritan society and town of Salem is displayed to the reader. These trials are nothing more than false accusations that imprisoned hundreds of people, and twenty people were executed. If one is put on trial and does not admit to witchcraft, they will be executed. Frequently, those accused will lie and admit to it, which usually ends in imprisonment rather than death. In the play, there is an extremely apparent segregation between the town’s members. Usually, the people
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Miller highlights the differences between the two and shows that insiders are more credible than outsiders. For example, when Abigail accuses Tituba of witchcraft, she claims that Tituba “comes to [her] while [she] sleep[s]... [she] always hear[s] her laughing... [She] hear[s] her singing her Barbados songs and tempting [her]” (Miller 44); in other words, she lies about Tituba’s involvement with witchcraft and is trusted. Miller is able to present the vast segregation between the insiders and outsiders by showing that Abigail is trusted because she is an insider, while Tituba is untrustworthy because she is an outsider. This same separation is present throughout the entire novel. Another example of this is when Betty randomly wakes up and starts claiming she saw numerous people with the Devil, and Abigail chimes in listing people as well. First, Betty rises and frantically says that she “saw George Jacobs with the Devil! [She] saw Goody Howe with the Devil!” (Miller 48); again, essentially just listing the names that pop into her head because the town has faith in her judgement. Together, Abigail and Betty list eleven different people that apparently have relations with the Devil, an exceptionally preposterous claim, but they are town insiders, and those listed are town outsiders. In Salem, credibility is based on how high one is on the social scale, even if it is clear that an insider is …show more content…
In America, “outsiders” are treated poorly and generally have a bad reputation. There are many groups that are oppressed, but recently Muslims have been treated poorly. Just a couple weeks ago, President Trump signed an executive order that prevented seven mainly Muslim countries from coming to America. This means that “the country will not accept any refugees for the next four months… while vetting procedures are reviewed” (Vitkovskaya et al); which means those fleeing from the harsh conditions in Middle Eastern countries cannot come to “the land of the free.” Similarly to the outsiders in The Crucible, Muslims are judged and pushed way and generalized as one bad person. There is no real reason to exclude this group of people and assume they are untrustworthy, which is exactly what the insiders do in the play. For example, Abigail accuses townsmen of witchcraft left and right with no cause, and Trump is essentially accusing Muslims of terrorism with little to no cause. Muslims can be compared to the outsiders in Salem because they are “hunted” simply because of their religious preferences. Especially in the executive order, which is an “order [that] covers seven majority Muslim countries… [and] responds to no particular threat” (Friedersdorf); in other words, the seven countries blocked by the order are not threatening and do not put America at risk. Those people who chose not to fully believe in the
Miller highlights the differences between the two and shows that insiders are more credible than outsiders. For example, when Abigail accuses Tituba of witchcraft, she claims that Tituba “comes to [her] while [she] sleep[s]... [she] always hear[s] her laughing... [She] hear[s] her singing her Barbados songs and tempting [her]” (Miller 44); in other words, she lies about Tituba’s involvement with witchcraft and is trusted. Miller is able to present the vast segregation between the insiders and outsiders by showing that Abigail is trusted because she is an insider, while Tituba is untrustworthy because she is an outsider. This same separation is present throughout the entire novel. Another example of this is when Betty randomly wakes up and starts claiming she saw numerous people with the Devil, and Abigail chimes in listing people as well. First, Betty rises and frantically says that she “saw George Jacobs with the Devil! [She] saw Goody Howe with the Devil!” (Miller 48); again, essentially just listing the names that pop into her head because the town has faith in her judgement. Together, Abigail and Betty list eleven different people that apparently have relations with the Devil, an exceptionally preposterous claim, but they are town insiders, and those listed are town outsiders. In Salem, credibility is based on how high one is on the social scale, even if it is clear that an insider is …show more content…
In America, “outsiders” are treated poorly and generally have a bad reputation. There are many groups that are oppressed, but recently Muslims have been treated poorly. Just a couple weeks ago, President Trump signed an executive order that prevented seven mainly Muslim countries from coming to America. This means that “the country will not accept any refugees for the next four months… while vetting procedures are reviewed” (Vitkovskaya et al); which means those fleeing from the harsh conditions in Middle Eastern countries cannot come to “the land of the free.” Similarly to the outsiders in The Crucible, Muslims are judged and pushed way and generalized as one bad person. There is no real reason to exclude this group of people and assume they are untrustworthy, which is exactly what the insiders do in the play. For example, Abigail accuses townsmen of witchcraft left and right with no cause, and Trump is essentially accusing Muslims of terrorism with little to no cause. Muslims can be compared to the outsiders in Salem because they are “hunted” simply because of their religious preferences. Especially in the executive order, which is an “order [that] covers seven majority Muslim countries… [and] responds to no particular threat” (Friedersdorf); in other words, the seven countries blocked by the order are not threatening and do not put America at risk. Those people who chose not to fully believe in the