Samuel Parris

Terror politics and cultural geography: Years of social, geographical and cultural uncertainty. Nicholas Hytner movie, The Crucible (1996), written by Arthur Miller, illustrates the fatal events occurred in the village of Salem, in Massachusetts, from June until September of 1692. The Salem witch trials were caused by a compound of irrational fear and mass hysteria which are connected to the abuse of power, Puritan lifestyle and their beliefs in the context of the 17th century. The aftermath of…

The Salem Witch Trials were a time of great distress for early America. Starting in spring of 1692, many people were believed to have been practicing witchcraft and for those who were put on trial, cruel and unusual punishments were often used in an attempt to prove the accused guilty. This went on for several long months, until the governor of Massachusetts dissolved the primary court used for these trials – the Court of Oyer and Terminer – in October 1692. The Salem Witch Trials had a large…

Crucible essay People would go to extreme measures in the name of love however in Salem 1692 one girl did the unthinkable to try and win the heart of another man in the town which ended up taking a turn for the worse. In the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller I think Abigail loved John Proctor in the beginning of the play however her motives changed as the story progressed. In the very first act of the play she went to the woods to have Tituba send a spirit to kill his wife because she…

occuring. Therefore, having lives of twenty innocent people taken but how do we exactly know who to blame? The person most responsible for the witch hysteria is Abigail. There are many reasons why Abigail is responsible. She’s responsible because Parris and the others only…

Being shunned in your own home can make you go crazy, but Hester Prynne pushes through her rough life after committing adultery and shows the Puritans that she isn’t all bad. After committing adultery, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter to show the crime she committed. Hester and the minister committed adultery and for this Pearl will never know her father and they will live their lives in loneliness. Growing up as a Puritan that was all Hester knew of, but after committing her sin…

Puritan society. Her upbringing and past led her to be the person she is in the play. Although one cannot excuse her for what she did, one can understand her, and even commiserate with her. To begin with, Abigail was brought up by her uncle, Reverend Parris after her family was murdered by Native Americans in front of…

The word witchcraft sounds like witches casting their mysterious spells. In reality, according to a Professor of International Studies, Robert Priest and his article On the Meaning of the Words “Witch,” “Witchcraft,” and “Sorcery”, he claims, “Under...not only the traditional healer...who has used a charm or amulet...identified as practicing “witchcraft” — and may be suspected of what witches traditionally are thought to do, bringing harm and death to others.” Priest mentions the comings of the…

The Pilgrim’s Progress Sin is the act of transgression against divine law. During the 1600s in England, there were two Conventicle Acts that made it a crime for any five people of the same family to meet in a private house under color of religion. John Bunyan, an evangelical Baptist preacher, was incarcerated for twelve years at the Bedford jail because he insisted on preaching the word of Christ. During his incarceration, he used his time wisely to write a novel called, The Pilgrim’s Progress,…

Did Father Flynn commit the crime or not? That is the question all the readers are asking themselves in the play, Doubt: A Parable. Sister Aloysius accuses Father Flynn on many different occasions, affecting his mental stability. Based on the evidence in John Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is guilty because of Donald and Father Flynn’s suspicious behavior. Also, Father Flynn is guilty because of how defensive he is and he eventually resigns. Donald Muller and…

Introduction In 1663, Brunswick, Germany was “swamped with refugees [which led to] overcrowding, brought disease and exacerbated outbreaks of the plague” compounded by multiple bad winters which caused additional social stress, anxiety, and hardships (Morton & Dähms, 2006, p. xv). Brunswick was a “fortified, medium city [that was] “predominately Protestant” of practicing Lutherans (Van Heyst, n.d., p. 113). Religion, “popular beliefs and common social characteristics of witches…[which] were…