SALEM WITCH TRIALS
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Many years ago Christians and various other religions believed in the 'Devil'. They believed this 'Devil' could give certain people powers in return for their loyalty. these people were known as witches. thousands of people, who were mainly women, were suspected to be witches. During February 1692 and 1693 a series of trials were held to convict these supposed witches, these trials were known as the Salem Witch Trials. more than 200 people were accused of practising witchcraft and 20 were executed. overtime it was admitted that these trial were a mistake and families of those convicted were compensated.
The PURITAN beliefs
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Puritans were settlers who left England in pursue of religious tolerance. The Puritans had a strict and rigid lifestyles. It was against the law for them to not go to Church, where men and women sat separately. They were expected to work hard and hold back their emotions and opinions. Puritans believed all sins should be punished; sins as little as sleeping in Church to greater sins like stealing. They also believed in the Devil and believed that Satan would use the weakest people e.g. women and the insane, to carry out his work. This was regarded as a form of witchcraft and it was considered the greatest sin a person could commit and, punishable by death.
How and why is historical context so important to our understanding of the play?
The historical context of the crucible ascends from the Salem witch trials, which occurred in 1692. Miller visited Salem and read transcripts of the witchcraft trials which took place there. This comes as a part inspiration for Millers play, however, the wider context and theme resides around the context of Miller’s era: communism.
In his article, ‘Why I wrote the crucible’ Miller states that he wanted to write a play about the communist paranoia of his period but, he could not do this as ‘writing a play about this environment was like trying to pick ones teeth with a ball of wool.’ From this we can acknowledge that writing about communism openly would not have been allowed, therefore, Miller uses the crucible to demonstrate that the society he lived in was not much different to the Salem witch trials. This is important for understanding why Miller wrote the play in the first place. Knowing this can help the audiences to make links between Millers time period and the Salem witch trials. For example during the ‘McCarthyism’ years in 1950s America, there was a great paranoia about communists working in America which frightened people into believing America would soon be taken over by communists. This is similar to the play as, instead of being accused as communists, they were being accused of being witches. This context is quite useful for the audiences as they may relate to the play one a more personal level. Despite this, not knowing the context will not decrease a person’s chance of understating the play. This is because the play revolves around the central theme of paranoia and labelling; the paranoia of a person saying one thing can lead a big issue which can be used to frighten people into believing there is a bigger than there actually is. The play also highlights that once a person is labelled it is hard to escape that label; therefore, it is a constant battle to prove your innocence. These concepts can be applied to everyday life as one store, such as the MPs spending tax money, can lead to a greater suspicion. This is illustrated in the play but the historical context does not necessarily have to be known to the audience in order to understand this.
In his article, ‘Why I wrote the crucible’ Miller states that he wanted to write a play about the communist paranoia of his period but, he could not do this as ‘writing a play about this environment was like trying to pick ones teeth with a ball of wool.’ From this we can acknowledge that writing about communism openly would not have been allowed, therefore, Miller uses the crucible to demonstrate that the society he lived in was not much different to the Salem witch trials. This is important for understanding why Miller wrote the play in the first place. Knowing this can help the audiences to make links between Millers time period and the Salem witch trials. For example during the ‘McCarthyism’ years in 1950s America, there was a great paranoia about communists working in America which frightened people into believing America would soon be taken over by communists. This is similar to the play as, instead of being accused as communists, they were being accused of being witches. This context is quite useful for the audiences as they may relate to the play one a more personal level. Despite this, not knowing the context will not decrease a person’s chance of understating the play. This is because the play revolves around the central theme of paranoia and labelling; the paranoia of a person saying one thing can lead a big issue which can be used to frighten people into believing there is a bigger than there actually is. The play also highlights that once a person is labelled it is hard to escape that label; therefore, it is a constant battle to prove your innocence. These concepts can be applied to everyday life as one store, such as the MPs spending tax money, can lead to a greater suspicion. This is illustrated in the play but the historical context does not necessarily have to be known to the audience in order to understand this.