Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials

Part 1: Historiography of the Salem Witch Trials

The city of Salem was built by British settlers around the year 1630. Was governed and constituted on a basis Puritan population had a very conservative nature and society of the period was characterized by a strong belief in the devil. All these factors joined forces and created the ideal environment for the bloody witch hunt that took place in Salem. Began in January 1692 and lasted almost nine months, during which 19 people were hanged, one was stoned, several died in prison and hundreds were tortured. In the first year of the feminist movement Ann Petry reminded white activists of a neglected black heroine, the protagonist ofTituba of Salem Village, a young adult classic.

The author studied Barbadian herbalism, storytelling, and second sight to account for an intercultural lynching the victimization of Tituba Indian, wife of John Indian, during the Salem witch trials of 1692. Through feminist historical fiction the author sets the event against stark chiaroscuro the biracial female "other" defending herself from a white, male-controlled economic superpower. After gauging her situation in Massachusetts Colony, Tituba begins envisioning herself taunted and menaced by white hysterics. The author ties clairvoyance to a domestic scenario, the farmyard watering trough. The watery vision she views symbolizes impermanence in an amorphous British colony still establishing its place in the world. Salem Falls, first published in 2001, encompasses many of Picoult's recurrent themes—the trials of adolescence, rape, courtroom drama, scientific analysis in crime, and the roles and responsibilities of parenthood.

Thesis Statement

There were many people accused of Salem witch trials among them were specifically females. However, the interesting point is that, when and if accused, these people were not given a chance to prove their guilty no matter if the denied the charge or gave proof, once titled a witch, they stayed a witch. This is shown in the trail of the witch. The characters include a young, naive girl accused of helping a woman named Sarah Good "make a deal with the devil." Whether she testified against Sarah, or spoke honestly at the trial, Sarah would hang on the gallows. This girl was fortunate to be spared, but Sarah's death haunted every corner she turned. Another girl accused an elderly woman, Hannah, of witchcraft, based solely on the fact that she became ill shortly after seeing Hannah walking in town. Trials were not fair and that the witches were assumed to be guilty no matter what they said. Females were the specific target of witchcrafts and once presumed guilty they were pretty much doomed. They were not given a chance to prove their innocence.

Part 2: Introduction of the Primary Source of Salem Witch Trials

The primary source of Salem Witch Trials is “Examinations Of Some Of The Accused Witches In Salem, 1692”, written by the Douglas O. Linder in 2009. This is the sub part of the website. The link of the website is http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_REC.HTM

The author discusses about the Salem Village, ...