The Crucible Prebles Lit Lounge坩埚普雷布尔的客厅.pptVIP

The Crucible A witch hunt and a metaphor * * In the 1600s, Puritans settled on the East coast of the United States. They brought with them the hope of religious freedom, but instead became embroiled in hysteria over the existence of witches. They had been persecuted in their native England, but they created a theocracy and eventually persecuted others. Most of those accused of being witches were women. Many were healers, and used plants to heal people. Many were without family, and this made them easy targets. They were people who did not fit in with the mainstream for some reason. One of the ways most witches were accused was with the use of “spectral evidence.” If someone said they had seen the accused with the devil in a dream, or that the accused had visited them in the night, or had hurt them, it was taken as evidence that the devil was at work. 20 executed Between 175 to 200 imprisoned How did it start? In 1692, several girls in the village of Salem, Massachusetts became intrigued when a West Indian servant told them stories of magic and voodoo from her native land. Bored and restricted by the oppressive Puritan life, the girls slipped into the woods one night and “conjured” love charms and hexes. One girl, Betty Parris, slipped into unconsciousness when her father caught them. She wouldn’t wake up, and this started the discussion of witchcraft. To avoid punishment, the girls created the story of the “witches” who made them dance and conjure the spells. Why did it happen? It began as a way for the oppressed girls to avoid being punished. It then became an ideal way to get revenge on anyone whom you disliked. People started accusing their neighbors of being witches so they could steal their farmland. People accused others of being witches if they wanted to steal their husbands or wives or possessions. Those accused of being witches were most often found guilty. Sometimes they were sentenced to be tied to a rock dunked in a pond, and if they sank, t