showing us that the thought of murder was already at the back of his mind. Macbeth could not have been as honourable and trustworthy as people believed him to be, given that if he had had but a shred of integrity, murder would have been the last thing on his mind. Macbeth is given prophecies by the witches and he is encouraged to act on these suggestions by Lady Macbeth, but he ultimately makes the choices to murder Duncan, Macduff's family and Banquo. The fact that Macbeth feels guilt, fears being caught and fears losing the throne reveals he has hidden anxiety. If Macbeth was truly at the mercy of fate, following the prophesise that was “set out”, he would have no difficulties in carrying out his crimes.
You can not be certain as to what drove Macbeth into a bloody trail. Was it his own mind or did outside forces push him to commit all the crimes? There is a possibility of outside forces, including Lady Macbeth and the witches but also he could be victim to inner desires and ambitions which he could not control. The contrasting viewpoint is that Macbeth is the villain and that he decided to kill Duncan without much persuasion from any outer forces. It was his decision and he made it in a clear mind with the goal of becoming King.
Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories The Ergot Poisoning Theory The Salem witch trials have fascinated historians for centuries, largely because of their bizarre nature and the great uncertainty that surrounds them. One of the most intensely debated topics is the question of why the girls began to accuse seemingly random townspeople of witchcraft. However, there is little evidence to support any theory, and consequently historians
The girls did this to keep the attention off of them and avoid punishment. These harsh accusations on innocent people caused twenty deaths in their village. Abigail then became one of the many “witnesses” in the court. As soon as someone starts to suspect her of being a witch or performing witchcraft, she always manages to turn the blame back on them, whether it’s through lying or exaggerating a mysterious action. For example, she outs the blame on Tituba, who confesses to performing witchcraft.
Gillian MacDonald 21 March 2013 ENG 4U Mr. Chalmers The Ringleaders of the Salem Witch Trials In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the theme of hysteria is dominantly present throughout the entire play. It is not hard to narrow down the cause of the widespread hysteria to three people that inevitably had their hand in the trials. The devious character, Abigail, shows her wicked mind and skill of manipulation in the play so she can get what she wants, John Proctor. The slave, Tituba, gave into the accusations and started the hysteria of the witch trials. The last character that contributed to an entire town’s belief in witches would be Danforth.
Once he finds out this is true he blinds himself and banned his self from civilization forever. He is the most tragic hero because fate was a main part of the tragedy. Oedipus rose to be king then fell to become a blind person who committed incest. Hamlet main goal was to avenge his father. Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to Hamlet telling him what happened and to avenge him.
All three take advantage of their social position in different ways. Throughout the play, Putnam doesn’t employ his power properly, but instead uses it to get what he wishes. He covets other peoples land, and in order for him to take it, he manipulates his daughter to accuse them of witchcraft. As Giles mentions this in the play, “This man is killing his neighbor for his land,” (Pg. 1253) it becomes clear that Putnam is killing his colleagues by accusing them of being a “witch”, then exploits the witch trials to gain land from them.
Jack felt he needed to get revenge on his daughter‘s killer. He had a strong intuition that George Harvey, a strange man who lived near the Salmons, was the one who murdered his daughter. George was careful to cover up any evidence, so Jack had nothing but gut feeling to accuse George Harvey. Then the police department decided to put the case to rest after about six months, after all leads were exhausted and there were no more clues. Jack Salmon just wished he could have protected his daughter Susie from being murdered, but now all he could do was try to get his revenge.
In the play many characters do not take responsibility for what they do see going on. As a result many lives are taken. For example, John Proctor realizes how dangerous the witchcraft accusations are when the court officials arrest his wife, Elizabeth, for witchcraft: "The little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! I ll not give my wife to vengeance!” (Miller 34). Before his wife was arrested, John really did not see that the girls weren't just telling little “white lies”.
In a letter, she accuses three of them to have raped and killed her. The letter is found by Hannah Trevor, who decides to investigate because Daniel Josselyn, the father of her illegitimate daughter is one of the three men accused. Everything seems to prove his guiltiness, since the marks on Anthea’s neck match the imprint of his three-fingered hand. Another murder happens and Daniel is accused again, because the victim was killed with his sword. The murderer is actually William Quaid, who killed the man because he knew too much about Anthea’s plans.