Abigail and the other girls and Parris accused Tituba of being a witch. Abigail and Parris exclaim, “She have often laughed at prayer! / She comes to me every night to go and drink blood!” (44). After Abigail and the other girls got caught they blamed Tituba to keep themselves out of trouble. Once witchcraft was mentioned everyone would say or do things out of impulse without thinking of consequences.
Once Tituba confessed to witchcraft, Abigail joined in by accusing others of witchcraft so the negative attention would not be on the girls. Once Abigail started accusing people, Betty woke up from her “infinite” sleep and joined in along with the other girls. When the trials began, it was Abigail who kept the charade going by pretending that the accused were casting their spirits upon her and the other girls in the court room. Abigail led the girls by crying out in pain, pretending to see things and shivering. When the affair with John Proctor almost came up, Abigail was quick to turn on whoever went against
Still tying into religious influences, the very physical appearance of a woman could lead to the belief that she is a witch. Warts and other natural marks of age were viewed as if they were stamps from the devil himself. Older women were the typical candidates for being a witch, many older than 50 years of age. They had no protectors, as they were often widowed, and could incite revenge if they erred in a way that would make them public targets of the community. These women were often
As early as Scene one, we learn of the motives behind Abigail’s actions as she tries to get the girls to agree on a story to protect herself. She uses the threat of violence and their belief that she might know some real witchcraft, to keep them in line, “Let either of you breath a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you... i can make you wish you had never seen the sun come
“I slunk after them, disbelieving. It could not be Irawaddy.” (95) Everyone, including Rukmani, couldn’t believe that she was capable of violence. This scene shows that even the most innocent person can’t keep all of their sufferings inside and at some point they will have to let it all out. Furthermore, Markandaya shows the reader that by being in misery, a person can make a decision that could hurt themselves and others as well. For instance, Raja was tempted to steal a calfskin in order to help out his family; consequently, he was killed.
Hysteria in Salem In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and the accused would actually be forgiven if they blamed their accusations on another individual. In this play, a group of young girls is accused of being witches. These girls then blame other people in order to get out of trouble and even pretend to be "bewitched" in front of the court during a trial. This leads into the deaths of the innocent people who are accused and automatically found guilty.
We could speculate that if more of the | | |villagers were wealthy enough to have this option, they too would have deserted the infected | | |area. When Maggie and Brand flee, they are set upon by the people of the next village because | | |they are mortally afraid that these two former Bradford servants are plague carriers. So they | | |really can’t go anywhere. When Mompellion expresses that the “plague will make heroes of us | | |all,” he is referring to Brand’s rescue of Maggie. Brand’s guilt over Maggies’ predicament is | | |what forces him to go back and get her – but is this true heroism when he is acting out of | | |guilt
When the oracle said that her son would kill his father and sleep with his mother she quickly abandoned her son to avoid that horrible fate and thanked the oracle for that. However, when Oedipus heard that Polybus was dead and realized he didn’t kill his father Jocasta said the oracle was useless. Jocasta is the type of person that chooses to be blind and accept the lies but only when they help her. If the truths help her then she will accept the truths. Jocasta is also trying to blind Oedipus in this quote.
The people of the town were pressured, accused, and tested simple tests but the girls would scream with such pain whenever the accused spoke. The victims, the girls, and the judges all were consumed in the anarchy and lost all sanity. Were people convicted of not only being witches in Salem but across the country suspicion arose and people convicted women of being witches for the simplest causes. Two girls took a joke way too far and caused disorder across the country. Not all "witches" were from Salem, MA.
Macbeth, on the other hand, does not like a possible future by the withes prophecy: that he will kill his King. This shows the difference between Lord and Lady Macbeth. It is only after much nagging and cajoling from his wife that he decides to go through with it, and then half heartedly. His wife uses insults, demeans him, and makes him feel less than a man, so Macbeth finally gives in. While Lady Macbeth is the one who sets the ball rolling, it was the witches that put the ball at the top of the hill.