salem witch trials1

Amidst millenniums of debate, argument, and conflict concerning racial prejudges and those issues which surround their implementation, there has consistently existed a certain historical prejudice regarding various stereotypical ideas for those things which people can not understand or explain logically. While more contemporary examples of such circumstances include concepts such as McCarthyism, it is generally accepted that the most classic example of all such social tragedies based on fear and ignorance is that of the colonial era's Salem Witch Trials.

While Mc Carthyism was illustrated as a widespread fear of communism that led the United States to pursue unnecessary investigations, imprisonments, and often unprovoked acts against those who were often only remotely accused of being a "dreaded communist", the Salem witch trials led to well over a dozen executions of local women accused of practicing witchcraft and directly associating themselves with "evil magic". Although the two historical periods were parallel in their nature and content, it can be argued the much earlier witch trials were the more severely inhumane and irrational as they rendered a constant trend of

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" By September 22, the court had tried and convicted twenty-seven persons. As the pressure builds in each act, a sense of panic is bound to set in. They were examined by a doctor, ministers, and magistrates, who all concluded that they were 'bewitched'. (Miller)

Each of the play's four acts was set within a rather small room: Act I is in a bedroom in Reverend Parris' house; Act II in the Proctor's "living room"; Act III in an anteroom to the main hall of the "meeting house", and Act IV in a cell within the Salem jail. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was said to have been pressed to death by stones. senseless deaths with little or no justice ever prevailing. In 1711, heirs of the alleged witches were voted compensation for their losses. As long as there such questionable items; there will exist ignorance and over-dramatized fear.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1844
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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