Compte rendu sur la notion Mythes et Héros

Anglais

Give an account of witch hunting and blacklisting in the USA from the 17th century to anowadays.

        During all the century, people were been wrongly accused, discriminated. We are going to see some examples like Witches in Salem and the Red Scare.

        There was two groups Puritans and Pilgrims. This two group are protestants based in England.Puritanism was based on a very strict moral code : they dressed only in black or dark closes. This color mean the connection with the devil. Who’s didn’t respect the Puritan code were rejected, emprisonned or put to death. They belived in predestination and « elect », which means that God choose from birth who can live or who in damned and the forest was the home of the devil and whitches.

 The story of the witches of Salem start with American colonists who sailed to the New World, they came with their belief in witches and in the Devil. In 1692, in Salem,Massachussets, some girls fells sick ( convultsions, physical pain, fever, horrible visions,...)The Puritan community thought that they had been bewitched. Unable to explain the symptoms the community concluded that the girls were unded the influnce of th devil. The gilrs were condamned to the dunking stool or diving chair. Some of them were plunged into water, if they sank or drowned, they were not witches. If they floated, they were considered as witches and burn at the stake but in the two options the girls died.

( now we know the girl could have been poisoned to the rye-ergot )

        Like the story of Salem in 17th century, In 1950’s during the cold war, some people who are communist were treated differently or accused without any evidence like witches of Salem. It’s called the Red Scare (red is the color who represent communism and came from the senator Joseph McCarthy). In this period, people are scared of communism. In 1934, is created an House Un-American Activities Commitee (HUAC). His members have to checked for activities of communist. This members were blacklisted .

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller denunce the fear of the Witch hunt and the Red Scare in his movie. In the both situation people were wrongly accused by trampling humans right.

        In this examples peoples who have the power have benefited from people and beliefs to wrongly accused and discriminated discriminated peoples.

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