The myth of witches in America

Notion Myths and Heroes

The Myth of Witches in America

I will talk about the notion of Myths and Heroes and more specifically I going talk about the myth of Witches in America. We will see in the first part how the myth of witches was born in America. And in a second part the evolution of the myth.

First of all a witch is a fictional imaginary character and yet everyone knows about them. They one most of the time connected to evil. As a consequences, alleged witches are excluded and used to be killed.

The First document «  Puritanism in new England in the 17th century » talk about the concept of Puritanism. In the 17th Century in new England, puritans from England establish a strict community based on religion , on strict moral standards and values. In Puritan society anyone who did not meet the puritans standard was rejected. This concept has consequences on social life. People distrust each other. It destroy individual freedom.

The second document I’m going talk about is «  What cause the Salem witch Trials ». And I have chosen this document because I find them appropriate to understand the Salem witch trials and the beginning of the witch hunt. The myth of witches began when a few young girls, Abigail Williams, Betty Parris and Ann Putnam, accused some citizens of bewitching them. Infact, the minister’s Daughter and niece began to have satanic thoughts. They showed bizarre behavior. The Doctor think to the girls are bewitched. In that contexte, the village of Salem was a scene of a witch Hunt triggered by a wave of Paranoïa. After May 1692, sentencing have been distributed. Many people were accused , tried and sentenced to death.

After seeing how the myth of witches was born in America, we will see the evolution of the myth.

The Salem witch trials is the beginning of the witch hunt. Witch-hunting is practiced in all civilizations. It is chasing witchcraft.

The witch hunt continues in 1950 during the Cold War with Mccarthy’s ideas. It is McCarthyism and he take place in USA. The practice of making accusations of disloyalty especially of procommunist activity in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. The goal is to drive out all communist ideas and people of the United States.

Then, the third document I’m going to talk about is « The Crucible ». It is a play of Arthur Miller and he wrote it in 1953. Arthur Muller wants to show mit this piece how beliefs can lead to horrible collective behaviors. I have chosen this document to show that the myth of witches in Salem is present in our minds today.

To conclude, in all century there were heroes, legends and myths about witchcraft. Therefore some people were rejected by a country, a state or a community. Their story make them heroes.

...