A TRIBUTE TO THE SALEM WITCHES
Brief Information on the 'Witches'
Welcome. In this tribute to the Salem Witches, my group thought it would first be beneficial to let you know about the people and animals on whom we are dedicating this to and writing this on. Please click on whichever link interests you so that you may find more information.
Those Who Were Hanged
He Who Was PressedThe Two Dogs
Quotes From the Accused
Two Witches' Petition
Bibliography
Students' Tribute Pieces
Welcome. This semester in our English class, my class members and I were exposed to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Through The Crucible we were exposed to the Salem Witch Trials, not the slightly exaggerated play version, but the real thing. It surprised us and saddened us, and through this project, this tribute to the martrys of the Trials, we are now able to express our thoughts and concerns of this matter, as well as give the public some general on the 'witches' themselves. The following are our own thoughts and tributes on the Salem Witches and the Salem Witch Trials, each was written by a student of Bonita Vista High School, our name precedes our writing. Please read through them so you can understand our thoughts on this horrible tragedy.
Ezequiel Lujan
In 1692, the Puritans under went a period of mass hysteria fueled by the fear of witchcraft. The practice of witchcraft had been discovered among the populace. The leaders of the time saw it fit to exterminate the problem quickly. This seemed like a good idea, however no one knew who the enemy was. Everyone feared everybody else and the accusations ran wild. It is understandable that the Puritans wanted to cleanse themselves of this problem, however there is no excuse for the shedding of innocent blood. The Puritans allowed themselves to be lead by their unjustifiable and irrational fears. The leaders failed to see how the people were being falsely accused. They were blinded by hysteria and innocent people died. The saddest part of the whole ordeal is how the Puritans misused the laws of the Bible. They followed the letter of the law instead of interpreting the Spirit of the law. When the victims were falsely accused there was no mercy, either they confessed to a crime they didn’t commit or be hanged is a witch. The love and mercy that Christians are supposed to demonstrate was absent. They hated the people instead of hating the act. Hopefully, we as people can learn from our past mistakes. By learning from our past, we
could avoid this from happening again, sparing innocent lives.
Akemi Nakamura
In 1692 a type of mass hysteria broke out in Salem, Massachusetts. Hundreds of people were accused and twenty people were killed for the accusations. I think that these people were probably innocent and accused with no concrete evidence to support it. The people of Salem thought that the Devil was at work in their town, and I believe he was. However, not in the way they thought. The Devil was there when the accusations fell on innocent people and when innocent people died. He was causing that, not the afflictions. It is very sad to learn about the hysteria and how it set the whole community of Salem against each other. I pay tribute to anyone of the accused that were innocent and unjustly accused.
Patricio Kondo
My personal opinion towards the Salem witch trials
might differ from other people. I think that it was just an era when the people blamed their failure to others, which led many innocent people get executed. When it was time for the accused to go to court, the people who persecute the accused brought up materials that were nothing related to the argument. They brought up materials that seemed to be some sort of fact, but it was nothing related to the topic. I think that that led most of the people lead to death for no actual reason, because most of the town people believed that the materials brought up were true.
I also think that the haughtiness of the people back then has led this massacre go by, because I haven’t heard of a person trying to speak their minds to other people. But I can imagine that if you say your personal opinion, the other people can think that you are one of the witches. So you get accused, and with a great percentage, you will get executed, and that sucks!!!
I’m not saying that there were absolutely no witches because I think that there were witches and I think they are not good people. But I’m just saying that if they are going to execute a person, they should have complete evidence that proves the person being accused what they are. But since it is too late, there is nothing that any people can do, except for one thing. That is to prevent the same mistakes that were made.
Christine Lee
After reading The Crucible, I gained an aprreciation for the insight that Arthur Miller has shown through the duality of of his book. On the one side, there is the story of the Salem Witch Trials, and on the other, the underlying message of the McCarthy hearings. However, from both of these events, we can gain an understanding of how human nature can go unchecked and result in irreversible consequences. This is why we chose to do a tribute to those who were innocent in the Salem Witch Trials.
Jonathan Discar
After reading The Crucible, I gained an general understanding of what happened in the late 1600s. And because this project was assigned, I got a better understanding of what happened. nd through this better understanding, I began to see and pity the lives of the accused witches. Later, I realized that that these witches were martrys. The Salem Martrys were truly honorable, they refused to back down on their beliefs like every other person accused around them. They stood up for their beliefs and refused to give in and admit what they did not believe in. These martrys should be recognized and we should learn from what happened to them. And it would be great to honor their image by trying to be more like them.
Our Group: Zeke Lujan, Jonathan Discar, Patricio Kondo, Christine Lee, Akemi Nakamura
Disclaimer: We are a group of students in high school, in no way officials on this topic. However, we are concerned about what happened and wish to leave tribute to those who have been killed. Please do not sue us.