Salem Witch Trial vs Mccarthyism - 1208 Words

A review of A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials, by Laurie Winn Carlson, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2000; 224 pp. $14.95 Paperback. ISBN: 1-566633095 A FEVER IN SALEM POSITS A biological cause for the early modem witchcraft epidemic, which resulted in the hanging of 19 people in Salem, MA, in 1692. Witchcraft persecution, Laurie Carlson writes, arose because of the strange behavior of the supposedly bewitched accusers. She concludes that the cause was a disease unrecognizable by the science of the time: encephalitis. The history of the Salem witchcraft epidemic is well known. In the winter of 1692, two girls suffered convulsions and hallucinations, alarming fast their families and subsequently the entire†¦show more content†¦Is Carlson suggesting the epidemic actually had supernatural influences? Carlson also takes aim at the psychological profession, as she does in an earlier footnote comparing the late 15th century witch hunting guidebook, The Malleus Maleficarum, with the handbook of the American Psychological Association, the DSM-IV. Readers of SKEPTIC may be especially interested in Carlsons brief mention of women taken by planets while they slept, remarkably similar to modern descriptions of alien abductions. As interesting as all this is, especially to skeptics in search of natural causes for apparently supernatural events, A Fever in Salem is far from exemplary. Fundamentally, the evidence offered for the epidemiological hypothesis is inconclusive. I do not doubt Carlsons statement that historical epidemiology is inherently plausible, but this does not let her off the empirical hook. A Fever in Salems recounting of events beyond Salem is alternately superficial and contradictory, in spite of the authors own assertion that her hypothesis fails if it cannot be applied to Europe as well. Europe suffered under witchcraft accusations for more than a century, with approximately 100,000 casualties. Carlson hints that the Salem symptoms could be compared to what happened in Europe or other areas of New England, but never fully explores it. If she wants to build her case solely on Salem, discussion of witchcraft outside ofShow MoreRelatedThe Powerless- Analysing Mccarthyism Vs. The Salem Witch Trials2054 Words   |  9 PagesThe Empowerment of the Powerless- Analysing McCarthyism Vs. The Salem Witch Trials During the witch trials, almost two hundred innocent people were convicted of consorting with the Devil and practicing witchcraft, and a surprising twenty people were hanged for their lack of confession. The source for this mass hysteria, was nothing more than the silent influence of eleven young girls ranging from the age of nine to twenty-five. They began to accuse their neighbors of witchcraft, gaining them theRead MoreArthur Millers The Crucible And The Second Red Scare1293 Words   |  6 Pagesidentified as Communists† (Miller â€Å"Why I Wrote The Crucible†). Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is an effective allegory due to Miller connecting Salem to McCarthyism by the showing the people of Salem being driven into rash actions and unjust court systems because of their paranoid spirits. The most apparent similarities between Salem and the Second Red Scare are the trials themselves, however, Miller does not utilize them as his strongest connections. Miller create s the most connections through mirroring charactersRead MoreThe Mccarthy Hearings Vs The Salem Witch Trials Essay1011 Words   |  5 PagesMcCarthy Hearings vs The Salem Witch Trials The McCarthy Hearings and the Salem Witch Trials both transformed the thought process of Americans today. Despite being described as completely unique and distinguished events, they both are eerily similar in appearance. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are both described as witch hunts with several similarities in the way the inspired fear but they have several differences in the motivation and the end of each event. The Salem Witch Trials is know forRead MoreMccarthyism And The Salem Witch Trials1195 Words   |  5 PagesMcCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence (â€Å"McCarthyism†). The Salem Witch Trials was when more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed because of these accusations (Brooks). During the Red Scare like there are accusations of people committing treason during the Red Scare. In The Crucible people are accused of being witches during the Salem Witch trials. There are many similarities and differencesRead MoreThe Crucible : An Allegory For The Red Scare2011 Words   |  9 PagesAmericans being equal in status to White Americans during the Civil Rights movement. Although the crucible takes place in 1692, Salem, it reflects the concerns of 1950?s American life and is an allegory for the Red Scare, and Homosexuality. [2: Wall, Wendy. Anti-Communism in the 1950s. www.g ilderlehrman.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. .] The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, which was a puritan town.[endnoteRef:3] Reverend Parris is praying over his daughter, Betty, who appears toRead MoreThe Hands Of An Angry God1627 Words   |  7 Pagesdirected to a Puritan congregation urging with orthodox fervor for transgressors to repent. Arthur Miller wrote the allegorical play The Crucible in 1953, lively portraying the hysteria occurring during the Salem Witch Trials in an effort to describe his perceptions of the post-war climate of McCarthyism and the sheer terror of Communism. In the pulpit oratory â€Å"Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God†, Edwards eloquently uses imagery, metaphors, and symbolism in order to instill fear in his congregation andRead MoreMccarthyism : Alive Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow2146 Words   |  9 PagesMcCarthyism: Alive Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow â€Å"Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong - these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.† Winston Churchill Winston Churchill was correct to state that history does in fact repeat itself, and when one looks at the past one can see that McCarthyism, the executionRead MoreEssay about The Fear of the Noose in The Crucible by Arthur Miller713 Words   |  3 PagesArthur Miller establishes a period in the American history known as the Salem witch trials of 1692. It is a well built Puritan society in which the citizens are bonded with the church. During this time McCarthyism was in play, it was the anti-communist suspicions into the U.S. The theme in the story The Crucible was honesty and truth versus scapegoat. Arthur Miller used the noose to lead the reader to the theme of honesty vs. scapegoat. The noose represents the most prevalent symbol in The CrucibleRead MoreThe Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx Essay2047 Words   |  9 Pageswith their followers. These followers then spread their fraudulent ideas, which often added greater fire to their passionate causes. This characteristic, exemplif ied in their own time period by McCarthyism, inspired both Miller and Bradbury to create their works. Bradbury, unsettled by the McCarthy trials, critiques the negative effects of communism in his projection of the near future. This near future involves a suppression of knowledge rooted in a ban on all books. Government leaders suppress