When
we think of witch hunts we all probably think of the women with the pointy hats
that stand around a cauldron mixing potions and saying spells but the witches in
The Crucible are different then the
image we have put in our minds from movies and Halloween commercialized
costumes have been portrayed. Witches don’t necessarily have to be women
either. The girls claimed that their house maid was performing dark magic on
them. We today as a society can consider trying to find a criminal or suspect
to a crime as a witch hunt. We still have to interview people and have court
trials. Yet back then you were guilty until proven innocent now you are
innocent until proven guilty. You pretty much had to say yes I am a witch for
the courts to not kill you right away. There were many many women, and men,
that were locked away for saying that they were not a witch. The court system
today is much more sophisticated I the sense that you actually have to have
evidence to say someone committed a crime instead of just someone’s word
against yours. When there are criminals that flee a scene of a crime and there
are witnesses and the police have to go and find the person, I consider that a
modern day witch hunt. They still have to go through the court system just in a
different way than they did when the actual witch trials were occurring. You are
no longer guilty until proven innocent.
I think a lot of people do think that in regards to not understanding what a "witch" might be. In our society, we tend to use the term as a metaphor. I like that you bring the aspect of the criminal justice system into account. We definitely use paranoia in order to bring different issues to light. You make an excellent points about how the practice has changed the way the court system works.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your Blog post! You had some really good details. I have to agree though, whenever the word "witch" comes to mind, I do think most of them are women and I think of them being back in the old days stirring a potion or coming up with a spell. When you mentioned the court system, you made a good point there. You are no longer guilty until proven innocent. Very good point. Great job on your post!
I really enjoyed reading your blog entry! I like how you stated what we think a witch is and what a witch actually is. It is so unfortunate that so many terrible things happened to those who were not even guilty of being a witch. I agree that those who flee the seen of a crime could be considered a witch because they do not want to be caught. What brilliant witch would want anyone to know her secret!
ReplyDelete