I’m about 1/3 of the way through the book, and so far, it’s pretty good. It has introduced many characters, and set the scene very well. It seems like many of the characters truly believe in witchcraft.
A “house keeper” named Tituba, a Carribean native, was seen by several white men dancing around in the woods with some girls. At this point in the book, they are seriously questioning everyone, as accusations of witchcraft have been flying back and forth. Arthur Miller makes it clear that some people are con artists and liars, and continue to lie in order to convict people and gain power. The “odd” behavior described in this book seems like a simple mental disorder of today, but many people of Salem used the concept of ‘witchcraft’ to explain the unexplained. I find it particularly interesting that those who clearly don’t “buy it”, are very hesitant to halt and stand up to it. John Proctor, for example, has been accused several times thus far of not believing in witchcraft, but in his own defense states that he has not yet stated an opinion regarding the matter.
More updates to come! So far, I give this book a B.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Mr. W // Oct 18, 2006 at 6:54 am
…which gets back to the Evil Essay, no? In the Puritan society, the people believed in a tangible evil, in the form of witches and other satanic beings. That Newsweek article had the section about how Christian clergy don’t even talk about that kind of thing anymore.
The Crucible might give you some good insight for your paper rewriting exploits…think about it…
2 hoffster // Oct 24, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Im also reading the Crucible, and was very excited to see you were doing the same. I honestly think that many people are going to die due to “Witchcraft Accusations” including Betty and Abagial. As you said, many people are accusers because they want to gain power within the community, and/or gain more land for themselves. It does seem a bit crazy, the idea of Witchcraft that is, and thats why im excited to see in which way this play goes. I would probably give this book a B-, condradicting your B.
3 When the hurly-burly's done » Highlights // Oct 25, 2006 at 3:15 pm
[…] Meanwhile, Ryan’s got an observation about The Crucible: The “odd” behavior described in this book seems like a simple mental disorder of today, but many people of Salem used the concept of ‘witchcraft’ to explain the unexplained. I find it particularly interesting that those who clearly don’t “buy it”, are very hesitant to halt and stand up to it. […]