Salem Witch Trials Essays - Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Tituba

Salem Witch Trials Essays - Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Tituba Salem Witch Trials Chadwick Hansen. Witchcraft at Salem. New York: George Braziller, INC., 1969. 252pp. Many people believe that the witch-hunt of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, was based upon mere delusions of a few frightened teenage girls. Despite the popular viewpoint of many other historians, Chadwick Hansen's book, Witchcraft at Salem, offers a generally discarded point of view. He uses exhausted research and well-written material to argue that the events of 1692 were true signs of witchcraft. Hansen proves this thesis by elaborate descriptions of the girls who were afflicted and by extensive trial evidence. In many historical writings the girls that were afflicted by the witches were usually branded as liars, who were afraid of the repercussion of taking part in the craft. Hansen, however, takes the stand that the girls were, for the most part, believable. The convulsive fits were so grotesque that eyewitnesses agreed that it was impossible for the girls to be acting (1). The girls were believed above all others because the courts could not bear the thought that the fits and loss of memory, appetite, hearing, sight, and speech were false. Hansen goes on to describe the torment that the girls faced. They felt themselves pinched and bitten, and often there were actual marks upon the skin (1). Hansen's ability to describe to the girl's afflictions in such detail lends the reader to believe that actual witches caused the torture of the girls. For markings to appear upon the skin of the girls, where nothing physically had touched their skin, Hansen concludes that it could only be a result of supernatural beings. Hansen's well-researched trial evidence is a very convincing argument. He presents the reader with numerous cases and the process each went through. There were two cases unparticular as to which Hansen writes about explicitly. He writes of a maidservant, Tituba, and of a woman of the community, Dorcas Good. Both Tituba and Dorcas Good admitted to being involved in the art of witchcraft. Hansen uses these confessions and other numerous convictions for his basis that there was witchcraft in Salem. Fifty-two people were indicted for witchcraft, for which many of them were accused due to spectral evidence (205). Hansen relies greatly on spectral evidence as a basis for conviction, because for the majority of the time that was generally (if not only) all the evidence the court had to decide upon. The extensive sources Hansen cited for the foundation of his theory are historical writings. Many of the works he cited dated back to the late 1600's and early 1700's; however there are some that were as recent as the 1960's. There is a wide variety of material, with over 175 sources cited. Hansen went to great lengths to ensure that the material was accurate. He took a year off from teaching at Pennsylvania State University, and traveled to the Massachusetts area to work with more desirable information. His sources were well documented and extensively researched. There were witches in Salem, however there were not a significant number. Some of the girls were acting out of fear of the consequence of their actions in the craft. He has provided much evidence on many different trials but failed to point out a significant number of confessed witches. His weighty reliance on spectral evidence, as support to the convictions of the accused women, is a serious misjudgment. Furthermore spectral evidence was later viewed as an unreliable source due to the Devil's ability to impersonate anyone. The witch trials were an important event in Puritan society; however, it is hard to believe that among such a small number of people, there were a significant number who practiced witchcraft. Furthermore, medical knowledge of seizures and their cause was little known at this time. This avenue of thought would have enlightened known physical actions of the women. Lastly the Puritan religion was a strict religion with some fanatic beliefs which can cause people to m anifest ideas in their thinking. Hansen's work on the trials proves that a few people practiced witchcraft, however, that could not have true of fifty-two people

The Good Doctor

The Good Doctor The Good Doctor is a full-length play that exposes the ridiculous, tender, outlandish, ludicrous, innocent, and weird frailties of human beings. Each scene tells its own story, but the behavior of the characters and the resolutions of their stories are not typical or predictable. In this play, Neil Simon dramatizes short stories written by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov. Simon even gives Chekhov a role without specifically naming him; it is commonly accepted that the character of The Writer in the play is a quirky version of Chekov himself. Format The Good Doctor is not a play with a unified plot and sub-plot. Instead, it is a series of scenes that, when experienced one after another, give you a strong sense of Chekhov’s take on the human condition embellished by Simon’s wit and pithy dialogue. The Writer is the one unifying element in the scenes, introducing them, commenting on them, and occasionally playing a role in them. Other than that, each scene can (and often does) stand alone as its own story with its own characters. Cast Size When this play done in its entirety- 11  scenes- appeared on Broadway, five actors played all 28 roles. Nine roles are female and 19 are male roles, but in a few scenes, a female could play a character designated in the script as male. The scene breakdown below will give you a sense of all the roles in all the scenes. Many productions eliminate a scene or two because the action in one scene is unrelated to the action in another. Ensemble There are no ensemble moments in this play- no â€Å"crowd† scenes. Each scene is character-driven by the small number of characters (2 – 5) in each. Set The set needs for this play are simple, even though the action occurs in a variety of locales: seats in a theatre, a bedroom, a hearing room, a study, a dentist’s office, a park bench, a public garden, a pier, an audition space, and a bank office. Furniture can easily be added, struck, or rearranged; some big pieces- like a desk- can be used in several different scenes. Costumes While the character names and some of the language seem to insist that the action occurs in 19the century Russia, the themes and conflicts in these scenes are timeless and could work in a variety of locales and eras. Music This play is billed as â€Å"A Comedy with Music,† but except for the scene called â€Å"Too Late for Happiness† in which lyrics that the characters sing are printed in the text of the script, music is not imperative to the performance. In the script that I have- copyright 1974- the publishers offer a â€Å"tape recording of the special music for this play.† Directors can check to see whether such a tape or CD or electronic file of music is still offered, but the scenes can stand on their own without the specific music, in my opinion. Content Issues? The scene called â€Å"The Seduction† scenes deal with the possibility of infidelity in marriage, although the infidelity is unrealized. In â€Å"The Arrangement,† a father purchases the services of a woman for his son’s first sexual experience, but that too goes unrealized. There is no profanity in this script. The Scenes and Roles Act I â€Å"The Writer† The play’s narrator, the Chekhov character, welcomes the interruption of an audience for his stories in a two-page monologue. 1 male â€Å"The Sneeze† A man in a theatre audience lets loose a monstrous sneeze that sprays the neck and head of the man seated in front of him- a man who just happens to be his superior at work. It’s not the sneeze, but the man’s reparations that cause his eventual demise. 3 males,  2 females â€Å"The Governess† An officious employer unfairly subtracts and subtracts money from her meek governess’s wages. (To view a video of this scene, click here.) 2 females â€Å"Surgery† An eager inexperienced medical student wrestles with a man to yank his painful tooth out. 2 males â€Å"Too Late for Happiness† An older man and woman engage in small talk on a park bench, but their song reveals their inner thoughts and wishes. 1 male,  1 female â€Å"The Seduction† A bachelor shares his foolproof method of seducing other men’s wives with no direct contact until she is on her way into his arms. 2 males,  1 female Act II â€Å"The Drowned Man† A man finds himself agreeing to pay a sailor for the entertainment of watching the sailor jump in the water to drown himself. 3 males â€Å"The Audition† A young inexperienced actress annoys and then enchants the Voice in the darkness of the theatre when she auditions. 1 male,  1 female â€Å"A Defenseless Creature† A woman dumps her considerable woes on a bank manager with such vehemence and histrionics that he gives her money just to get rid of her. (To view a video of this scene, click here.) 2 males,  1 female â€Å"The Arrangement† A father negotiates a price with a woman to give his son his first sexual experience as a 19th birthday gift. Then he has second thoughts. 2 males,  1 female â€Å"The Writer† The play’s narrator thanks the audience for visiting and listening to his stories. 1 male â€Å"A Quiet War† (This scene was added following the first printing and production of the play.) Two retired military officers hold their weekly park bench meeting to continue discussing their disagreements. This week’s topic of conflict is the perfect lunch. 2 males YouTube offers  videos of a stage production of scenes from the play.

ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Assignment Example Political risk is the effect of change in political policies on investment. It is upon the government how much they want to return to the investor, they may even stop him from withdrawing his capital. Iquisha further commented below as to how helpful Susan’s post was as she thought the answer would be none of the above and the investors received the correct amount of return due to exchange rate. Iquisha’s comment is welcomed and we hope all her ambiguity is cleared through the answer. Another student Marquisha also commented to Susan’s answer in a positive manner and also stated about political risk from her book. Marquisha’s effort is highly appreciated. If US dollar depreciates, it implies that more dollars are required to purchase foreign goods, which in turn means that foreign goods become expensive for Americans. However, for foreigners, the implication of a depreciation in the US dollar is favorable. Due to decline in US dollar’s value against foreign currencies, the holders of the respective foreign currencies will find US goods cheaper, as they have to spend less dollars (Byrd, Hickman and

3.1 reading report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3.1 reading report - Essay Example Direct sales continue to be a growing phenomenon in all parts of the world. This is partly because of the intensity of competition between various manufacturing companies. It would be noted that marketing is the middle entity that comes between manufacturing and consumption (Krause, 2009). This means that if good and products that are produced are not marketed, they remain liabilities for their producers. But it has never been easy for producers to get their produces marketed because of competition. It is against this background that several companies have devised what may be described as non-orthodox means of marketing. This non-orthodox means is to get people who sell products on a face-to-face basis to consumers (Fox, 2008). As direct selling gained prominence, another component of it, which has to do with multi-level direct marketing, emerged. It is for the sake of the difference in approaches namely single-level and multi-level that researchers have often tried to investigate th e impact that these difference create. The study was conducted through a survey research design whereby the researcher formed a sample size from 22 different companies. The researcher proceeded to design a data collection instrument in the form of a questionnaire, with which data were collected from respondents by the use of mailed questionnaire. With the fact that the research design was influenced by survey, it means that the researcher was to generalize all data collected from respondents with the larger direct sales population within the setting of the research. The major managerial implications deducted from the study have to do with the trend of recruitment of marketers. This is because the study showed that the best group of population to take up single-level direct selling is people who would want to hook unto those jobs as permanent workers. For this reason, it is best to recruit young people who

Favorite Holidays Essay Example for Free

Favorite Holidays Essay 1. One of my favorite Holidays is 4th of July. A few years ago my dad and I went to Washington to pick out some illegal fireworks. So we went to the Black Cat firework store . I got some mortars and roman candles and all the fun fireworks you could think of. So the day before 4th of July we were lighting off a few roman candles and all of a sudden a under cover police car pulled into our driveway and the police officer inside the car said â€Å"are you lighting off illegal fireworks?† because he saw me with the roman candles, and my dad said â€Å"yes† so the police officer confiscated all the fireworks we had bought and were fined a thousand dollars. We did get our ticket reduced down to $250 because we attended a fire works class. This definitely opened my eyes to the danger of fire works. From that day forward, I’ve learned not to do anything your not supposed to do, like buy illegal fireworks. 2. My sister graduated last year and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her passion. She grew up training in dance and singing. We have a close family and we support her all the way. My family and I traveled to see her this summer. She sang originals song and danced with her back up dancers for the music label industry. Very important people were their to see her. She did fantastic and is signing with a major record label. She will be releasing her single by the end of this year and her album in Januarary of 2014. This was a big eye opener to me to know that working hard and pursuing your dreams can really come true. 3. A couple years ago my grandmother passed away. She was very sick the last few days she was alive and my family and I knew she only had a few more days before she was to pass away. I helped her all that I could and so did my parents. She was a great grandmother and nobody could replace her, she was my dads mother, she was the best grandmother anybody could ask for. I remember the game we use to play when she would babysit me, it was called hide the thimble. She had a thumb thimble for sewing, and we use to hide it all over her house kind of like hide and seek, she also used to make the best brownies I have ever eaten. But from that day on I have always learned one thing, you never know how much you miss someone until there gone.

Expression of Self-worth in Homer’s Iliad Essay -- Iliad essays

Expression of Self-worth in Homer’s Iliad The story of the Trojan War as played out in the Iliad is perhaps most gripping for the focus on the role of the individual; the soul is struck by the very concept of a decade-long war and a city-state razed to the ground for one man’s crime and one woman’s beauty. As such, the dynamic between Helen, Paris, and the Trojan people they have doomed is a fascinating one. For while Prince Paris is hated by all of Troy, his right to keep Helen is challenged by none. This is seen mostly clearly in Book III, after Paris has been spirited away to safety by the goddess Aphrodite; the book ends with Trojans and Greeks alike united in scorn for Paris and his consort. In Book VII, however, at the war council of the Trojans, when a defiant Paris refuses to yield his prize, no man questions his right to do so. This puzzling contrast, between the anger of the many against the crimes of the one and the rights of the one against the will of the many, presents insight into key themes of Homer’s epic. The passages in Books III and VII highlight the unique way in which the Iliad focuses on property rights as perhaps the highest expression of individual self-worth, the violation of which demands complete redress. Book III paints Paris at his lowest: a posturing coward contemptible in his weakness. When he seems in danger of losing a duel against his rival Meneleus—a duel that promises to end the war without further bloodshed—Paris is snatched up by his protector Aphrodite and promptly forgets all about the two armies camped at the walls. The reader is thus united with both armies in scorn for the prince when Homer describes Paris and Helen losing themselves in lust while the fragile treaty strai... ... domain of his property that they are willing to die to uphold it, even for a prince they despise. In the relationship between Paris and the Trojan people with respect to his ownership of Helen, Homer demonstrates the subtleties of a culture that celebrated the heroism of the individual while simultaneously acknowledging the power of the fates in human affairs. To strenuously fight for one’s rights in the face of opposition is to court disaster, as Agamemnon, Achilles, and Paris all discover, and yet in doing so, one is able to rise above the herd of lesser men and become a truly heroic individual. It is a remarkable irony of Homeric Greece that the path to immortality often began with an obsession over the seemingly petty matters of material ownership and property. Works Cited 1. Homer, Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles (New York: Penguin Books, 1990).

Social control, discipline and regulation

Many more serious crimes such as large scale tax evasion which costs the government a lot of money, are often overlooked and are seldom prosecuted. Over time some laws which are no longer relevant are disseminated and other acts become criminals. These change with new governments and societal and culture changes. In 1967 the Sexual Offences Act was introduced which made it illegal in Britain for men of any age to have consensual sex together. Over time society has come to accept gay relationships and so in turn the law surrounding gay couples has also relaxed.In 2005 civil partnerships were introduced to give gay couples similar rights to married couples and the current government Is looking at making gay marriages legal. If deviant behavior seems to becoming more common, such as people carrying weapons then new legislations are put in place or existing legislations are updated and more harsh penalties are put in place to deter criminals and reduce crimes and visitation. Travis Hirsh (1969) through his social bond theory tries to explain why some people don't commit crime. He argues the question Why do they do it? Is not a question the control theory is signed to answer.The important question he says is Why don't we do it? [1]. Hirsh identified four main characteristics or social bonds which explain conformity. The more a person features these characteristics the less likely they are to become deviant or criminal. Attachment to family and friends he seen as the most Important factor In his social bond theory, this influence supports our norms, values and conscience. If we did not care about how we were perceived by our family and friends then we would be free to act deviant. Commitment to achievement Is another actor, this refers to how much effort, time and money a person puts into a particular activity.A person such as a doctor who has spent a lot of time, effort and money on educating themselves is less likely to become deviant because a criminal record coul d result in them losing their job. Involvement in conventional activities leaves a person with less time to think about or get involved in deviant activities. Belief refers to the strength of our commitment to a particular belief. There are variations in our beliefs; the less a person believes he should follow the rules the more likely he is to elate them. A criticism of Hirer's work would be to ask why people commit crime.This assumes that law abiding behavior is normal and that the majority of people do not commit crimes. In some sub cultures deviant behavior is the norm, children born Into this kind of culture and grow up breaking the law because It Is normal to them. Walsh does not explain this kind of behavior. When crimes are committed the judicial system uses different forms of punishment or social control. This is used to law. Harsh forms of social control are imprisonment or even death in some countries. A softer form of social control is things like fines and community ser vice.In Michel Faculty's book, Discipline and Punishment, he looks at the birth of the prison and how the penal system has changed from. In the 17th century the forms of punishment were brutal public tortures, humiliations, hangings and executions which focused on hurting the physical body. This triggered many riots in sympathy and support for the convict; the public were against these cruel methods of punishment which were also inconsistent. Faculty's believes this form of punishment was to show the power of the state rather than to act as deterrence.Prisons were first introduced in the 18th century as a result of the public protests for punishment without torture. Prisons focused punishment on the souls and minds of prisoners as the mind was now seen as more valuable and the body was seen as Just a machine controlled by the mind. This new form of discipline and punishment was able to control and manage the prisoner at all times rather than short bursts of bodily torture which was previously used. The prison became more than a place where offenders were deprived and became a place where discipline could be instilled.Faculty saw this as abuse of power, its main purpose would have been, an attempt to reform the criminal in the hope that upon his release he would be less likely to refined and become a contributing member of society. Faculty believes that detention causes recidivism; and states, â€Å"those leaving prison have more chance of going back to it; a very high proportion, up to 38 per cent of inmates were convicted again† [2]. If prisons worked then they would be empty. Jeremy Beneath a utilitarian philosopher was interested in the design of prisons. He designed a circular prison which he called the Pontific.It had a central tower so prison officers had a 360 view and could see into all of the cells at all times. The inmates could not see into the central tower and so never knew if they were being watched. The exact blueprint was never built but it did have some impact on how future prisons were designed. Faculty said that constant supervision and forced discipline broke the will of the criminal and made him into a ‘docile body which is easily controlled by people in authority. This was then ideal for the new economics, politics and warfare of modern industrial society.It enslaves us to a life of government controlled discipline. Critiques of Faculty have focused mainly on his ideas of struggle for self-freedom from the disciplines of society, believing that people should be unique individuals and be their true self. He does not explain this in depth nor does he explain how it fits in with society. Edward W Said states: other critics of Faculty argue he did not go in depth when explaining the struggle between individuality and society. Faculty did not give a purpose for the struggle or a goal to be obtained. Why should complete individuality be the ultimate purpose in life? For Faculty there seems to be no focal mint , but rather an endless network of relations† (Ho, 1986: 55). If a person were to believe Faculty's idea then following any rule of society would be submitting to the discipline of society. The anti-institutional consensus of the sass's refers to a cultural movement that developed in the United States and England. The baby boom children from the sass's were growing up in the sass's. The growing consciousness of a younger generation may have led to a shift in perspectives on societal wrongdoings. Race relations, women's rights and differing interpretations of the American Dream.People questioned the legitimacy of the state and started to challenge authority, this resulted in boycotts, marches, protests, sit-ins and riots. Along with drug use and sexual liberation, criminality rocketed. The role of women as full time homemakers in industrial society was challenged in 1963, giving way to the women's movement and influencing a second wave in feminism. The availability of birth con trol was the foundation of the sexual liberation. The idea of ‘recreational sex' without the threat of unwanted pregnancies changed society as it allowed men a women greater freedom outside traditional marriage.With this change in attitude, the amount of children born outside wedlock in the I-J rose from 8% in 1971 to nearly 45 % in 2007 [3]. This counterculture of the sass's influenced Governments to rethink criminal acts. There were changes in human rights and laws were put in place to tackle discrimination between men and women. From 1967 abortion became legal, and women became able to divorce their husbands when the Divorce Reform Act came into force in 1969. John Breathiest, an Australian criminologist recognizes that the current criminal justice system labels and astigmatisms offenders, making crime problems worse.He looks at the relationship between crime and social reactions in his book Crime, Shame and Reintegration. He believes a restorative Justice system to be more effective than a punitive Justice system which enables offenders and victims to come together. He suggests the key to crime control is cultural shaming and making the offender feel remorse for what he has done. Breathiest identifies two types of shaming. Disintegrative shaming is where the offender is stigmatize and excluded from society, becoming labeled along with his behavior.Reintegrating shaming is where criminal behavior is condemned rather than the offender. He is kept within society and is shown forgiveness through words or gestures. Breathiest argues that crime rates are higher in places where disintegrative shaming is used. His hypothesis is that in societies where there is a strong commitment to place collective interests over individual interest there are stronger incentives for people to conform and lower crime rates. He uses the example of Japan which is highly urbanites and densely populated; we would assume that crime rates would be high.Arrest rates are high UT pro secution rates are low. Cultural factors play an important role, honor and pride within Japanese families is very important so bringing shame upon the family is a deterrent to committing crimes. These traditions date back to the Samurai Warriors who would fall upon their own swords (Hair Kari) to prevent bringing shame upon their families. Japanese parents often commit suicide when their children commit serious crimes as they cannot cope with the shame and feel partly responsible. It is hard to compare the I-J with societies such as Japan which is a more equal society and less diverse.In the I-J the Home Office gave legislative endorsement to these ideas in 1998 Crime and Disorder Act and the 1999 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act reflecting the definition of restorative Justice as restoration, reintegration and responsibility [4]. All kinds of initiatives that attempt to bring the victim and the offender together now carries the label ‘restorative'. Rock (1990) describe d the restorative system as a ‘dead duck so it is interesting to reflect upon the process whereby it gained its current status. Daly (2002) discusses in detail the that the current punitive Justice system to be ineffective.Prisons in England are currently close to full capacity, if they were effective they would be empty. Inmates are reportedly more likely to become recidivists and commit new crimes that they have learnt from other inmates. This causes greater problems for the Government when it comes to tackling crime. I believe that Michel Faculty is right in the sense that imprisonment, along with constant supervision and discipline is an abuse of power. John Barbiturate's work on a restorative Justice system could be beneficial to some offenders, victims and more importantly society as a whole.