Witchcraft in America Witchcraft in

This would also explain why the torment continued even after the supposed witch had been put to death. When the oldest girl was outside of the house, she stopped her act until she realized she would be found out, "But on the Twentieth of November in the Fore-noon, she cry'd out, "Ah, They have found me out! I thought it would be so!" And immediately she fell into her fits again," (Mathers 1689:8). Additionally, there are some elements that can actually be described as medical issues, or symptoms of a real physical ailment. The symptoms resembled medical conditions, "the poor child became variously indisposed in her health, an visited with strange Fits, beyond those that attend an Epilepsy or a Catalepsy," (Mathers 2). These symptoms can be associated with seizure disorders or other physical ailments. The immense physical pain seemed to be constant, which could be reminiscent of fibromyalgia. Moreover,…… [Read More]

Witchcraft in Early Modern England History

Witchcraft in Early Modern England: History

Witchcraft was a serious social problem in early modern England. It was classified as a capital offence, punishable by death. However, how the punishment was executed depended on a number of things, including the individual's status in the society. This text analyzes witchcraft as a crime in early modern England. It illustrates among other things, how the punishment was implemented.

Crime and Punishment in England

Queen Elizabeth 1, on assuming the throne of England in 1558, inherited a number of things, including a judicial system that stretched back to the Anglo-Saxon error. Capital punishment was common at the time, and justice was brutal and swift. Crime and punishment were intertwined with the localized nature of social relations. Criminality could not be disconnected from who the individual was, their social status, their community, or relations to their family. Thus, criminal law violation was seen as…… [Read More]

Witchcraft and the Trial of Junius

crime Junius was accused of was witchcraft. However, testimonial goes into more specific and varied details. Dr. Georg Adam Haan explained he saw the accused about a year and a half ago attending a witch gathering within the electoral council-room. He said he saw the accused drinking.

Hopffens Elsse said the accused was spotted on Haupts-moor attending a witch-dance. The court says his accomplices had confessed and ratted him out. People said they spotted him attending a witch meeting and a witch-dance. They did not say he performed magic. They did not say he put a curse on anyone or was seen casting a spell.

The merely said they saw him quite a while back, attending witch-themed events. This is of course insane because even if he attended these events, he was not seen doing anything wrong. He in fact did not commit a crime. If his "accomplices" were in…… [Read More]

Salem Witches Witchcraft Has Been

In some cases, it seems to be okay to get rid of something or someone as long as those doing the removal believe that the individual was indeed involved in witchcraft.

Throughout the past few hundred years, witchcraft has been prevalent in many cultures. What we do know today is that witches do exist in some manner. They may not be flying through the air on a broomstick or creating fire from their fingertips, but there are people in the world who believe in magic. Those individuals use spells and rituals to try to charm people and fate into going in the direction they choose. Whether or not this is truly a bad thing remains to be seen, but some people feel it is bad and once they set out to rid the world of this evil that they believe is there, they get many followers. If this happens, hysteria…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft Trials

Salem Witchraft Trials

Salem witchcraft is probably the most fascinating and most talked about subject in the history of the world. How people were accused of being witches and wizards, the trials that ensued, the baseless charges that were made and the hysteria that had gripped Salem in the 17th century have fascinated historians around the globe and most prominently in the United States and Europe and endless researches have been conducted so far. These researches focus on the one troubling question: what gave rise to the witchcraft hysteria and paranoia? Some people it was the simply the invasion of new changes in social values and beliefs that resulted in these tragic events where many were hanged and numerous others were sent to prison. Some believe that the fact that most women in those days were confined to their houses where depressive conditions had had a negative impact on their…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft Trials in One

Later most people admitted that they had overreacted to the situation and even Cotton Mather confessed that "errors" had been made in handling this crisis. The chief judge William Stoughton came under attack for his overzealous response to the accusations which led to many innocent deaths and false convictions. e however refused to shoulder any blame for the situation. Samuel Parris also did not accept his role in triggering the hysteria.

offer thus offers a very close and unique explanation of why witchcraft trials ever took place in Salem. e blames the early fragile American law which had no right to counsel clause and which did not offer protection against self-incrimination. Massachusetts had wanted to develop an inexpensive and speedy justice system which only led to more problems as judge played the dominant role and in the case of witchcraft trials, it was the judge freely handing out convictions and…… [Read More]

Rituals and Witchcraft Body Ritual Among the

Rituals and Witchcraft

ody Ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Miner

Different cultures have various ways of looking at the human body and the manifestation of which in the community or society they live in. Some open societies do not mind having people displaying their bodies in public along with accoutrements that add beauty thereto. Other closed societies frown on display of any body parts especially with female members. The Nacirema of North America have a different way of looking at their bodies and for them, "the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease (Miner, 1956)." This is the same belief most cultures have regarding the human body -- the tendency to grow old and get sick, except for the part of being unsightly. The result of this belief by the Nacirema renders them to have various body rituals to ensure cleansing and…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft Trials Theories of Causes

Salem itch Trials -- Theories and Causes

In the year 1692, a tragedy occurred that is remembered to be one of the most immense disasters of American History. In a small region of Salem village, which is now the now Danvers, MA area, in the home of the provincial minister Samuel Parris, a little girl started acting in s strange predicament. It would not be long before this behavior would be dubbed as witchcraft. Soon, the puzzling behavior extended to other young girls in the community, and ultimately to massive parts of the Bay Colony. The Salem witchcraft frenzy of 1692 had started. The ensuing witch trials had an impact on people all through Essex county, which is where Salem village was at but also Middlesex and Suffolk counties as well, and plus margin parts of the Bay Colony in what is at the moment the state of Maine. Even…… [Read More]

Navajo and European Witchcraft A

European itchcraft

Because the origins of European descendants in America are well-known, as are the origins of Europeans throughout the European continent; it is possible to dispense with that history and to go to the point of the analysis of this essay and examine European witchcraft.

In European studies, the understanding of witchcraft begins with a understanding of language (Clark, Stuart, 1999:3). That is, the "terms in which they were expressed, and the general systems of meaning they presupposed (Stuart, 1999:3), and in what ways the language lends itself to the belief set in overall terms (Stuart, 1999:3).

In consequence, it has been possible to account for witchcraft beliefs (like any others) in only two ways. First, they have been submitted, if only implicitly, to empirical verification to see whether they correspond to the real activities of real people. ith important exceptions, the answer has been 'no.' The entity 'witchcraft'…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft Trials

Salem itchcraft Trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts reveal a complex component to human behavior. It illustrates how hysteria can operate on many levels. Specifically, we can learn about the growing hysteria of the accused and the hysteria of the members of Salem to do something about these so-called witches.

Mary Beth Norton asserts that in order to understand the witchcraft crisis that erupted in Salem Massachusetts, we much explore the origins of the time and place in which the crisis occurred. hen doing so, we find that Salem was heavily involved with the Second Indian ar, which "dominated public policy and personal decisions alike" (Norton In the Devil's Snare 5). In addition, we must also consider the village itself, as well as Puritan attitudes toward woman.

One critical aspect in understanding the mindset of the Puritans is realizing that they did not have the benefits of science on their…… [Read More]

Witchcraft Illness Ergot

Ergotism & Witchcraft Hysteria in England During the iddle Ages

This paper looks at the witchcraft problems faced in England during the iddle Ages and the arguments used by acfarlane in his book and also those used by Caporael on the possible reason for hallucinogenic properties of ergotism. Discussing the Salem witch-trials as an example and also the trial of England with particular reference to the region of Essex. Bibliography cites five references.

Ergotism and Witchcraft

an has always needed an excuse for unnatural occurrences and death, one of the easiest excuses to arise was that of the accusation of witchcraft, the persecution of witches has been seen as one of the most horrific events in history, known as the "burning times."

European witchcraft emerged only at the end of the iddle Ages, the great witch craze occurred during the renaissance, reformation and ended at the end of the 18th…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft Scare

Salem itchcraft Scare

The social tensions that influenced the Salem itchcraft Scare were based in politics and social class. Among the group that wanted Salem Village to be independent from Salem proper, were the Putmans, who formed their own church with Samuel Parris as its minister. Many of the wealthiest members of the village were among those who refused to attend meetings at Parris' church, and "refused even to assess taxes for the payment of Parris' 1692 salary" (Pestana 63).

The gender role had particular significance in the itchcraft Scare. Seventy-eight percent of those accused of witchcraft in New England between 1620 and 1725 were female, and roughly half of the accused males were "suspect by association," meaning that they were the "husbands, sons, other kin, or public supporters of female witches" (Pestana 66). hile, women who incriminated themselves were generally punished by death, men who incriminated themselves were whipped…… [Read More]

Salem Witchcraft and False Accusations

supernatural phenomena were associated with everyday life emerged in 15th century Europe and spread to the New World with the influx of European colonists (Bonomi, 2003). Seventeenth century colonists in the New World had been using charms to foster the growth of crops, control the weather, etc. As these beliefs served to provide a sense of control over otherwise uncontrollable conditions for them (Bonomi, 2003). However, the notion of dark magic was also prevalent during this time and the notion that demons and evil spirits could possess people were common superstitions in the New World during this period (Bonomi, 2003). The Salem witchcraft trials did not represent the first time people were executed for witchcraft in the world; however, these particular incidents have endured over time to represent the mindset of individuals during the time period as well as serving as a type of metaphor for types of accusations that…… [Read More]

Examine Explanations of the Witch Craze of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Witchcraft in the 16th & 17 Centuries: Response to Literature

At first glance, a logical 21st Century explanation for the "witch craze" (also known as a witch-hunt) during the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe was based largely upon human ignorance. That is to say, the belief that a sub-culture of the general population performed witchcraft (and other magic-related phenomena), and ate the flesh of children, helped the unenlightened explain the unexplainable, and helped the ignorant deal with the darkness. Witchcraft seemingly established a reason that a person had that bad luck and it explained illnesses, and probably it helped explain natural calamities such as tornadoes, seismic catastrophes and sudden killer bolts of lightning or sheets of rain turned into disastrous flooding. Or it could even explain a stillborn child and a puppy with a broken leg. Somebody put a spell on that poor dog. Mysterious events that had no…… [Read More]

Tradition of Witchcraft

Wicca

There can be no exhaustive or authoritative sources that can trace Wicca back through ancient times. Wicca is mainly a manifestation of ancient systems of nature worship in the 20th century that is based out of northern Europe that has been in existence for thousands of years ago. Wicca is basically a religion that is rooted in the mist of Neolithic history which can be termed as fertility and agrarian society. Wicca is a nature worship religion and subsequent interaction with nature which is dissented from that practice by the Celtic clans that were found in the Western Europe as well as the indigenous people of British Isles. Therefore it is one of the mainstreams of indigenous earth spirituality that is found in European culture.

Wicca has its origins from the Celts and other people that lived in the area which is known as Great Britain. The Wiccans celebrate…… [Read More]

Devil in the Shape of

This seems rather likely as well given that the women in question often stood to inherit or gain from an economic standpoint and therefore became threats to the male-dominated society. If the orderly transfer of property and wealth from father to son was threatened by a female, the men in the society could use witchcraft accusations against the woman who would otherwise threaten the male-dominated chain of inheritance. Many other examples of Puritan customs and mores are cited as well by Karlsen as sources of contention between the sexes as well as the accused and the accusers. It is little wonder why so many women, willing to question the cultural and social structures in a very benign way, were made to feel the wrath of the Puritan male power structure.

From an academic standpoint, Karlsen's work is quite seminal in helping to prove that there is still much room for…… [Read More]

Salem Possessed The Social Origins

After three women were incarcerated for witchcraft, the perceived effects of their spells continued, as more and more people began to disengage from social norms. Similar events took place in other communities and by incarcerating suspects the community returned to normality. Yet, the Salem Village witchcraft did not stop and took a more dramatic turn. As the number of cases of "infected people" continued to rise, more and more women and even men, began to be arrested, trialed and executed. One of the factors that the authors discovered to be substantial in assessing the socio-economic causes of the trials lies in the geographic and social pattern of the accused. Most of the individuals accused and executed not only were not unknown to the accusers, but lived at opposite sides of the Village, and beyond. What the authors have gathered extensive records of the events that prove that accusations were not…… [Read More]

American History to Reconstruction

witchcraft trials of Salem, and those that occurred on the other side of the Atlantic as well, have long been framed and understood as misogyny made visible in law. On that level, Karlen's The Devil in the Shape of a oman adds little to scholarly analysis on the subject. However, Karlen's research presents evidence related to core Puritan beliefs that predicated the witchcraft trials, and discusses some of the economic and demographic contexts within which the trials occurred. The book relies heavily on primary source evidence, but the author's biases and points-of-view are also plainly evident throughout the text. Karlsen does accomplish the primary goal of elucidating the intersections between gender, class, and social power. In so doing, the author substantiates related research on the subject.

Fundamental to an understanding of the witchcraft trials that took place in the 17th century is an understanding of how, why, and when they…… [Read More]

American Revolution and the 19th Century

witchcraft scares in the Chesapeake colonies and no uprising like Bacon's Rebellion in New England. Consider the possible social, economic, and religious causes of both phenomena.

The colonies of New England were based on patriarchal religious social orders that were fundamentally misogynistic. The Protestant systems in New England fomented the fear of witchcraft, a parallel for a fear of feminist power. On the other hand, New England lacked the cash-crop ready system that had been emerging in the Chesapeake region. Bacon's rebellion was a labor issue related to economic power, whereas witch hunts were related to gender issues and social power.

What made Native American peoples vulnerable to conquest by European adventurers?

Native American peoples did not have the same disease resistances that Europeans had developed over several generations. They did not develop the types of sophisticated weapons using gunpowder that he Europeans had, and also, Native Americans were used…… [Read More]

Religion Culture and Politics

Evans-Pritchard was the founder and first president of the Association of Social Anthropologists. His seminal work on indigenous, African tribes has preserved a unique perspective of primitive societies or societies that retain their aboriginal features even in modern times -- their mental processes more than the social constructs. This essay will present a societal perspective of the Azande tribes of southern Sudan. This research was conducted at a time when every Zande (singular for Azande) paid abeyance to either the British or the Arabs, whichever happened to wield influence at the time. The thesis of this essay: "The Azande society (as a whole) and each individual was driven by a quest to avoid the ill effects of witchcraft." The significance of witchcraft is necessitated by a unique context and definition. This entire essay is about defining societal ramifications of witchcraft among the Azande, which will make the meaning of witchcraft…… [Read More]

Witch Cultural Memory in the

While it may explain the violence against the witches, it really does not do a good job of explaining how a society that had moved away from a belief in sorcery changes and begins to believe in sorcery once again. It certainly does not adequately explain how such a transformation can occur within the span of a generation. Even if an underlying belief in the power of sorcery was always part of the culture, how does that transform into violence. Siegel does explain that fear is a tremendous motivator, causing people to lash out against perceived problems in society, hoping to eliminate perceived threats. However, it still feels like there is an unexplained logic leap between a belief that there are witches in existence and that they are relatively harmless to the killing of people because they are practicing witchcraft. However, maybe the fact that this logical step appears to…… [Read More]

Cotton Mather Was an Ardent Believer in

Cotton Mather was an ardent believer in the existence of witchcraft. He was also a well respected minister from Boston who wrestled with the idea that witchcraft could or couldn't exist. Cotton Mather wrote on several religious topics and one particular topic of interest was witchcraft. Seen as an evil force, witchcraft by some religious people was considered devil's work. In 1692 the belief that witches and witchcraft existed was quite prevalent. In chapter 8, one of the documents of Cotton Mather discussed from an excerpt of his book: Memorable Provinces, deals with such ideas of witchcaft in a case from 1691 that involved three children.

Mary Glover, an irish washerwoman, had a disagreement with three children. After this minor argument, the three children acted in a bizarre fashion. Mather examined them and decided that their strange behavior is due in part to the influence cast upon them by Glover.…… [Read More]

Venice During Renaissence Renaissance Literally Meaning Re-Birth

Venice During Renaissence

Renaissance literally meaning re-birth was a cultural movement that started at the end of middle Ages from 14th to 17th century. The movement started from Italy and spread into whole of the Europe. The age of renaissance is attributed to a heightened sense of toleration and reasoning in every aspect of life. Arts, craft, literature, politics, and science, all were re-shaped in the renaissance era. hile the birth of renaissance is widely attributed to Florence, Venice was another city of Italy that presented an interesting but challenging outlook to a historian. Venice during the renaissance era was an oligarchy but was called Republic of Venice. ith hardly any resemblance with modern day democracy, Venice enjoyed affluence and abundance due being the gateway of trade activities in Europe.

The republic also enjoyed a relatively stable political environment and trade activities thrived in the era. Glassworkers, woodworkers, artisans, and…… [Read More]

1560 and 1650 Europe Experienced

Between 1618 and 1648, there was an outbreak of war which was mainly caused by the struggle between a militant Calvinism and a militant Catholicism in fact it was referred to as the "last of the religious wars." Furthermore, prior to, all through, and after this three decades war, a sequence of civil wars and rebellions hit Europe. All this events and problems greatly affected Europe economically, socially, and even politically and actually qualify to be categorized as crises.

Question 2:

For the period of the 16th and 17th centuries, the European society did not respect women at all since they considered them inferior to men both mentally and morally thus were directly linked to witchcraft during the witchcraft craze. To make it worse was the fact that these low estimates were not just held by the witch hunter but also by the elites such as lawyers, theologians, and philosophers.…… [Read More]

Letter to Congregation My Dear Parishioners How

Letter to Congregation

My dear parishioners:

How can we know if the devil is amongst us? This is the sad and sorry problem the people of Salem have been wrestling with, these many months. Accusing someone of doing traffic with the devil is not like catching a thief red-handed or even accusing a murderer. The devil is insubstantial and can take many guises, and in rooting out the devil, one is liable to find him standing by one's side in the guise of a friendly person -- or even a child.

In witnessing the trials held in Salem, I have seen men and women -- although mostly women -- accused of deviltry on the scantest pretext. Only the word 'witch' needs to be breathed by the most suggestible child, and then all of the fears of the community pour forth, and are channeled upon the person of the hapless accused.…… [Read More]

Rosemary's Baby Roman Polanski's 1968

The ordeal could have been avoided if Rosemary would have taken more responsibility for her own health and started to act upon her inner doubts. Individual inner doubts and other impulses are also very occult in nature as they seem to appear out of nowhere in many instances. This type of hidden information is very valuable for individuals to notice and eventually master in their own practices of living life. The world is subjective in nature and if one is willing to forfeit this gift, there are others, much like Roman and Millie, who have no problem taking you and your self-hood for their own personal purposes.

The occult means hidden, not scary or creepy. Occult knowledge is creepy and scary if we are not prepared to handle the unknown. Masters of occult knowledge will certainly try to confuse others to prevent them from attaining the knowledge contained in the…… [Read More]

Ritual Magic of Rites of

Neither of the above rites of passages, though both are important and definitely bound by rules of magic, are especially ritualistic in a participatory sense. In this regard, the many layers of security that Harry and his friends must get through in order to arrive at the Sorcerer's Stone is the most clear example in the book. Each trial on the way to the room that contains the Stone tests some of the skills and knowledge that Harry, Ron, and Hermione have begun to acquire on their journey through adolescence and to adulthood, making the journey past each obstacle a very literal interpretation of a rite of passage. Each of these obstacles ends up requiring some literal form of the world's magic, usually in the form of a spell, in order to be overcome, tying magic to the rites of passage in a manner that is at once quite explicit…… [Read More]

American Women's History There Were

Boycotting British goods meant that American women were going to have to make sacrifices, and stop consuming goods that were imported from Britain. The cartoon of the women of Edenton, NC signing a non-consumption agreement represent American women involving themselves in the political and economic boycott of Britain by the American colonies. ("A Society of Patriotic Ladies") However, it is actually a criticism of women's involvement in political affairs by representing the women who signed as silly women engaging in silly activities. The entire cartoon is designed to give the impression that women are not able to take on political issues seriously and deal with them effectively. Instead, the women in the cartoon are engaging in sex, playing, drinking, and are generally distracted from the important issue at hand.

orks Cited

"A Society of Patriotic Ladies- North Carolina Digital History." LEARN NC. eb. 14

Oct. 2011. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-revolution/4305

2000. Print.

"Laws…… [Read More]

Individuals Are Unable to Comprehend

For instance, the U.S. can use drones with the purpose of filming exact instances involving Assad's men violating human rights.

Considering that "the Syrian government isn't just fighting rebels, as it claims; it is shooting unarmed protesters, and has been doing so for months" (Sniderman & Hanis), it is only safe to assume that immediate action needs to be taken in order for conditions to change. Children are dying at the moment and the world appears to express lack of interest in their suffering. In spite of the fact that rebels are determined to bring Assad now, the Syrian president has successfully used the armed forces with the purpose of destroying rebel efforts up until this moment.

Assad continues to dominate Syria as outside forces sit and watch as innocent revolutionaries are being murdered. There is no limit to what Syrian armed forces are willing to do with the purpose…… [Read More]

Theosophy New Age

New Age

Crystals, witchcraft, ESP, tarot cards, tai chi, yoga, and the I Ching, which are seemingly disparate tools, practices, and beliefs, come under one spiritual rubric: the New Age movement. The New Age amalgamates ancient philosophies and religious practices ranging from shamanism to Sufism and including everything in between. The New Age is almost an anything-goes spiritual path, as it has no one set of beliefs, no central text, no concrete origin, and a malleable theology. In fact, technically atheists can participate in New Age religion, for the New Age also embraces straight science and often espouses an impersonal universe devoid of an overarching anthropomorphic deity. However, the New Age can be isolated and analyzed as a distinct, albeit modern religious movement that began loosely around the turn of the twentieth century when Theosophy delivered fresh ideas from Eastern religions to the Western world and as the Western world…… [Read More]

Social and Economic Circumstances Leading

Salem and the surrounding Essex County (the witch hunt itself went beyond merely Salem) (Norton; Linder) viewed the results of the First, and now the Second Indian ar, and their own loss of material prosperity from these wars, as God's punishment for their sins (Norton). It was at about this time that several of Salem's teenage girls began having fits on which they (and their parents and others) blamed the devil, witches and Indians (Norton). hen the mysterious fits began, according to Norton, Salem and Essex County Puritans started believing that now both visible spirits (i.e., Indians) and invisible spirits (i.e., the devil) were punishing them, simultaneously (Norton). Consequently, given this grim community mood, the politically-appointed judges took seriously the (often-unreliable and inconsistent) testimony of a group of similarly "afflicted" teenagers in order to then put dozens of supposed witches on trial. As Norton further suggests, the Salem judges and…… [Read More]

Movie the Crucible Was Derived Entirely From

movie, The Crucible, was derived entirely from the book entitled, Salem Possessed: the Social Origins of Witchcraft by Paul S. Boyer, with only a few differences, owing to technical limitations in movie production. The movie had to reduce the number of characters of the books in order to produce it on cinema. Time lapses were shortened, due again to cinematic limitations in presenting the events. Furthermore, the nature of the charges against Giles Corey was not identical. In the book, he is charged with contempt of court for refusing to plead either innocent or guilty. In the movie, he is charged with contempt for refusing to name the person who told him about Thomas Putnam's intent to buy land by means of false accusation. And while Abigail Williams is presented as an 11-year-old girl in the book, she is 17 years in the movie in order to justify or make…… [Read More]

Wicca Animal Use Shelley Rabinovitch Has Asserted

icca Animal Use

Shelley Rabinovitch has asserted that modern iccans see themselves as part of a world that includes all living beings in Nature (69), which generally prevents exploitative 'use.' This is not universal, but animal abuse would probably exclude a practitioner from the group "iccans." This has not been the case throughout history, and some modern Neo-Pagans include use of animals in ritual they claim falls within the harmonious balance of a non-dualistic participation in Nature (below). The result is a change in modern iccan relationship to animals compared to historical relationships as far as the available evidence shows. This requires defining the group "iccans," and also 'use' and 'animals,' because some groups typically classified alongside icca under the class "Neo-Pagans" are beginning to differentiate themselves through ritual animal use in ways iccans may perhaps want to dissociate themselves from.

"The language of self-identification to outsiders differs from that…… [Read More]

Controversy Over the Harry Potter

The ealities of the Supernatural:

Any person who picks up a Harry Potter novel will surely come to realize that J.K. owling must have spent a great amount of time conducting research into the occult and the supernatural in order to produce such powerful and influential literary characters and situations. Obviously, owling has borrowed heavily from much older sources concerning the supernatural, sorcery and witchcraft, some dating back to Medieval times. As one of the world's oldest religions, witchcraft is a pagan faith, non-Christian rather than anti-Christian, and is based upon the belief that nature and the universe can be controlled and manipulated via magic and the invocation of divine spirits. As a practice, witchcraft has existed for many centuries, and before the 12th century a.D., sorcery and magic were generally overlooked by the church, but by 1300 a.D., witchcraft became equated with sorcery, at least in the view of…… [Read More]

Difficult to Provide a Definition to Discourse

difficult to provide a definition to discourse analysis in reference to its use as a research tool. Instead of being a formalized methodology, it is more of a mind-set or epistemological approach. In this sense, Discourse Analysis is neither a qualitative nor a quantitative research method, but a manner of questioning the basic assumptions of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Discourse Analysis does not provide a tangible answer to problems based on scientific research, but it enables access to the ontological and epistemological assumptions behind a project, a statement, a method of research, or - to provide an example from the field of Library and Information Science - a system of classification[footnoteRef:1]. Furthermore, it challenges the assumptions that the scientific method places upon research. Generally this method questions the entire essence of the research problem itself and the inherent assumptions that it makes. [1: (Palmquis)]

History and Development

Looking at…… [Read More]

Rudolfo A Anaya's Book Bless

Important in attempts to ban Bless Me, Ultima, are arguments that the book promotes witchcraft and worship of the devil. The book focuses on Ultima, a curandera, who works with herbs and can heal the sick and exorcise evil. However, it is clear throughout Bless Me, Ultima that the character of Ultima is a force of good, but that she is sometimes mislabeled as a witch. Thus, while witchcraft is discussed and alluded to, it is not necessarily promoted within Anaya's novel.

In addition, Anaya's book clearly shows the conflict between Christianity and other religions, and sometimes criticizes the Catholic religion. Throughout the book, the young Antonio is exposed to his father's love of the earth and freedom that supersedes his Catholicism, and his friend Florence's criticisms of Catholicism. Similarly, Ultima's earthy wisdom is often depicted as superior to the pat answers Antonio receives from his Catholic mother. In addition,…… [Read More]

Eastern Religion and American Pop Culture

Eastern eligion, Eastern Mysticism, And Magic

Influence the Pop Culture in America

Eastern religion" - also alluded to in this paper as "Eastern Mysticism" and "mysticism" - and the occult, along with magic and its many off-shoots have had a considerable influence on American Pop Culture over the past few decades. Movies, books, music - all have been touched and enhanced by mysticism and its cousins. So, when referring to "Eastern religion," this paper is generally alluding to the ancient religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and other spiritual genres.

It is also important to be clear on what "occult" truly means; it is a word that comes from the Latin occultus, meaning, literally, "hidden" or "concealed" (Merriam-Webster defines occult as "to shut off from view or exposure"). "Occult" has been equated with Satan, witchcraft, vampires, and other unseemly topics related to death and blood-letting. For this paper's purpose, the occult will…… [Read More]

Arhtur Miller S The Crucible

Arthur Miller, notable playwright, wrote the 1953 play, The Crucible that focused on the partially fictionalized and dramatized story of the Salem witch trials that occurred between 1692 and 1693 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The play was written as an allegory of McCarthyism due to the American government blacklisting of accused communists. Even Miller was questioned by the House of Representatives' Committee on what can be labeled as "Un-American Activities" during the late 1950's and was convicted in 1956 of contempt of Congress for the refusal of identification of others that were present during the meetings Miller had attended. Miller's drama was then translated into his play through themes of intolerance, hysteria, and reputation.

The first theme that The Crucible describes in the beginning of the play is intolerance. ith the play's setting in a theocratic society, where the church and state serve as one, the government uses…… [Read More]

Tituba Comparing and Contrasting Arthur

Miller focuses a created, heterosexual alliance in his fictional retelling, but I, Tituba concentrates on the outcasts, which formed the actual, majority of the accused.

This alliance between marginal categories of persons is humorously underlined with Tituba meets a famous fictional outcast from Puritan society, Hester Prynne, while in jail. Conde creates a jailhouse meeting between the two women, since who knows what transpired while Tituba awaited her fate? Marginal women do not abandon Tituba, even though her Christian owner, the girls she helped, and her beloved John Indian abandon her to her execution. Hester Prynne helps Tituba say the right things to be released. Confession in Miller is shown as weakness and capitulation to the mad witch hunters, but Conde sees this as careful and clever planning, a just action because of the injustice of Tituba's captors. Finally, the alliance of 'others' is shown when Tituba, is freed from…… [Read More]

Othello Analysis Shakespeare's Othello the Moor of

Othello Analysis

Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragic play that details Othello's rise as an experienced combat leader and his tragic fall from grace due to his ancient, Iago's, manipulations and strategies. During the course of the play, Iago attempts to sabotage Othello through various means including informing Brabantio that his daughter, Desdemona, had married Othello behind his back in addition to successfully convincing Othello that Desdemona had been unfaithful to his, which results in Othello killing her. In the play, it can be argued that Brabantio's objection to Othello and Desdemona's marriage hinges on several factors, which include religion and social standing and background. On the other hand, Iago's motivations are fueled by jealousy and rage, as he was not promoted to the position of lieutenant like he had hoped.

Brabantio's reaction to Othello and Desdemona's elopement is very negative. Brabantio contends, "She is abused, stol'n…… [Read More]

Impact of AIDS in South Africa

ADS in South Africa

Those of us living in the United States became used to the face of ADS a generation ago. We learned to recognize the particular gauntness that characterized those who had been struck by it, and who would soon be taken away by it. And then, after years of people dying from this disease, we learned that people who had this terrible disease could be healed; not cured, for they still contained the viruses within their bodies, but they could live lives that were happy and meaningful - and long. The terror of ADS subsided, becoming one of only many of the perils of modern life rather than one of the predominant ones.

But the trajectory of ADS in South Africa (as well as in other parts of the developing world, has been very different. Even in the first years of the disease the manifestations of it…… [Read More]

A Scene of Dialogue in the Crucible Contextual Analysis

Conflict in the First Scene of Dialogue in Miller's The Crucible

The piece of dialogue at the beginning of The Crucible in which Abigail and Parris reveal their respective characters through snippets and snatches of admissions is an important scene that sets the tone and initial conflict of the drama. The tone is serious but chaotic: a child is in danger; the doctor has no cure; foul play in the form of "possession" is suspected by the community, many members of which are talking in the parlor where the "rumor of witchcraft is all about" (Miller 9). Parris, who is a Reverend in the community, and who himself is at odds with his parish, is afraid because such talk will put him in a very bad light: "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?" Parris cries to Abigail. He is…… [Read More]

African Religion African Traditional Religions

As with water methods of visually perceiving patterns, divination serves as a literal mirror for the cosmos. The visual cues of divination such as cowry shells or the patterns made by mice sometimes serves as a pictorial language spoken between nonhuman and human participants. That language is not one used in human communications, even though it may inform human social order and modes of cognition.

The language of divination represents communication between human and super-human forces. A diviner acts much like a translator would, communicating the perceived patterns of cosmic order to an individual or to the community. Divination is integral to all traditional African religions as well as to the religions of most other cultures. The function of divination is artistic, epistemological, and expressive. Divination also creates, maintains, and interprets social and spiritual order.

orks Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African…… [Read More]

Eurpean Witch Hunts of 1450-1750

Apparently, it would be impossible to consider the witch hunts to be an act of genocide because it would be unrealistic to believe that men would consider the killing of every woman and thus it would not mean that the witch hunt would involve the extinction of all women.

itch hunts have lasted until our present days and people in some African parts especially are still accusing and killing women that are believed to have performed acts of witchcraft.

orks Cited

Ellerbe, H. The itch Hunts:The End of Magic and Miracles 1450-1750 C.E.. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from Positive Atheism eb site: http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/ellerbe1.htm

Pavlac, B.A. Ten Common Errors and Myths about the itch Hunts, Corrected and Commented. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from King's College eb site: http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/witch/werror.html

Case Study: The European itch-Hunts, c. 1450-1750. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from Gendercide atch eb site: http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html… [Read More]

Anne Hutchinson Fear of the

It is difficult to imagine the kinds of unfair discrimination that was wrought against women, witches, and anyone else who did go along with the status quo. However, in inthrop's situation, the matter of survival was so acutely important that a strong-fisted rule was thought to be necessary.

He expresses, more than once, in the trial transcript his fears that the entire colonial civilization could fall over this one woman's outspoken beliefs. Banishment was the only appropriate punishment, since it would remove her from the small, sealed world of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and ensure that she could not sway peoples' minds toward this outrageous idea of grace.

It is almost comical to consider that now, in 2008, we see crowds of Christians waving their hands in the air to feel the grace of God, an experience they believe is attainable simply through their faith. This is the exact kind…… [Read More]

Perception Descartes Could Have Appealed

If it was a dream, then the programmers clearly attempted to incorporate background realism. For example, the characters get dirty; like sweat, dirt is not something that the programmers would need to create to have realistic humans, but there is dirt on people. If one accepts the premise that the entire story is a dream, it is not difficult to take an additional step and assume that the programmers would think to have a character, who is supposed to appear nervous, sweating while he was on screen.

7. There are clues throughout the movie that the hero could use to discover whether his experiences were veridical or not. Perhaps the best clue is foreshadowed at the beginning of the movie and comes at the end of the movie; the appearance of the blue sky on Mars. Having never been to Mars, I have to rely upon my own conjecture, but…… [Read More]

Classical Greek Theater

omen in Ancient Tragedy and Comedy

Both the drama of Euripides' "Medea" and the comedy of Aristophanes' "Lysistrata" seem unique upon a level of even surface characterization, to even the most casual students of Classical Greek drama and culture. Both in are female-dominated plays that were produced by male-dominated societies and written by men. Both the drama and the comedy features strong women as their central protagonists, whom are depicted under extreme circumstances, in relatively positive lights. And both plays, despite their very different tones, also have an additional, unique feature in that they show 'the enemy' -- or the non-Greek or non-Athenian, in a fairly positive and humane fashion.

The sympathies of the viewer for female's plights are immediately arisen by Aristophanes from the first scene of "Lysistrata," as Cleonice, the friend of Lysistrata, and a common Athenian housewife states, regarding the lateness of the other women that frustrates…… [Read More]

Barbados Culture Gender Roles and Working Life

Barbados Culture

Barbados was once called the Little England due to its landscape of rolling terrain, as well as its customs of tea drinking and cricket, the Anglican Church, parliamentary democracy and the conservatism of its rural culture. It has a well-developed airport, electrical supply and road system, especially after independence in 1966 when the tourist industry became the most important sector of the economy. Of course, it also inherited a racial caste system from its three hundred years of slavery, and until very recent times, the white minority had almost all the political and economic power. Today, only about 5% of the population is white, 20% of mixed race background and the remaining 75% descended from African slaves. As with most of the Caribbean islands, the indigenous Arawak and Carib populations were devastated by disease in the fifty years after first contact with Europeans in 1492. Although there were…… [Read More]

Inquisition Jeanne D Arc

Inquisition / Jeanne D' Arc (Joan of Arc)

1412 was the time of civil war and military unrest between France and England. And 1412 was the year Jeanne d' Arc was born. hen she was 17 she commanded a battle against the English domination and made efforts to unite France in the Hundred Years ar, but her fate at the age 19 put her on a trial for heresy and witchcraft by a church court. She had an Inquisition from the church and was burned at stake.

During the 15th century France and England, the personality of Jeanne or Maid of Orleans had an exceptional impact upon the political as well as the military situation wherein she turned the war in to the favor of Charles VII and this she accomplished as just a peasant girl. hat her trial and conviction represents is the unacceptability of the medieval era of…… [Read More]

American Literature Which Can Be

Also, the experiences he underwent in prison offered him the chance to survive in a cruel world, both inside and outside the walls of prison. Inside, as he states "language gave me a way to keep the chaos of prison at bay and prevent it from devouring me; it was a resource that allowed me to confront and understand my past" (Baca, 2001, p4). From this point-of-view, the time spent in prison represented a moment of reflections and of understanding.

The author placed his energy and belief in poetry and writing for a single reason which was that of transforming himself in the messenger of the ones who cannot express themselves. As a comparison with the person he was in his early teen years when he was unable to express himself, his needs, his creeds, or his culture, the prison time helped him understand that a connection with the others…… [Read More]

Black Church the Redemptive Role

It will use historical evidence to examine the role of the church is a spiritual entity. It will examine the role of the church as a political entity throughout changing political landscapes. It will explore the role of the church as a social service provider with regards to the importance of this role in helping black people to redeem themselves in light of historical cultural atrocities that they have faced.

esearch Questions

In order to examine that topics of interest un this research study the following research questions be addressed.

1. How has the black church served as redemptive force in helping the black people to heal?

2. What factors served as a redemptive force in helping the image of black people in the black church to improve?

3. How has a black church helped black communities to regain and maintain their self-sufficiency?

4. How has the black church served…… [Read More]

Competitive Intelligence

Competitive Intelligence eport: Barclaycard

Today, Barclaycard has grown from its relatively humble beginnings in 1966 to become one of the leading credit card companies in the United Kingdom with more than 10,000,000 cardholders as well as almost nine million cardholders abroad. Although the company has enjoyed a steady increase in the number of cardholders and Barclaycard has been a first mover in introducing new technologies into its business plan in recent years, this growth has not been without some problems and many of its customers are loudly complaining about poor or nonexistent customer service, exorbitant fees and faulty security measures. Taken together, it is clear that Barclaycard has done a few things right while managing to stumble over its success at others. To identify what the company has done right and wrong, this study provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature as well as various online sources…… [Read More]

Earth Did Not Part

Readers know that Maria is very religious, and that she prays often and cooks for the family. On page 7 readers learn that in her haste to keep the Catholic ritual of crossing herself, she mixes cooking and religion. "She breathed a prayer and crossed her forehead. The flour left white stains on her, the four points of the cross." Her life is not at all about her, but about the men in her family. And it seems she is a literary counterpoint to Ultima, who is spiritually as strong as Maria is faithful to Catholicism.

On page 50 it is clear that Tony will not depend on his mother's nurturing for a long period of time. "He will be all right,' Ultima said. 'The sons must leave the sides of their mothers,' she said almost sternly, and pulled my mother gently." And as the friendship between Tony and his…… [Read More]

Othello the Play Takes Place

They will go to far to hire a mercenary like Iago to pursue their goal for them. There are Othellos today as there was a shining one in Shakespeare's fiction or time. Military heroes like him have secret vulnerabilities, which reveal themselves in unguarded or trying moments. As a self-claimed victim of a foreign culture, Othello's cry of discrimination resounds in contemporary society despite his accomplishments.

Contentment in life is everyone's universal pursuit. That pursuit takes on what the present culture makes available and is most suitable at the moment. Othello perceives that his contentment goes beyond acclaim and military power. It includes having a dutiful and beautiful wife in Desdemona. He pours his weakest on him and on a scheming subordinate, Iago. Othello's credulousness is not confined to Shakespeare's time. Credulousness is universal. People living and thriving in a country with a different culture must invest in trust or…… [Read More]

Reversal of Nature in Macbeth

"(Bloom, 41) Any act of evil is seen thus to change the basic structure of the universe and to transform nature into a desolated chaos.

It is not only the natural, physical environment that becomes extremely chaotic through evil, but the human nature as well. All through the play, Lady Macbeth calls upon the forces of evil to keep at bay the "compunctious visitings of nature." It is thus plainly shown that there can be no enactment of malignancy without a reversal of human nature: "The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements. Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; / Stop up the access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature /…… [Read More]

Nathaniel Hawthorne Life Imitates Were All the

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Life Imitates

ere all the literary works of Nathaniel Hawthorne compiled into a single manuscript, then appropriately filtered to include only works of prose and fiction, and if an attempt were then made to uncover a single motif spanning through the vast majority of the remaining text, it would read something like the following. A protagonist is haunted by a vague, strangely preternatural feeling of foreboding and doom that eventually manifests itself physically before mortally claiming its victim. Sadly, but not surprisingly so, this motif could also apply to Hawthorne's life. Despite the fact that the author who many have acclaimed as one of the finest in American history enjoyed a celebrated literary career (with a number of impressive, political boons as well), he was never able to fully surmount all of his 'demons' and enjoy the happiness that should have rightfully been his. Instead, the celebrated author…… [Read More]

Randolph Smithers December 30 1676 it Is

Randolph Smithers December 30, 1676

It is amazing how great a difference a single incident can make in the lives of so many different people from different places. Ever since acon's Rebellion was quelled here in Jamestown, there has been a significant increase in the amount of African and West Indian slaves who are being used as the preferred source of labor around these parts. This is just my personal opinion, but I think it is because of the fact that Nate was able to rally so many poor farmers and indentured servants to help him in his rampage against the Native Americans, that these chattel slaves have now become even more popular as a means of working in the fields. ut unlike indentured servants, who can eventually be freed and given land and tools with which to farm, African and West Indian slaves have very little hope of ever…… [Read More]

Benjamin C Ray The Salem

According to Ray, those explanations ignore what more recent research has identified as the principal cause of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem: religious paranoia, intolerance, and persecution.

In that regard, Ray details the historical record showing that the principal origin of the Salem Witch Trials was in the intense antagonism on the part of Reverend Samuel Parris toward village residents who refused to join his congregation. For months before the accusations about witchcraft against Tituba, Parris railed against the unconverted as "wicked" and referred to the "chosen" members of his church and those who had "betrayed" it and who sought to destroy his village church and, ultimately, the entire church of England. Ray also notes, significantly, that all of the young girls whose accusations were the initial spark for the witch craze were members of prominent church families. By the time their accusations first surfaced, Parris's audience had been well…… [Read More]

Country Has Been Experiencing a Religious War

country has been experiencing a religious "war of words" for several decades now. Some Democrats were caught completely off guard by it when most of the swing voters voted for Bush instead of Kerry, giving Bush the Presidency. Surveys and polls done afterwards revealed that those voters, the ones who won the election for Bush, were opposed to the Iraq war, but saw Bush as representing the one thing that was more important to them than whether we were at war or not: moral values. Actually the movement to make the Presidential race a moral one has been going on for decades, galvanized by the shift in this country in the late sixties and early seventies regarding both sex and drug use. The Roe V. Wade decision by the Supreme Court became a rallying cry, and that issue has been important in every Presidential election since. This time, the issue…… [Read More]

Peyotism the White Man's Reality

Shamanic intervention is also a part of the social fabric of these cultures, and the Shaman is often consulted in terms of political and tribal disputes. The classic Shamanic trance or journey consists of a number of elements:

Leaving the realm of the mundane, that is, the physical world; (2) Traveling to the supernatural; and (3) Returning to the world of the mundane.

In order to facilitate this vital function the Shaman often uses psychoactive plants such as Peyote to aid his perception of the spiritual world. "The transition between the world of the mundane and the supernatural world is frequently facilitated by inducing trance states using psychoactive plants."

Peyote

The use of Peyote and the origins of the Peyote cult are buried in antiquity. An early Spanish chronicler, Fray ernardino de Sahagun, "estimated on the basis of several historical events recorded in Indian chronology that Peyote was known to…… [Read More]