Play Ann Putnam example essay topic

Historical Inaccuracies of The Crucible Throughout the play, The Crucible, there are changed details. These details seem minor, but it is important to take note of them to have a factual understanding of the Salem Witch Trials. There are many different details, changed by Miller to make his story less complicated and, overall, more believable. In the Parris family, there are many historical inaccuracies.

First of all, Betty Parris' mother was not dead as the dialogue in the play states. In actuality, she died four years after the witch trials began in 1692. As for the composition of the family, the Parris family in reality consists of two other children other than Betty -- an older brother, Thomas, and a younger sister Susannah. In the play Abigail is referred to as Reverend Parris' niece, but actually there is no proof that she is their niece. In original documents, she is referred to as the Parris family's "kinfolk". Therefore she was probably a good friend of the family or she became part of the family by a type of an adoption.

Also in the play, Rev. Parris states that he is a graduate of Harvard. Actually, he did not graduate from Harvard, but did attend for a while and then he dropped out. In the play, Tituba is assumed to be of Black African descent. In reality she was Amerindian, or more specifically South American Arawak. This affects how she was related to practicing black magic. Being from South America, she wouldn't practice African black magic, the magic that she would practice is the white magic she learned in Barbados from the English.

Miller also fails to mention that Tituba is married to John Indian. The Putnam family really consists of a daughter named Ann, not Ruth. The mother was referred to as "Ann Putnam Senior" and the daughter as "Ann Putnam Junior". Miller most likely changed these names simply to keep his play less complicated. In the play Ann Putnam complains of all her miscarriages and she has only one child. In reality she did have a lot of miscarriages, but she did have seven other living children including Ann.

The Proctors have many more family members than what is mentioned in the play. Elizabeth was Proctor's third wife and there were other family members living with them from Proctor's other marriages. There was a daughter at the age of fifteen and a son at the age of seventeen from his second marriage and John's thirty three year old son from his first marriage. Eventually, all of the family was charged of witchcraft and hanged, only Elizabeth was spared because she was pregnant. The ages of many of the people in The Crucible were changed to be made more believable.

Abigail William's age at the beginning of the play was boosted from an age of eleven to seventeen. John Proctor's age was sixty and Elizabeth's age was forty-one, a fact that was not mentioned in the play. At the beginning of the play, it is revealed that there was a wild dancing ritual in the woods led by Tituba. There was not any dancing ritual of any kind, but there some local girls tried to divine the occupation of their future husbands with an egg in a glass.

There are also records that say that Mary Sibley asked Tituba to bake a special "witch cake". This cake was made of rye and the girl's urine. It was then fed to a dog. This white magic was supposed lead to the witch that was afflicting the girls.

So actually there was some type of magic, but nothing as serious as what is mentioned in the play. In historical records, John Indian, Reverend Nicholas Homes, Sarah Cloy ce, and Cotton Mather have been noted as very important people in the Salem Witch Trials. Miller doesn't mention any of these individuals in his play. In reality, Ann Putnam was not the first one to become "afflicted", but Abigail Williams and Betty Parris were. The also didn't have a deep sleep in which the could not wake from, but had violent, physical convulsions. Also the afflicted did not consist of only a dozen teenage girls.

Also, there were men and adult women, including John Indian, Ann Putnam, and Sarah Bibber. Putnam's daughter Ruth falsely accused George Jacobs of sending his spirit to lie on her. This surely didn't happen. Ironically, the opposite situation did. Women such as Bridget Bishop were accused of sending their spirit's to go lie on men. During that time, women were thought of as dangerous, lusty creatures who tried to get men when they were off guard.

Samuel Sewall, Thomas Danforth, and John Hawthorne were the judges in The Crucible. In historical documents, it is said that there needed to be a least five of these eight members to form a presiding bench in a court. The members are William Stoughton, John Richards, Nathaniel Salton stall, Wait Winthrop, Bartholomew Gene, Samuel Sewall, John Hawthorne, Jonathan Crown, and Peter Sergeant. Therefore, the play depiction of the trials were certainly not legal according to the Massachusetts Constitution. The different events shown in the play were the examinations of the accused in Salem Village. These weren't the actual court trials.

They were the hearings to decide if there was enough information to send a sheriff to arrest the accused. If they were accused, they would be arrested, sent to jail, and waited until their trial to determine true innocence or guilt. In the play Reverend Hale says that he has already signed death warrants, but, in reality, he did not have any power to do so. It was not a job for the clergy to do, as the death warrants were signed by William Stoughton, a court official. When Abigail Williams ran away she most likely didn't steal thirty one pounds from Samuel Parris' house.

For back then, ministers were usually paid in about one third in cash and the other two thirds in foodstuffs, firewood, and other supplies. At the end of the play, Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor, and Martha Corey were hung on the same days and on the same gallows. In actuality, they were hung on different days and in different places; Rebecca Nurse on July 19, John Proctor on August 19, and Martha Corey on September 22. Many people find these minor inaccuracies to be very distracting to the play; however, I do not.

According to George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". These simple details, overall, do not affect the story line of the terrible things that happened in Salem in the 1690's. I believe that Miller, by writing this play, gives us the reason to always be on guard and to make sure that we never stray into our historical mistakes.

Bibliography

Burnett. "The Crucible". Fact and Fiction. (03/07/2003).
Burns, Margo. "Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Fact & Fiction". 17th Century Colonial New England. 09/29/02. (03/07/2003).
Traverse, John. "The Crucible". History, Fact and The Crucible". (03/07/2003).