Rebecca Nurse Case Analysis

The priests and judges forced Proctor to accuse himself of Witchcraft and not be hanged in hopes that the people of Salem would recognize this action, and come clean. After this was all said and done, they made Proctor sign his name so they could hang it on the doors of the church, and after Proctor refused they hanged him for the crime of Witchcraft. This left the people of Salem shocked because nobody knew who to trust anymore. Rebecca Nurse was one of the most religious women in the town, and when she was accused it made Reverend Hale stop, and reconsider whether the accusations and proceedings were just and fair. “If Rebecca

In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, several residents are unjustly accused of witchcraft. The accusers tended to have their own motivation behind accusing these people. For example, accusing people out of jealousy was a popular motive for the accusers. This can be seen through Ann Putnam’s accusation of Rebecca Nurse, who was accused of killing Ann Putnam’s seven infant children. Ann Putnam was jealous of Rebecca because while Ann had lost all of her children except one, Rebecca says she had “eleven children, and [is] twenty-six times a grandma” (Miller 15).

In doing so, the court believed this and she was found guilty of witchcraft. She was put to jail and is now serving a sentence. Rebecca Nurse is not the only character who was judged unfairly in this play. In my lifetime, I have been judged unfairly many times.

In his book, “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (1702),” clergyman John Hale comes forth to confront the recent events going on at the time. Initially, Hale alludes to the questionable actions and activities of the townspeople being accused of witchcrafts, and being imprisoned as punishment. In addition, he discloses how everyone suspicious will be accused, not even young children are safe from the hands of this fate. Hale’s purpose of publishing this book was to describe the incident of the Witch Trials, and to reveal his experience of the trials, since his own wife was accused. By employing a didactic tone, Hale relays the actions of the past that targeted the Puritans and those wrongly accused of witchcrafts, so this occurrence

Putnam claims that “There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark. Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more” (16). Putnam is yet another powerful male figure in Salem Betty has taken a grip over in the town. He, in this quote, truly believes that the devil is among the town of Salem based on Betty’s current condition. Reverend Hale, encouraging Tituba to give more names of witches, tells her to look at Betty’s “god- given innocence; her soul is so tender; we must protect her; Tituba; the Devil is out and preying on her like a beast upon the flesh of a pure lamb.

Would hanging Rebecca Nurse really help purge this community of the Devil and its evil spirits, when she is one of the most respectable women this society knows? No. No it would not. Even Reverend Hale, who many called in because of his expertise in the field of witchcraft, stated that, “if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning.” What say you to that, Danforth?

The Crucible      Almost everyone in the play The Crucible  has something to do with the hangings of John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey and the other five people that were hung as well, but there were a select few that had a huge impact on the death of the protagonist john proctor 's death. These select few are the girls that were dancing in the woods which include Abigail Williams, Tituba, Betty Parris, Mercy Lewis, Susanna Walcott, Mary Warren, and Ruth Putnam. The others include Deputy Governor Danforth, Thomas Putnam, and John Proctor himself.     The girls that were dancing in the woods are the ones that started everything. This is because they were casting charms to make the men they like fall in love with them.

This magnanimous, sensible woman refuses to follow the hysteria even to save her own life. Nurse,s charity becomes apparent in Act one when reverand John Hale comments on her reputation outside Salem. Nurse's magnanimous personality is emphasised even more in act 3 when Hale says "If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothings left to stop the whole green world from burning". This quote marks the point in the play where Hale realizes that innocent people are being accused of witchcraft. Rebecca Nurs refuses to abandon her moral code, even when facing death.

Rebecca was a 71-year-old woman, the wife of Francis Nurse who was a wealthy farmer and landlord in the Salem village, and had many children and grandchildren (Hill 87). She was very pious and everyone in the Salem village thought of her as an “exemplary piety” in the Puritan community (Linder). Rebecca had a very strong faith in God and told her friends on her sickbed that she recognized more God’s presence in her sickness than any other time in her life (Hill 88). Rebecca was a very respectable woman and supported by most of Salem villagers who believed in her innocence. After she was arrested and prosecuted because of the false accusations made by the “afflicted” women and girls’ against her, thirty-nine notable members of the community came forward, signed and submitted a petition to assure her innocence and piety (Hill 100).

In Witches: The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer people in the town of Salem were Condemned for being witches. By the end of it all more than 200 people were accused and 20 were executed. Horridly they accused people from all ages, everyone from teenager to ancient was accused. But why? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by hysteria, popularity, and revenge.

Rebecca is accused for murdering the seven children of Ann Putnam who have died long before any questioning arose. Following this accusation, which is one of many that are false, Rebecca would go through the court process of either admitting to her actions as a witch or

However, records from the Salem trials show that her original convicted crime was not witchcraft, but having an “independence of mind”, and being an “unsubmissive character”. She was “…indicted for the bewitching of certain persons” and blamed for a smallpox outbreak that she had ‘caused’ by

The novel displays many decisions made by the people, in which, they are aware that one must be with the court or they are against it. Members of the community know they cannot sneak by interrogations without fully believing in the court or else they will be hanged for witchcraft. Putnam states, "there is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark" (Miller 16), but perhaps the real murderers are right in front of the people the whole time, calling themselves a

The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.

The Devil, a figure usually associated with fear, death, and sickness is placed within this play as an influential “character” based on his spiteful reputation. His name alone, when spoken, fills any room in Salem with terror and uncertainty. Especially in such a puritan society, such as Salem, the Devil is recognized as a malicious creature who is behind the “Witchcraft” and “sickness” taking place. As Mr. and Mrs. Putnam attempt to jump to conclusion that “there are hurtful, vengeful spirits layin hands on these children”(15), Mrs. Putnam justifies the