Modern Day Witch Hunt In The Crucible

Today, most people know witch hunts as something that happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1693, but what most people do not know is that they are still happening today and causing major violence in communities around the world. The Crucible is a book that shares the events that happened during the time of the Salem witch trials; although centuries have passed by, qualities of modern witch hunts can be seen throughout this book. Which brings us to the question, how do modern day witch hunts compare to the witch hunt shown in The Crucible?

Witch hunts originated in Europe and have been going since the 1400’s. The first witch hunts began in the countries of France, Germany, Northern Italy Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (Swancer). It all started around 1490, when Pope Innocent VIII issued a document that condemned witch craft. This document was based truly on folklore and the idea of witchcraft couldn't be proven at all (Swancer). Without bringing the idea witchcraft to the attention of the citizens, people probably would have never gone around trying to find witches in the first place. This caused an outbreak in witch hunts throughout Europe that eventually spread to the Americas through the new technology.

Witch hunts are currently happening all around the world and most people are not even aware of it.

Today, witch hunts happen in places that have poor medical care and few educational opportunities (National Geographic Society). In these countries people do not have the as much knowledge and understanding of things like diseases, natural disasters, and other occurrences as others might. This leads the people to believe that witchcraft is what is causing the events. Witch hunts are most common today in countries like India, Gambia, Ghana, Zambia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, and many others (National Geographic

Society)
How exactly are people named witches in the first place? Witch Craft is blamed for any tragedy can can’t be explained/understood by the people in which it is effecting (Fessenden). People can be accused for being a witch for anything from natural disaster and sickness to physical abnormalities. Also, if someone wants to get revenge or is jealous. While some people are accused for causing bad things, others are accused for causing too many good things. In Nigeria, children from wealthy families are accused of being witches because some can’t come to comprehend how the family obtained their money. This leaves them with one explanation, witchcraft (National Geographic Society). It is also known that woman are most likely to be accused of being a witch than men. The rev Jack Urame of the Melanesian Institute , a Papua New Guinea human rights agency, estimates that witchcraft related violence is directed 5 to 1 against women, suggesting that witchcraft accusations are used to cover gender-based violence(Horowitz).
When accused of being a witch, a person is put through a “trial” to see if they are actually a witch. Each community has different methods to determine if someone is a witch. Most are not fair and are highly based on superstitions throughout the community. For example, In Ghana they cut of a chicken’s throat and if it falls towards the person they are a witch and if it falls away then they aren't. In Zambia, mirrors are used because witches are said to cast a different reflection than normal people (Swancer). In other societies it may come down to, the judgement of a witch doctor, practitioner of beneficial “white magic”, a priest, or specially trained “witch finder”. In some situations, others will try to get the person to willingly confess, either through encouragement, cajoling, shame, or, more likely, torture (Swancer).
The worst part of these modern day witch hunts is what happens to the convicted witches. After a person is labeled as a witch, the face many difficulties. Just like witch trials, each community has a different method of dealing with the witches. In Cameroon, the witches are fed meat to attempt to purify them. In Zambia, witches are given a drink called Kucupa which is meant to cleanse their souls, however this often ends up killing them in the end. It is also common in many communities that witches are imprisoned, branded, banished, beaten, stoned, and many other things that often lead to death (Horowitz). Sadly, The United Nations Refugee and Human Right Agency found that murders of supposed witches are number in the thousands each year (Horowitz).
Some of the most common witch hunts happen in India. In July of 2017. Budhni Tudu was just a 34-year-old Indian woman living life as usual when one day, fellow villagers in Birbasha, Eastern India, identified her as a witch. She was blamed for the illness of a neighbor's daughter, mostly likely because a cause couldn’t be identified (Pradhan). The villagers tortured and threatened to kill her. "Now I am isolated from society. They don't even let me leave my home," she says. "I am counting each and every moment in fear. I am afraid to even go out and fetch drinking water because if they find me they'll kill me.”(Pradhan). Everyday around the world things are happening like this to people just like Budhni, their lives are destroyed by accusations that can’t even be proven.
These witch hunts are causing violence in the world that is not needed, something must be done to stop them. Because most witch hunts are caused by lack of knowledge, teaching basic information in these communities will hopefully reduce the number of witch hunts. In 1997, the government of South Africa decided to do something about witchcraft fear. They began an educational campaign in schools and workplaces about science, medicine, and HIV/AIDS (National Geographic Society). These issues are so common, law enforcements also need to get involved. South Africa sent police to work with traditional healers and village chiefs. The police told them if they accuse a person of witchcraft and that person ends up being killed, the healers and village chiefs will be held responsible (National Geographic Society).
Many elements seen in these modern day witch hunts can also be seen in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The book is based on the event of the Salem Witch trials in 1693, in the beginning of the book, the whole idea of witchcraft is started when Betty Parris (the daughter of Reverend Parris) wouldn’t awake from the her bed. During this time the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with her which led to the idea of witchcraft throughout the village.
They believed witchcraft had to be the cause of Betty’s illness, but then became the question of who the witch was. In the book they accused Tituba, a slave from Barbados, of witchcraft for participating in her Barbados traditions, which they truly didn’t understand. “PARRIS: ... I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I came on you. Why was she doing that? And I heard a screeching and gibberish coming from her mouth. She were swaying like a dumb beast over that fire! ABIGAIL: She always sings her Barbados songs, and we dance.”(Miller 19).
When they were attempting to get Tituba to confess, they threatened her and said a lot of things to try force a confession and information about an what she did to Betty and if she knew any other witches.“Parris: You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba” (page 42). When Parris said this Tituba said she compacted with the devil in order to avoid getting whipped. This still happens today in modern witch hunts.
The witch trials broke the community that was once so close. In the end many people died and were jailed without any evidence that they ever compacted with the devil. “Danforth: Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning.”(Miller 119). Danforth was the judge during the trials and sentenced many people to death. The community was broken and nobody could trust each other. “Cheever: There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now their masters are in the jails, and much disagreement who they will belong to now.”(Miller 115). This quote is just one example of the broken community during and after the witch trials. Everyone was fighting and nobody could be trusted, all because Betty Parris was sick with an unknown disease.