Ashley D’Amour 2
November 22, 2015
Dark Days in Salem
“I’d not call it sick; the Devil’s touch is
heavier than sick. It’s death, y’know, it’s death drivin’ into them,
forked and hoofed.” This is what Mrs. Putnam had said to Samuel Parris,
it is a terrific example of what the people of Salem thought “witches” to be,
this thinking lead to their executions. While watching the film, The Crucible, I made many
comparisons to how the historical event actually went and the information the film
gave. This film was set in the year 1692, a time when the famous witch
trials were taking place in Salem, Massachusetts. One hundred and seventy
people were accused and twenty executed. Nineteen of the executed were
hanged, including John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. The other
person executed, Giles Corey, was pressed to death with heavy weights on his
chest. The people who “confessed” to being witches were spared, but
continued to be jailed. Some of the historical inaccuracies are present
in main scenes of the film and in the characterization of main roles including
Ruth Putnam and Abigail Parris.
Many scenes throughout
the film, The Crucible, are full of
historical inaccuracies. The film starts
off with Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam and many other girls in
the woods with Samuel Parris’ slave, Tituba. They are dancing around a
cauldron and it’s the dark of night. Tituba and the girls begin to chant
spells over the stewing cauldron, hoping that it makes their crushes fall in
love with them. The scene includes many
witch stereotypes including; the woods, darkness, spells, the cauldron, and the
cackling laughs of Tituba. In the historically accurate article “The
Devil in Salem” it states that the girls were part taking in witchcraft in the
Parris’ kitchen. Also it says that Tituba started out reading their palms
to give them their fortune. The girls also did not have to sneak out in
the middle of the night since the article states that “The young visitors had
no trouble getting permission from their parents…it must have been assumed the
sessions were concerned with cooking and housework.” (58) By adding all
of the drama to the first scene, Arthur Miller made the movie more interesting
and appealing to audiences. After all, most people would agree that
cauldrons, spells and the dark woods seem more like witchcraft than reading
palms in the kitchen does. Also, there
is a scene where Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam are shown unable to wake. However, in the article “The Devil in Salem”,
it is said that “In February, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams began to have
hysterical fits…Ann Putnam was the first to follow Betty and Abigail into
horrible bewitchment” (58). Instead of
being in peaceful sleep, the girls were victims of violent contortions and
spasms. In addition, the film shows
Betty waking from her sleep and calling out for her mother, who was supposedly
dead. In real life though, Betty Parris’
mother was very much alive. The film
changed this piece of history, leading it to be more and more historically
inaccurate.
The personalities of The Crucible characters
were altered from the actual historical event.
Arthur Miller stated in the beginning of his play script that he had to
make up the personality of the characters by reading letters, trial records and
broadsides all from 1692. But to fill in the gaps that those primary
sources left out, Miller used his imagination to bring them back to life.
For example, he had to create Ruth Putnam.
Her name was actually Ann Putnam, but it was changed to avoid confusion
from her mother. In the article “The Devil in Salem”, it is said
that Ann (Ruth) is one of the only people to apologize for what she has done,
however in this film she is seen as a shy girl who clings to her mother, her
apology is not shown. In addition,
Arthur Miller had to modify the character of Abigail Williams. In the film, she is portrayed as a seventeen
year old young lady. In real life,
Abigail was actually eleven years old during the time of the Salem witch
trials. In the year 1692, John Proctor
was sixty years old. This makes it very
unlikely that John Proctor and Abigail Williams were having an affair as
displayed in the film. Furthermore, in
the article Mrs. Roberge handed out to us, it is said that Abigail Williams and
Betty Parris are not the only people living in the Parris household at the
time. Betty Parris actually had an older
brother named Thomas and a younger sister named Susannah. Arthur Miller may have gotten rid of the
other siblings to draw more attention to Betty and Abigail who were two main
characters of the film.
Arthur Miller and Nicholas Hytner
did a remarkable job putting together the play and the film of The Crucible, respectively. Although,
there were many historical inaccuracies present. The opening scene and the scene featuring
Ruth Putnam and Betty Parris not being able to wake are two examples of untrue events. Additionally, the characters of Ruth Putnam
and Abigail Parris represent more examples of Arthur Miller using his
imagination. Today, many films also
include historical inaccuracies, such as the Disney film Pocahontas and the inspirational film Braveheart. Films are great
ways to visually learn about our history but, most films today are meant for
entertainment. It is important to watch
out for facts that may not be true, but also to learn about our past in any way
that we can.
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