Salem Witch Trials Webquest

Salem Witch Trials Web quest

1) As an accused Witch, my feelings progresses from one of despair, hope, than despair again.  While imprisoned, I felt betrayed.  Betrayed by my fellow citizens who made up stories of what my specter, not even me, did.  However, I felt hopeful of my future when my son came in with a petition with 40 signatures. The judge acquitted  me of being a witch; however, I was put back on trial after some witches in the crowd went crazy with the verdict.  That's when my feeling of despair began.  After being proved innocent, I was now going to die for something I didn't even know I did.

2)  The main difference between the two is that the Crucible contorts some truthful events into entertaining events for the audience.  The Crucible is not entirely a historic representation of what actually occurred in Salem and some creative license was used by Miller.  Miller took the most freedom by trying to make the witch craft trials an allegory.  By doing so, he ignored some of the facts such as that the clergy, Rev. Hale would not have signed death warrants; that job belonged to the judge.  

3) I think that Caporael's theory that the first "witches" in Salem had ergot poisoning could be a valid argument.  All of the facts that she provided seem to fit the conditions of Salem at that time.  I believe that the ergot poisoning may have affected the first two girls of the time period and mass hysteria ensued.  

4)  Both McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials centered around two main ideas: conviction without evidence and turning in fellow communists or witches.  My response to Miller's article is that I agree that there is a similarity between the two.  Both had an element of public hysteria where convictions were made based on no actual evidence or evidence that has been misconstrued.

5)  The Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare were similar in many ways.  First, both arose out of public hysteria; one in the case of witchcraft, the other in the case of communism.  Both also resulted in the death or career death of innocent people who were convicted by little to no real evidence.  The two differed in that the Salem Witch trial resulted in deaths while the Red Scare mostly resulted in public shaming and career loss with only a few deaths.

6)  The Witch Craft Trials relate to the Holocaust, the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the Red Scare in the way that all of these events involved public hysteria.  Whether completely agreeing or not, the public's actions allowed for a minority to impose a rule that threatened the lives of innocent people.  There are differences between each of them, however.  The holocaust was a systematic killing of a people while internment camps were designed to house Japanese-Americans during the war in order to ease societies expectations of an attack or infiltration.  The article I read on Human Rights Watch only dealt with a group of people in Cambodia illegally living on private land and the police's response.  The police did not attack the people because of their race or political beliefs; they attacked them because they were committing a crime.

7) The quote "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" means that if we do not learn from our past mistakes, we will inevitably make those same mistakes in the future.  We can learn from history by understanding what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again in the future.

8)  Other examples of witch hunts would be the Spanish Inquisition, and other witch trials in early modern Europe such as the Fulda witch trials, Trier witch trials, and the Basque witch trials.  All of these trials involved mass hysteria and panic to convict people without any evidence.

9)  The most interesting thing I learned was that there are many similarities to the witch trials throughout history; and despite seeing these events unfold, we continue to pursue inquisitions without tangible evidence. We quickly jump to conclusions and put people on trial before we wait for the facts and evidence.  

Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God

"Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God"   Daniel Drum and Brittany Connor

1) Edwards wants his congregation to be born again in their faith and turn from their wicked ways. 

2) "Natural men" refers to all people and their naturally sinful ways. 

3) Using context clues, "abate" means to be less intense. 

4) Edwards uses this structure to provide a stronger visual image and lasting effect for his audience.  Also, he used this structure to connect all of his like ideas in one paragraph. 

5) The clause serves to provide the audience with a visual image. Yes, more appositives can be found in the sermon.

6) The rhetorical effect is that what he is saying sounds like an infinitely long list. 

7) He uses semicolons to connect the clauses because they are all one big, giant idea and he wants it to go together with the same ideas. He repeats "not willingly" for effect and for his congregation to remember that part of the sermon (will be in their heads more if it is repeated more than once). 

8) Edwards develops the simile in paragraph 5 by adding the visual element of an arrow being attached to a bow and launched at a person's heart.  Imagery is powerful because it allows the audience to imagine what is happening while Edwards is saying it.  Therefore, it is an effective tool in order to reach your audience.

9) The figurative language used in the next three paragraphs include language of great detail such as "wrath towards you burns like an angry fire" and "loathsome insect over the fire."  The progression of this language becomes more and more hateful to humans from God and the point Edwards is making is that God hates you much like you hate other things in your daily life.

10) Edwards employs pathos because he uses imagery and similes that appeal to the audience's emotions.

11) Edwards tone is one of condemnation towards his congregation.  Words such as abhor and abominable help create that tone.  Towards the end, however, Edwards lets up a bit and does not use as strong of language.

12) Texts meant to be heard normally include more stories, emotion, and imagery than texts meant to be read.  Written works tend to contain more facts and analysis.

13) Edwards' text is persuasive because it uses fear to encourage a change from his congregation.  It is effective.  A persuasive text is any text that uses language in order to change a person's opinion one way.  In this case, Edwards wants to persuade his congregation that they are still not doing enough to please their angry God.

14) I believe parts that may have evoked such responses are when Edwards gives images of hell.  These images such as fire and death scare the congregation because, despite all of their good works, they are being told they will still not enter the paradise of heaven.

15) (Bow and arrow going through heart)

Navajo Origin and Iroquois Constitution Answers

Navajo Origin

1) The words used in this passage are very descriptive and colorful.  For example, the story refers to the gods as Blue Body, Black Body, etc.  The impression these words made on me was that the Navajo used colorful words in everyday life.

4)  (a) In the Navajo creation ceremony, on the twelfth day, the people washed themselves.  Women dried themselves with yellow cornmeal while men dried themselves with white cornmeal.  Following that, a call to the gods is made four times.  Each time louder than the previous.
   
     (b) The ritual tells me that the Navajo conduct the ceremony in a way for all of the people to remember how they were created. They also use elements that were present at the creation to reinforce this idea of remembrance.

5)  (a) The wind has an important role during the ceremony.  The find provides life and without it no life could exist according to the Navajo.
 
     (b) The wind contrasts with other rituals in the ceremony because the wind  is the key to life while the other elements, like the buckskin are purely ceremonial.

Iroquois Constitution

1) If I was a chief, this would persuade me to join the Iroquois Confederation.  This is because, at the time, Native Americans were being attacked by colonists and by agreeing to join together with other tribes, it would make my odds of survival greater.

2) (a) The lords plant the tree of the great peace

    (b) The roots represent peace and strength

3) (a) The lords must open the meeting by expressing gratitude to their cousin lords

    (b) This decree suggests that the Iroquois are a polite people that are friendly to other tribes

4) (a) Dekanawidah uses the images of a tree, an eagle, and deer antlers

    (b) These references tell me that the Iroquois used nature as symbols for everyday ideas

5) (a) The qualities of conduct required from lords are qualities of respect resistance to anger, offensive actions, and criticism.  Also, a lord must be filled with peace and yearn for the goodwill of the people of the confederacy.  A lord must also be tender to his people and deliberate on his actions.

    (b) These qualities are what politicians run for office on today.  However, in reality, politicians rarely display these qualities and are generally more selfish than the leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy.

6) I agree with the ideas stated in the constitution because the constitution values the people of the confederacy and not just the leaders.  The constitution requires leaders to be humble and thoughtful rather than rash and oppressive.  These values are necessary for a peaceful and prosperous society.