Class Discussion
This week in class we continued to discuss the Salem witchcraft trials and the Puritans way of life during these trials. We had in class discussions about what it might be like to live during this time and what the fear the Puritans felt might be like. I was having a hard time trying to put myself in the shoes of the Puritans and the fear they felt until we watched the Danzel Washington movie clip in class. I think the movie clip made the fear the Puritans had of the supernatural more real to me because it depicted an evil supernatural power in a modern day world. In the clip, Denzel Washington is being pursued by a demonic spirit called Azazel. The spirit can move through people just by simply making physical contact with them. I think that the scariest aspect of Azazel in the movie clip was that no one but Denzel Washington could hear him or noticed him. Washington was alone in his observations of the spirit. On top of that, the spirit warned Denzel that he is to tell no one of the spirit's name. Another aspect of Azazel which I found especially frightening was the idea that it is not a physical adversary. As a physical being, Denzel seems to be utterly powerless against the invisible spirit. This is where I connected the movie clip with witch trials that we have been learning about the past two weeks. In my opinion, the Puritans biggest fear was that they were fighting, in their minds, forces which could not be seen. I think they truly believed that Satan was at work in their communities and that the worst part about it was that He could take on the shape of even the innocent Puritans. This belief opened the door to Satan being anyone, or anyone being Satan. If I were living during this time and was told by everyone what I have just described, then I would most likely be suspicious with almost anyone I came in contact with. I would fear whether the person I am interacting with is really the devil. I would also fear whether or not people were suspecting me as being the devil. If you were living in Salem during this period of time, what would you do to protect yourself from being accused of being Satan or practicing witchcraft?
Favorite Quotes:
"Magistrate: Is it not your Master? How comes your appearance to hurt these?
Martin: How do I know? He that appeared in the shape of Samuel, a glorified saint, may appear in any ones shape." (On Waitchcraft, Pg. 114)
Wow, yeah, I get what you're saying about the fear that attaches to an evil that's both visible and invisible: sometimes we see it, sometimes we don't. And it determines when and how it's recognized. That's definitely the stuff of nightmare. Nice work, keep blogging, see you soon.
ReplyDeleteThe movie clip really did bring it into perspective. It is hard to imagine such a force that is invisible and mobile, threatening and vengeful. What would I do to protect myself... I am not sure, I think that this would be very hard. 1. due to the fact that I am a young woman and as we know women were targeted and 2. that I would struggle to be myself. I guess my best bet would be to keep to myself just enough to protect myself but do as respected people in the community did so that I would not subject myself to scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you whole-heartedly. The clip really did bring the text's ideas into persepctive. It is hard to imagine fearing something so much in today's society - but seeing Denzel experience Azazel in the clip brought the fears to modern society and helped a ton. I like how you discussed the powerlessness that Denzel as well as the Puritans felt. They had no idea if Satan was coming for them - maybe he already had. You never know who is trustworthy because being seduced into Satan's army it is not an outright difference. No wonder the Puritans were going crazy!
ReplyDelete