Spectator Article Historical Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Spectator Article Historical Critique - Essay ExampleThe 18th century was still a time when suspected witches are condemned to death and that practice of witchcraft is wide seen as diabolical. So, understandably, the subject is extremely religious in nature. Addison, however, focused on the social dimension to the subject. The writer started with a disclaimer that on the issue of witchcraft, having to choose sides is tantamount to doing an injustice because the circumstances that lead populate to accuse others as witches would be an uninformed judgment particularly that those being accused are in danger of being put to death. He emphasized that one can never know for trusted that an individual is a witch or that does practice evil magic. He declared that there is, and has been such a thing as Witch-craft, and that, at the same time cannot give credit to all particular instance of it. A crucial point raised by Addison was how appearances oft fool community into thinking and assuming theories and myths about them. In his narration regarding his encounter with gangsters moll White, the alleged witch, he depression painted the stereotypical individual who would not only scare others but also would be defenseless and unable to protect themselves against the malevolence and cruelty of others. Moll White was old, alone and poor. She was physically unpleasing and disable that people came to equate her presence to that of the devil and all adventures and ill omen that befall on the village. though she was allowed to live with the community (though with constant threats of eviction), she was the usual suspect when catastrophe would strike. At the church, people are especially critical even when she say her prayer. Addison was subtle in his suggestion that witches were punished not because of magic but because they were undesirable people, outcasts who became convenient targets and escape goats for the inadequacies of humanity. A very strong accusation was h urled against the community when Addison pointed out that when Moll started to became a burden to the community, she was conveniently branded as a witch. People started spinning yarns about her, scaring children and severally other with tales their own concoctions. Even Moll, herself, observed Addison, started believing that she may be a witch after(prenominal) all. What happened was that the community wanted to get rid of one of its members who can no longer contribute something and had the misfortune of having been born ugly or infirm. Morality restrains them from taking more crude actions such as kill or outright eviction and so they used witchcraft as a pretext to vex poor souls such as Moll White and punish them in the process. Unfortunately, up until the eighteenth century, witchcraft is one of the few crimes that require very little material evidence. As a matter of fact, the often cited pins by witnesses are enough to show the guilt of an accused witch. Out of all the po ints raised by this paper, there emerges the fact that Addisons time is slowly shifting into a more liberal association wherein education and industrialization helped to enlighten people. Addisons attitude on the matter is a demonstration of this. The Wenham character cited earlier, which was seen as the actual object of interest in this essay, was actually the last witch trial in England. A