Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour and Desiress Baby

Escape to Feminism Feminism appears in many different types of medias around the world. Some of the first beginnings of feminism appeared in literature. A feminist writers work often portrays women as very strong and independent. Kate Chopin reveals her feminism throughout most of her works. In two of her works, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby†, feminism is expressed through journey two women take to escape to freedom from unsatisfying marriages. Neither of the husbands in either story are good representations of what a loving husband should be. Although, Mrs. Mallard nor Dà ©sirà ©e are physically abused, there are many different types of abuse. Their husbands’ abuse reveals in the control they had over their wives and†¦show more content†¦However, something awakens inside her, and she realizes what she and the marriage have become. With this understanding Dà ©sirà ©e knows she must leave to be free; she â€Å"disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou† (Chopoin 164). Her escape from the marriage may not be the easiest, but Dà ©sirà ©e chooses freedom. The freedoms of both women did not come easy, but they did at least come. Both stories are assumed to be tragedies, because the means by which these women escape are not the most pleasant. Chopin did not intend for this to be true though. Mrs. Mallard’s death should be celebrated, because it is understood that if her husband lives, she cannot. Mrs. Mallard’s death is her way of finally becoming alive and free. Although choosing to die, she ascends to a much happier place than earth. The very last sentence of the story says that Mrs. Mallard died â€Å"of joy that kills† (Chopin 161). The phrase is a play on words, because Mrs. Mallard really died in despair. While Mrs. Mallard did not die of joy, she is finally be truly happy now. Dà ©sirà ©e’s escape differs from Mrs. Mallard’s. Dà ©sirà ©e might not know where she will end up, but she leaves her husband’s overbearing ways of life. It is not known if Dà ©sirà ©e lives or dies, bu t it can be assumed that she reaches a better place either way. Chopin views both escapes from the wives’

The Enlightenment Set the Stage for New Imperialism

New imperialism was the mid nineteenth and twentieth centuries cultural equivalent to a modern day mafia, its roots entangled in the economic, cultural, and humanistic aspects of life. The sole objective of the nations entailed the exploitation of their controlled state. Gestating from the change in control of Asian and African nations to the Europeans by means of political deviance, malicious sieges, and strategic military attacks. The juxtaposition to the modern equivalent endures as the aforesaid is sheltered by the fairytale that these nations were in need of aid and by doing so the Europeans were the good guys. The ideas of new imperialism are greatly influenced by those of the enlightenment. Taking place during the eighteenth and†¦show more content†¦An account of the extreme dependence on the slave trade is that of the Robin Johns. Brothers who endured years of harsh conditions and experienced the nefarious realities of the trade firsthand, yet they continued to tra de slaves upon returning home as free men; justified only by their strong ties to Britain and their unique skills (Sparks, 147). The enlightenment formed a pretense of universalism, while new imperialism furthered the fairytale. Tabula Rosa, meaning blank slate, was a term John Locke used to convey the ability to convert people through the influence of the environment around an individual (Genova, 1/13). This was used during new imperialism as a scapegoat. Nations set out on civilizing missions in order to disguise their imperialist nature. Furthermore, The White Mans Burden was a written work that was used to rationalize destroying cultures and creating satellite nations, because it was their burden to help the people of the less sophisticated nations. This aid was in the form of forced colonization, imbalanced trade, and forced slavery. For example, the Portuguese set out on their mission of new imperialism to gain trade and slaves (Genova, 2/15). Stemming from universalism, imp erialist nations pursued the enlightenment idea of social Darwinism. Which equated to survival of the fittest, not only were the subject of Darwin’s original experiment animals, theShow MoreRelatedThe Ritual Of Sacrificial Suicide1006 Words   |  5 PagesKing’s command, but the King humiliated her so Sati set fire to herself and bore a sacrifice to defend her honor. The custom of sati persisted in the subcontinent for centuries and in fact persists to today. A widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre or committing suicide one or another way is seen as a symbol or marital felicity and longevity, as specified by Hindu scriptures. British imperialists not only justified imperialism by exemplifying sati, but also often took credit ofRead MoreGutenberg Invented The First Movable Printing Press2053 Words   |  9 Pageseconomic, and social development in the centuries that followed. According to Reader, â€Å"The eighteenth century saw a rapid expa nsion in the publication of books, periodicals, and pamphlets, which allowed wide dissemination of these new ideas, and with that, the early stages of public opinion† (24). The availability of paper and spreading of books, allowed various classes of people, many of whom had not previously been exposed to books, to read and interpret different ideas and publication. Access toRead More Stages of Human Nature Essay2373 Words   |  10 Pages----------------- Stages of Human Nature Throughout history, human beings have encountered many changes that have altered the way society has viewed them. The cruel hands of history, which constantly hold the foundation of the mind and the spirit, have shaped human nature. Knowledge is the tool by which these hands create different views and mold new beliefs. Human nature is the product of history and is always at the mercy of the fruits of knowledge, such as new philosophies and scientificRead More Colonialism and Imperialism - A Post-colonial Study of Heart of Darkness3270 Words   |  14 Pagesas its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience.1  Ã‚   For Conrad, the Other becomes meaningful only so far as it gives some insight or information for the construction of Eurocentric self-image.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Heart of Darkness, the story is set in the Congo, the literal battleground for colonial exploitation.  Ã‚   Marlow perceives natives along stereotyped Western lines, even though he also manifests a sense of sympathy towards suffering natives.  Ã‚   The natives cannot be understood or seen representedRead MoreThe Revolution : A Public Seizure Of The State Essay1616 Words   |  7 Pagesof organization within the government; an example is the French Revolution which happened because people were starving, there was unequal taxation and there were too many privileges for rich people and that included the monarchy. In part, the enlightenment movement sparked the fire which eventually led to a change by force and in the end caused the monarchy to be overthrown and for a republic to be formed. With the concept of a revolution in mind, both the 1949 Chinese revolution and the 1979 IranianRead MoreRepresentation of the Other in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essa y4463 Words   |  18 Pagesmeanings regulate our conduct and practices as they help set up the rules and conventions by which social life is ordered.’ (1997:4) However, the real concern is not how representation and language produce meanings but also the consequences of representation. Therefore, there is a great importance to focus on the ways in which meaning is produced and reproduced as the result of a particular discourse. According to Donnelly, Discourses are sets of experiences that are displayed through languageRead MoreA Brief History of the World after 14502234 Words   |  9 Pagesgeography but that which include cultural and institutional accomplishments. The assertion that ‘the West rules because of geography’ (Morris, 2010: 557) stems from a geographic determinism point of view which sees the physical environment as that which sets limits on human society and thus social development (Correira, 2013). This is apparent when one looks at patterns of environmental or geographical placement in understanding the course of human and social development and they further explain why someRead Moreap euro4567 Words   |  19 Pagesinvalidated Newton’s rational, mechanical conception of the universe* the old view of atoms as the basic building blocks of the material world and Newtonian physics 2. Inquiry into the disintegrative process by w/in atoms became a central theme in new physics in part do to experimental work of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie on radium and radiation 3. Quantum theory of energy developed by Planck raised questions about the subatomic realm of the atom and the basic building blocks of the material world* Read MoreRole of African Elites in Dismantling Decolonization5146 Words   |  21 Pagesmilitary dictators in the post-independence era. A good example is Sam, the military despot in Achebe s Anthills of the Savannah. Rodney also observes that the educated Africans were the most alienated Africans on the continent. At each further stage of education, they were battered and succumbed to the white capitalist system, and after being given salaries, they could then afford to sustain a style of life imported from outside . . . That further transformed their mentality. [275] ColonialRead MoreHaitis Independence from France Came at a Cost Essay2624 Words   |  11 PagesFrench philosophers of The Enlightenment. The writings of Jean Jacques Rousseau were the major inspirations of L’Ouverture, and lead him towards the way of fighting for freedom and abolishment of slavery from the colony. With this in mind, the slave revolt broke loose and Toussaint, now an old slave at the age of 45, quickly took control over his own plantation. Just by this action, L’Ouverture realized that there is a chance for something more to be obtained. Toussaint set out to build a disciplined

Taxation Law Journal of Economy and Society

Question: Discuss about the Taxation Law for the Journal of Economy and Society. Answer: Part 1 A brief overview of this part discusses about one Peta who purchased a house in a place called Kew. The house comprised of two old tennis courts at the back and their condition was considerably poor. Petas main aim was to live in the house and also had in mind an aim of building three units within the tennis court and finally makes a sale on them at a profit (Artz 2010). The part in question mentions that, the tennis club offered to buy the old tennis courts from Peta in the current tax year once they are remunerated. The money for remuneration is estimated at a total of $ 100,000. Once the tennis courts were made better, Peta sold them to the new tennis club at a total of $ 600,000 Discussion whether the receipt of 600,000 is an ordinary income under section 6-5 Section 6-5(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 outlines an inclusion of assessable income and income that is earned according to an ordinary or usual concepts (Blundell and MaCurdy 2009). The section in question explain that income earned with respect to ordinary concepts is not defined but rather given the consideration that it is the amount to which people would consider to be an income or that which is incorporated with the common law concept of income . On the same note, the discussion on ordinary income can also be determined on the following grounds; income that is generated from personal exertion for example that of salary and wages (Cassidy 2016). The other ground of determining the same is on income generated from property, for example interest, rent and dividends. The final area is on income that is made out of a business. After ignoring the capital gains as provided for in the question in context, it is clear with regards to information related to ordinary income above, that the receipt of $ 600,000 is an ordinary income under section 6-5 (Chetty, Looney and Kroft 2009). This is because; this receipt includes both the initial amount of money that was invested in resurfacing the tennis courts as well as building new fences around them and the income earned as interest. The section in question argues within the provisions of Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 that an income that is earned from property like in the case of Peta where she has earned reasonable income from the selling of the two tennis courts to a tennis club next door is reffered to as profit. Being that, the ITAA of 1997 under section 6-5 regards that money earned or income generated in this manner is under ordinary income, I confirm the same for the receipt of $ 600,000 given to the individual in question on of this task by the tennis club next door (Barkoczy 2016) . Part 2 The question in context is about one Alan who is employed at a propriety limited company known as ABC. It is mentioned that at the time of his employment, he engaged in negotiations with the company in a number of areas. The areas included the following; salary of about $ 300,000, an additional payment of his mobile bill at $ 220 every month and this must also include GST (Drago and Lovell 2011). The employment of Alan is also covered to be a 2 year contract whereby he is required to make payments every month for unlimited usage of his phone. ABC propriety Limited Company has also made easier Alans spending easier by providing him with the latest mobile phone handset which is estimated at a cost of $ 2000, with the inclusion of GST. Finally, it is mentioned that at the end of the year, ABC hosted a dinner at a local Thai restaurant at a total cost of $ 6,600 including GST, and the dinner brought on board 20 employees (Feldstein 2009). Advice to ABC on its FBT consequences that may arise out of the explained, including any calculation of any FBT liability for the year ending 31st March 2016. FBT is an abbreviator terminology for Fringe Benefits Tax and it is incorporated in the Income Tax Act 2004 under section CX 2. This form of tax is interpreted to be the amount of money that is paid to either a person or an employee, other than wages and salary (Frank 2001). With regards to scheme of legislation, this particular tax is stipulated to only exist in an environment where there is an agreement of provision for a benefit by an employer to an employee in line with their necessary Income Tax Assessment Act (Gruber and Saez 2002). The main advice that I would offer to ABC Company with respect to the consequences that may arise from its fringe benefit tax, is to consider reducing the amount of money offered under the umbrella in context. According to the question, the amount of money paid to Alan as fringe benefit tax is quite huge and this may affect the companies profit margin. For example, Alan is offered to payments for his mobile bills of $220 per month (Frank 2001). This particular payment also includes Goods and Services Tax which is abbreviated as GST. Not only does the FBT ends there, but it also assures Alan of an additional $ 20,000 every year as an amount of money paid to Alan children for school fees. This money is not only much on the side of the company as far as sustenance is concerned but it is also outrageous. Other than the mentioned, FBT generally is a benefit made to the employee by an employer under certain terms of agreements but this does not limit it to cases related to taxes. This money is also taxed; it was argued by prominent scholars in the field of business in the past that the tax accrued from FBT is usually allocated to the federal government. The main point that I am trying to bring on board is that, this money is assessable to taxation and this may increase the companys final tax offer. The only money that is exempted from taxation is that amount that is offered on grounds of entertainment (Infanti 2015). A good example is on the case where at the end of the year, the company in context hosted a dinner at a local Thai restaurant for its employees whose number was estimated to 20 employees. The total cost of this particular dinner was viewed to be roughly $ 6,600 after inclusion of the GST (Khuong and Tien 2013). The fact that GST is included does not guarantee that FBT is applicable. Though both operate on grounds of taxation, they are still different with different provisions and stipulation in the Income Tax Assessment Act. This explanation warrants me my second advice to the company in context, the second advice that I would give is for the company to find a way of reducing the amount of money spent in the dinners especially those held on an annual basis (Linz and Semykina 2013). This they can only achieve by reducing the number of employees and coming up with methods that reduces extra expenses. This will save the money at a greater extent that would be included as GST. It is usually recommended that companies develop systems that can regulate their spending but earns them much interest. The huge spending of ABC Company can also be explained in terms of calculations of the actual figures. FBT Liability= All the amount of money that is paid to Alan as an extra expense apart from his salary. Since the FBT liability is calculated with respect to ABC Company, the liability will encompass the money that is also spent in the end year dinner. It is thus wise for the company in context to come up with policies and legislations that will reduce its spending on a number of areas (McMahon 2015). Going further, if the aspect of input tax credit is brought on board, which is the credit that is paid for tax paid on input in relation to any GST inclusive acquisition, the spending margin of the company would rise up. This is because the Alan is guaranteed of a number of inputs informing of money apart from his normal salary. Therefore taxation rate will automatically show a positive deviation. Issue on input tax credits in relation to any GST-inclusive acquisition On the same point, the GST inclusive acquisition in this particular case is pegged on the latest mobile phone handset that was bought to Alan by ABC Company. This handset cost incurred by the company was $ 2,000. Though this is an example of FBT, it is majorly a demonstration of goods and services tax, thereby proving a fact of extra taxable amount (Neumer 2015). (b) How there would be a difference in my answer with regards to ABC Company, if the company is entitled to 5 employees If the number of employees is reduced to 5 employees, my answer would show much difference especially in finance related areas. This will be explained from two points of view. The first point of view to offer an explanation from is in line with the question requirement towards the end. The company as mentioned previously that it hosted an end year dinner at a local restaurant known as Thai for all its 20 employees. The dinner expense for the employees in context was estimated at an amount of $ 6, 600. It is of of question that if the number of employees is reduced to 5, then there would be great difference in terms of the end year dinner preparation cost in the restaurant in question. Even if the company opts for another restaurant, the expense wont be high. The other way on how my answer would differ if there are 5 employees would be but that they are entitled to all the benefits and other good deals made to Alan. This would greatly infringe the economic status of ABC, since it will be subjected to offering much extra expenses that in the end would cost the companys financial status (Prescott 2004). (c) How the answer provided in (a) would show difference if the clients of ABC also attended the dinner that was celebrated at the end of the year It goes with no doubt, that there are expenses involved in a dinner; the expense that was spent by ABC Company in preparation of the previous dinner was $6,600. If the clients are brought on boards as well, there is a likelihood of heavy spending being made at the dinner. The company first includes the initial amount of money spent on employees then an additional amount of money that may be five times the initial amount is likely to be incurred as well. It is in this area where the point of difference will be noted and the end result may not go well with the financial status of ABC (Shiller 2009). Nevertheless, the amount of money that is spent in the dinner under the Income Tax Assessment Act of 2004, the stipulation given is that the money is suppose to be exempted from the view of an FBT but an application of GST is mandatory. The point on insinuation in this particular context is that, yes, this money may not be treated as fringe benefit tax because it is meant for entertainment as provided in the relevant acts and stipulation, the money has to be tasked. This will again increase the companys rate in terms of the goods and services tax that it going to incur from the dinner. Once this tax amount rises above that of the normal case that was incurred in A, the difference in finances will be noted (Saez 2001). It is therefore important for companies and business organizations to adopt policies, methods and other ways that are aimed at reducing cost. This will increase the companys profit margin as opposed to the explanation shown in part (c) of question two. Conclusion In conclusion, the tax in question has greatly touched on a number of key areas within the provisions or the question requirements. These provisions include those of FBT and GST. Other than question one, the two have been greatly discussed in question two with regards to its concerns. Finally, a number of contrasts have been made especially in the second part to give further understanding of both FBT and GST. References Artz, B., 2010. The impact of union experience on job satisfaction. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 49(3), pp.387-405. Blundell, R. and MaCurdy, T., 2009. Labor supply: A review of alternative approaches. Barkoczy, S. (2016).Foundations of Taxation Law. 8th edition. Sydney: CCH Australia Handbook of labor economics, 3, pp.1559-1695. Cassidy, J. (2016) Concise Income Tax, 10th Edition, Sydney: The Federation Press Chetty, R., Looney, A. and Kroft, K., 2009. Salience and taxation: Theory and evidence. The American economic review, 99(4), pp.1145-1177. Drago, R. and Lovell, V., 2011. San Franciscos Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees. Feldstein, M., 2009. Tax avoidance and the deadweight loss of the income tax. Review of Economics and Statistics, 81(4), pp.674-680. Frank, R.H., 2001. Luxury fever: Why money fails to satisfy in an era of excess. Simon and Schuster. Gruber, J. and Saez, E., 2002. The elasticity of taxable income: evidence and implications. Journal of public Economics, 84(1), pp.1-32. Infanti, A.C. ed., 2015. Controversies in Tax Law: A Matter of Perspective. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Khuong, M.N. and Tien, B.D., 2013. Factors influencing employee loyalty directly and indirectly through job satisfactionA study of banking sector in Ho Chi Minh City. International Journal of current research and academic review, 1(4), pp.81-95. Linz, S. and Semykina, A., 2013. Job satisfaction, expectations, and gender: Beyond the European Union. International Journal of Manpower, 34(6), pp.584-615. McMahon, M.J., 2015. Rethinking Taxation of Privately Held Businesses. Available at SSRN 2500476. Neumer, S.M., 2015. Section 337" Property". Trading in Stocks during Liquidation: Income Tax: Corporate Distributions. Stanford Law Review, pp.970-976. Prescott, E.C., 2004. Why do Americans work so much more than Europeans? (No. w10316). National Bureau of Economic Research. Saez, E., 2001. Using elasticities to derive optimal income tax rates. The review of economic studies, 68(1), pp.205-229. Shiller, R.J., 2009. The new financial order: Risk in the 21st century. Princeton University Press.

Witchcraft Essay Example For Students

Witchcraft Essay WITCHCRAFT: WHAT IS IT REALLY? For my final project, I choose the non-ordinary topic of witchcraft. I was not and am not, interested in researching this to learn how to become a witch and to practice the craft. My intent in doing this project stemmed from the fact that I am a Christian. This class has showed me how to have a more open mind, and how gaining knowledge provides understanding. I wanted to see what is fact and what is false about the myths and stereotypes about witches and witchcraft. To fully explore this subject I have found information on the history of witchcraft and its evolution into the religion of Wicca that is practiced today. I have also looked into how the media today and in the past has presented witches and the type of propaganda that they use that further in the falsehoods that still are present about the craft. Another aspect of my project is two interviews that I conducted with people associated with witchcraft, Meghan Lewis and Carol Karlsen. Witchcraft t he religion is quite old. Practices have said to be dated back to Neolithic â€Å"Stone Age† cave painting, but it is hard to be completely certain if the pictures have been interpreted properly. Witchcraft is known to have grown out of pre-Christian pagan beliefs. The beliefs have developed over the years, being taken from various sources. The idea of witchcraft took a major turn around the end of the mid-evil period. Around the 1500’s the religion of witchcraft no longer become accepted. The Catholic Church in Europe began inquisitions and the persecutions of people they believed to be witches. Before this time the definition of a witch had a person such as a healer or sorcerer/sorceress. Often the people who were known as witches were â€Å"wise folk† or â€Å"good witches.† They were often old, and believed that their knowledge of herbs used in medicine was due to their age. Starting in about the thirteenth century the concept of what a witch was chan ged that a person who was called a witch was believed to have it in with Satan and practicing evil. The idea of there being good witches was no longer accepted, and a series of witch trials began to continued on until around the end of the 1600’s, spreading from Europe to the New World of America. Execution of accused witches occurred in many counties throughout Europe. Some of common things that witches were blamed for causing were destructive storms; non-producing crops or animals, diseases, sterility, death, possession of humans and making them do outrageous acts. The Romans and Greeks were also known to put some people to death for being witches. People who were in witches in those societies were believed to move around at night causing the evils of humanity. In most of Europe, though, a witch was someone who was conspiring with the devil, which during the mid-evil times was a great offense. The people of this era were very devout in their religion, and the devil was high ly feared. To have a person who was supposed to be connected to the devil was something that just could not be accepted. Some of the first executions in Europe that occurred for the crime of witchcraft took place between the years of 1347-1400 in France. Sixty-seven were burned for being involved with the craft. In the 1400’s, the Catholic Church became a key player and influencer in the persecution of witches. It was declared by the church that witchcraft was a â€Å"hostile threat† to Christianity and that a crackdown on the ending the practice was necessary. It was at this time that the idea that witches were agents of the devil became a common belief. They were suspected by some to be on earth to do evil on God’s people. Much of how one would be declared a witch was based upon a book commissioned by the Pope. It was written by two monks, Heinrich Kraemer and Jacob Sprenger, and is entitled â€Å"malleies malificarum† or â€Å"The Witches’ Hamm er.† It outlined various aspects that were considered against that were a crime to be participating in, and defined someone as a witch. Witchcraft was be outlawed in England in the year 1541, and in 1604, capital punishment became the ramification for a person who was a witch or pagan. The inquisition of witches continued to occur in Europe throughout the 1500’s and 1600’s. In 1515, more than five hundred charged witches were executed in Geneva. In 1589, one hundred and thirty-three men, women and children were burned in one day for being witches. Between the years of 1591 and 1600, three hundred were put to death in Switzerland. Also, in Sweden, during the time between 1674-1677, seventy-one were burned for suspected involvement in the craft. The people who were put to death often went through much torture before their lives were finally ended. The mid-evil times in Europe are somewhat known for the variety of tortures and devices used on people when accused of various crimes. Some of these punishments that accused witches would be subjected to include: thumbscrews, the rack, and boots that were made to break the person’s legs. The accused were often deprived sleep and food as well, while awaiting their inevitable death. Many times the person accused of witchcraft were subjected to these tortures because they would not confess. They would be continually put through pain until they declared participating in witchcraft, and then they would die. The situation was no win, many would die from torture, and if they didn’t then they would confess and die because for that reason. Two famous trials that took place in Europe are that of Joan of Arc and Urbain Grandier. Joan of Arc was accused of heresy and witchcraft. She admitted to hearing voices that she claimed belonged to St. Michael, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Margaret. She also declared that these voices instructed her to help in the Hundred Years’ War. Though he r involvement actually turned the war in Frances favor, she was put in trial for the wearing of masculine attire and for acting on God and not for the Catholic Church. She was burned at the stake for her â€Å"crimes.† Twenty-five years after her burning, the church revoked the decision, declaring her innocent, and a heroine due to her assistance in the war. Urbain Grandier was a respected priest in the town of Loudun, France. He was prosecuted for the crime of sorcery, evil spells, and causing the possession of Ursuline nuns at a convent in his town. The accusations by these women were the focus of his charge. They suddenly began barking, screaming, contorting they bodies out of pain, and participating in acts of blaspheme. When asked, they stated that Garndier was the reason for their outrageous actions. At his trial, seventy-two people testified to have witnessed his â€Å"witchcraft† actions, and based upon these testimonies he was burned alive. Studying the cause after the fact, it has been stated by many that the real reason for Garndier being accused had nothing to do with him actually being involved with witchcraft. Many historians believe that he was highly associated with politics and was not liked, and murdered due to this. They believe that the nuns’ actions were part of a conspiracy with higher government officials in the town. With this snowballing effect of witchcraft inquisitions throughout Europe, it was bound to spread across the seas to the young New World colonies. The small village of Salem would be the one to get hit. The events that took place in Salem are a part of American history that have lived throughout the years, and are still studied to this day. Salem Village was the first European settlement in what is now called Danvers, Massachusetts. Salem Village developed into its own entity and parish from breaking off the already existing Salem Town when a group of farmers moved to this area petitioning for its indep endence. This occurred in 1689, and the village became established with its church led by the Reverend Samuel Parris. The beginning of the accusations occurred because of the daughter and niece of Rev. Samuel Parris. In the winter of 1692, nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams suddenly seemed to fall ill. They began displaying unexplainable and frightening behaviors. The girls would dive under furniture, contort their bodies in painful positions, claim that they were being bit and poked by some unseen force, bark, scream gibberish, and claim to see frightening apparitions. Other girls in the neighboring homes started experiencing these same symptoms. These girls included eleven-year-old Ann Putman, seventeen-year-old Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, and Mary Warren, making the total number inflicted eight. The town called in Dr. William Griggs to examine the girls, and hopefully get an explanation for their outrageous behaviors. Even befo re the doctor’s assessment of the girls’ condition, there were rumors going around the village that witchcraft may be the cause. These are partly attributed to a book that had been recently published by Cotton Mather. It was entitled â€Å"Memorable Providences,† and told the tale of a woman in Ireland that had been possessed by a witch. The woman’s behavior in the book was similar to that displayed by the infected girls. After Dr. Griggs fully examined the girls, and tired various methods to cure them, he had no answer. In the meantime, the disease seemed to be spreading with some adults being infected. He finally suggested that the supernatural might be at play in the cases of these little girls. The individuals living the Salem Village were strict Puritans. Some of the behaviors that the girls were exhibiting were scaring the community, and causing many to believe somehow the devil was involved. Many of the people in the village were convinced that wit chcraft and Satan were coming to breakdown this God-fearing town. From the assertion by the doctor, and already existing opinions that witchcraft was the cause, the accusations began. Parris and Williams made the first allegations of specific persons being participating in witchcraft and causing the epidemic that was taking place in the town. The girls accused three women, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn. Tituba was a Caribbean woman that worked as a slave to the Parris family. She had been suspected by many as a witch due to the different beliefs of her native culture. Sarah Good was an old beggar woman that some would consider a social outcast. Sarah Osborn was also an old woman known for being quarrelsome and for not attending church on a regular basis. These three women were placed in jail and schedule for trials of witchcraft in March. After these first condemnations, many more followed, with the jails filling up more and more everyday. As the number of people in jail incr ease, the less likely it seemed that some should be there. Others accused included the very pious and frail Rebecca Nurse; Martha Corey, wife of a successful farm; Deliverance Hobbs; Bridget Bishop, owner of a house of brothel; Sarah Cloyce; Goodwife Proctor, wife of a rich farmer and Mary Easty. Also, the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good, Dorcas, would be accused of being tied to witchcraft as well. Three of the girls had complained that they were bitten by Dorcas’s specter. It soon turned that it wasn’t just females being implicated, some males were said to witches. The wealthy Phillip English and George Burroughs, a former pastor in Salem joined the women in confinement. The first of the accused to confess to witchcraft was the Parris’s slave Tituba. She said in her testimony that she had met a man that sometimes would appear as a dog or hog, and he would ask her to sign his book to do work for him (the devil). She declared that she was a witch, and that she, Good and Osborn had flown in the air over the poles. More and more trials, confessions, and denials followed this initial act by Tituba. When the women would come into the courtroom the girls would scream and say that they were being hurt, or other various horrid things by the â€Å"witch† When it was all over, nearly 25 died. Sarah Osborn died in prison; Sarah Good, Bridget Bishop, Rebecca Nurse, George Burroughs, Martha Corey, Mary Easty were all hanged; and the husband of Martha Corey, Giles, was pressed to death under two heavy stones which took a period of two days. He and his wife were the last victims of the witch-hunt that had become an epidemic in this little village of Salem. Early Autumn of 1692 brought an ending to this awful period in American history. Many doubts were starting to develop in people of the town due to the social stance of some of the accused held. Increase Mather published a book entitled â€Å"Cases of Conscience† which argued the mor als behind what had been taking place over the past few months. There are many theories that have developed since the end of the witch trials of Salem. These ideas have also come up in the study of the witch-hunts in Europe. Where people making this up? Where their social reasons that they wanted certain murdered and used witchcraft as the mode? As one can see, over this period the concept of what a witch was become skewed from the original definition. During the times between the 1300’s to the late 1600’s, the practice of religion of witchcraft became somewhat of a secret society. What these secret witches were practicing was not in the same form that the church categorized witchcraft as. After the late 1600’s, witchcraft remained a quiet practice by its followers. Then, in 1897, and book was written entitled â€Å"Aradia† or The Gospel of the Witches,† by Godfrey Liland. Though it went unnoticed, it was a beginning of resurgence of the true religi on of witchcraft in society. About fifteen to twenty years after Liland’s novel was publish an Egyptologist, Dr. Margaret Alice Murray, discovered some documents on witchcraft. Information in these records stated that witchcraft was actually a mix of ancient, pre-Christianity, nature/fertility based religion. Murray furthered researched this information to find it to be true. She went on to study the laws that the church had implemented during the times of the witch-hunts. In researching the information on the this topic she found evidence supporting the validity that witchcraft has nothing to do with Satan, and that they churches knew this the entire time. She published her findings in a work called â€Å"The Witch-Cult in Western Europe.† These works initiated the reformation of the craft and its ability to be practiced by people without fearing for their lives. Modern witchcraft, or the general term, Wicca, has many forms and has evolved from different areas. This c hart shows the basic evolution of witchcraft. Many new-age practices of Wicca are based off the beliefs established by Aleistel Crowley. An outline of his doctrines was presented in his biography and provided a basis for many who were seeking a form of witchcraft to practice. From his basic concepts grew what is known as â€Å"Gardinerian† style of Wicca. Gerald Brosseau Gardner, a follower of Crowley, developed it. The â€Å"Alexandian† style was begun by Alex Sanders, and has many of the same concepts that are practiced by the Gardinearian witches. Miriam Simos, or Starhawk, is the founder of the feminist Wicca in the United States. She runs an organization known as The Covenant of the Goddess, which combines feminism and the Gardinerian style. Though there are many different styles of Wicca one could practice, there are many basic concepts that are consistent in most of the different types. Many of the basic beliefs of witchcraft counteract the myths and stereotypes the today’s society has about what witchcraft is. A witch can be male or female, and is defined as one who practices Wicca. Witchcraft is a nature religion, not unlike that of shamanism, and is considered pagan religion. With this concept of worshipping nature, witches believe in the idea of dualism. What this means is that they believe that everything in nature, including humans, has a male and female (this can be related to Christianity’s good/evil concept). The God and The Goddess of Wicca represent the male/female aspect of nature. These are what witches worship; so when one asks if a witch believes in God, the answer is yes, but as a creative force and not in the Christian sense. The Goddess of Wicca represents the continuation of existence in nature and she has three forms. The first is Herodias, or The Maiden who is the symbol of birth and beginning. One who worships this form of the goddess must be a virgin, but one who follows The Maiden is said to have the i nnocence of perception and stronger psychic abilities. The second form is Diana Gaia, or The Mother. She represents life in its’ prime. Her followers learn to use sex as a power source and don’t have the â€Å"blind spots† that sometimes occur from having a perception of innocence. The final form is Hecate, Anatha, or The Crone. She is believed to represent death and ending. Witches that follow the path of The Crone gain wisdom and objectivity that comes with age. The God of Wicca is the symbol of the male element of nature; he represents cycles, that of a year (birth, life, death and re-birth). He is believed to born to The Goddess, and dies on all hallows’ eve each year. Some types of Wicca believe that The God has three forms-the blue God of spring, the green God of summer, and the brown God of fall. As one can see, witches do not worship the devil. In the morals of the craft, there actually is no incentive for witches to do evil work, and they do not worship any evil entities at all. A basic concept of Wicca is that of the â€Å"Three-Fold Law,† which says that whatever you do comes back to you three times, so witches only want to do good. Another basic aspect in Wicca is that of the rede. It states â€Å" An’ye harm none, do what ye will.† What this is saying, is that witches do not believe in harming anyone or anything, and so as long as a witch practices that idea they can do what they want. Witches do practice magick and spells, but not in the sense that most think of them. Spells are related back to strong prayer for something. Magick in Wicca is the effect of a spell. There are often magick referred as black and white. Many witches do not like these terms; but the basic idea that white magick is done with a general intent of good and black magick is done with the intent to effect the free will of someone specifically. For example, black magick could be trying to make a person fall in love with you. Wit ches do use tools in their spells/prayers that they believe hold powers in aiding them with they work. This is much like that of the shamans as well. Some basic tools and symbols are used by most that practice Wicca. The Pentagram or Pentacle is a five-pointed star in an upright, one-point up position. It is known as the symbol of witchcraft. The top point symbolizes the creator ruling the four elements of nature, air-love, fire-knowledge, water-wisdom and the earth-truth. The circle enclosing the star stands for the Deity. Other tools include candles of various coloring representing different things. The anthame is a dagger (dull, not used to cut) used to center energy when performing a spell. The wand is used in spells to invoke the energy of The God or The Goddess. The cauldron is used in many rituals especially during various holidays. The censer is an incense burner that is used in offerings to the Deities. The Book of Shadows is created by all witches and holds a witch’ s rituals, spells, dreams, and anything important to their practice. Witches also have various statues, icons, jewels, and still other various things that old special meaning to them. Another aspect of Wicca is the holidays that most witches celebrate. The most well known, but not by this name is, Samhain. It occurs on October 31, and is the eve of the Celtic New Year and first day of Winter. It is believed that on this night the line between the material world and the spiritual world is the easiest to cross over. Yule occurs on December 21 or 22, and is the night of the winter solstice. The God is re-born to bring light and warmth back to the earth. Imbold (Candlemas) fall on February 2 and is in celebration of the first stirrings of the year. It is also in celebrating of the three phases of The Goddess. There is also Ostara on March 21 or 22 serving as a reminder that light and dark are in balance. Still other holidays include Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon all representing a c elebration in a change in nature or of The God or The Goddess. All of these facts of Wicca are just a basic understanding of what in religion entails. Most witches believe that your practice is what you make of it yourself, and what you want to believe is fine as long as it if for your own purpose and done out of good. When studying the history and the facts of witchcraft, I took a personal interest in the effects of the history of witchcraft on its view in popular culture. Witches are a common theme in many works of literature, TV programs and movies. Who hasn’t heard of the three witches of Macbeth that gave him his fate? There was also the popular program of Bewitched were Samantha was called a witch because she could cast the notion of what many thought was a spell, and also make things just appear when she wanted them too. Many times the stereotypes, in general, that are presented in the multi-media venue are taken from some truths in society. I feel that for witchcraft typecasts that are placed in witches in TV and the movies are just based upon popular culture and have no real backing. While doing this project I watched a couple shows that are on TV now that have witchcraft as a topic for the show. One show that is on is called Charmed; it is about three sisters who practice the craft. Some of information presented held true to that of what Wicca is, but some of was changed for entertainment purposes. Another program I viewed was Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The show is true example on how witches have gotten the label that they still have today. Sabrina, her two aunts and her cat are all witches. On this episode, they all can just cast spells at the drop of a hat to make things â€Å"magically† appear. Another aspect I noticed while doing this project was the reaction I received from people when I told them what my topic was. Many kind of looked at me weird, some asked if I believed it, and others inquired if I was learning how to cast spel ls. The impression that I got was there is a true ignorance in American culture to the knowledge of what true Wicca and witchcraft is today. When pondering why this is, I realized that much of that has to do with how witches are portrayed. No TV show or movie has ever accurately shown how Wicca is practiced because it wouldn’t be entertaining. It is easy to fuel the misconceptions what of witchcraft is. Some of this is understandable and unchangeable; we are never going to get rid of the woman dressed in black with a pointed hat and a wart on her nose as the traditional image of a witch. This project opened my eyes to how stereotypes and myths can be easily furthered by the media. Another personal aspect of this project is two interviews that I conducted with women associated to witchcraft. One was with a woman named Meghan Lewis, who practices worshipping nature, and believes in some of the Wicca concepts. The second interview was with Carol Karlsen, a professor in Womenâ₠¬â„¢s Studies at the University of Michigan. She is teaching a course in the history of witchcraft. These two interviews provided me with some opinions and personal aspects on witchcraft that I had not found in my previous research. Meghan Lewis is a woman that one can just tell is educated. She begins our first conversation wanting to know what I wanted kind of information I was interested in so she could prepare for the second time that we planned to talk and conduct the interview. In the process of the interview, I personally enjoyed just listening to her talk about her beliefs and views on witchcraft, or more so, nature based religion. She became interested in these kinds of beliefs when she took a six-week class in women’s spirituality. They focused on the theories of the native American religions and that of Celtic religion that interested her due to her Scottish and English ancestry. After this course, she began meditating at the Arb, and getting more in touch with nat ure. This began a reorientation of herself to nature and she began deriving power from nature. In speaking with Meghan, I could tell that she has done much work into the study of Wicca religion, and on the concept of worshipping nature. She says that she doesn’t necessarily practice Wicca, but she does practice many of the Wicca concepts. She informed me that Wicca is a Gaelic term that means to shirt awareness and to bend and change. In her spell work, or worship, she uses her paintings. She feels she can connect herself to nature through her paintings. She also believes in the power of will and works with the chakras of the body, on in particular being the abs, which symbolize the seed of will. She also defined her spell work as most of the information on Wicca I found did; it is work for a desired outcome, but not bad. That is actually one thing that hit me about Meghan, she was so calm and just seemed peaceful. This is just the feeling that I got over the phone; she had a very soothing voice and was very interested in helping me out with my project. Overall, the interview with Meghan gave me a personal look into someone who is practicing everything that I have read about while doing research for this project. It really showed me how one applies these beliefs to their everyday life. She also gave me the names of some books that I did not come across in my research that sound very interesting to read and I plan to try to pick them up. My interview with Carol Karlsen was extremely informative as well. She has spent a lot of time studying witchcraft, especially the woman’s aspect of it. She wrote a book that I actually came across in my research but wasn’t able to check it out, entitled â€Å"The Devil in the Shape of a Women.† What this book focuses on is the women and the girls of the Salem witch trials. I asked Karlsen what are her beliefs on the Salem trials, since the questions have come up to whether these girls were telling t he truth. She gave me an overview of what she has come to believe through her research. She thinks that there was something wrong with the girls. Some kind of psychological disturbance through fear of the devil, or something, may have been the actual cause, as she hypothesized. She also discussed the social standing of most of the women that were accused of the crime of witchcraft. She said that most were either the only daughter, widows with land, wives with sons, and wives with no children. Many were also old and not quite pillars of the society, yet some were, but then that goes back the theory of the social standing. She basically inferred is that there is a possibility that these women were put on trial as the cause of the girls’ illnesses as an excuse to kill them, or inhibit them from having the husbands’ land since it wasn’t accepted at them time for a women to own land and money. We also talked about the class that she teaches at the University that I h ope I can take in the future. This semester what is going to cover is what I have done here, but I am sure it will be further in depth with more concepts that I have been able to come up with for my project. She said that she is going to lecture on the history of European witchcraft, Salem, and then popular culture of witchcraft. That last aspect is what intrigued me the most while doing my project, so I truly hope I can someday take her class. When doing my research for this project I was stunned at the amount of information that is out there about witchcraft. I also found that there are so many different interpretations to what witchcraft really is, and it can almost be confusing at times. I did get everything I hoped out of doing this project. I wanted to learn about witchcraft because I didn’t really know what was true about it and what was false. I also realized that I wanted to know to be informed so that I feel comfortable having a view on a topic. One thing that I hav e learned through this class is just to be open to new ideas, even if you don’t plan on believing them I think it makes a person more well-rounded the more knowledge they have. I think it is ignorant for people to refuse to learn about psychic abilities, healing, or witchcraft based upon the reason they don’t believe in it. It often makes me wonder if they are so fickle in their beliefs, that reading about other things that are out there will change who they are. I know that I am a very firm Christian, but I am also very accepting of the other religions that are out there. One thing that I did discover in reading about the religion of Wicca is that many of the basic principles are the same just the specifics vary. I don’t use candles to pray, or worship gods of the earth, but I have my own beliefs and so do witches. The project gave me a unique experience and a very informative on into a topic that I had many misconceptions that have been absolved. Witchcraft an d Wicca has had its share of problems, but I have respect for people who stand up for their beliefs and support something even though its not considered part of the norm in today’s conforming society. Bibliography:Bibliography WORKS CITED Baker, Kevin. â€Å"The History of Wicca.† 1 December, 1999. http://www.spiritonline.com/wicca/history.html. Barstow, Anne Lyewellyn. Witchcraze. San Fransisco, CA: Pandora, 1994. â€Å"Best Witches.† 20 May, 1999. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/jup/witches/qa/q137.htm Catala. â€Å"The Burning Times.† Catala Silvermoon. January 1997. 8 December, 1999. http://www.silvermoon.net/catala/burning/times.htm Godbeer, Richard. The Devil’s Dominion. New York, NY: Cambridge Press, 1992. Lea, Henry Charles, LL.D. History of Witchcraft. New York, NY: Thomas Yoseloff, 1957. Lee. â€Å"General.† The Truth about Witchcraft. February, 1998. 1 December, 1999. http://www.tgka.com/lee/wcraft.htm Lewis, Meghan. Telephone Intervie w. 13 December, 1999. Linder, Douglas. â€Å"An Account of the Events in Salem.† Famous American Trials. 1998. 2 December, 1999. http://www.law.umke.edu/faculty/Projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.htm Mair, Lucy. Witchcraft. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969. â€Å"What is a Witch?† Salem Tarot Page. 5 December, 1999. www.salemtarot.com/whatawitch.html â€Å"Wiccan Holidays.† The Salem Witch Village. 5 December, 1999. http://www.salemwitchvillage.com/sabbats.htm. â€Å"Witchcraft.† 1 December, 1999. http://topaz.kenyon.edu/projects/margin/witch.htm â€Å"Witchcraft_102FAQSheet.† 2 December, 1999. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2188/we102faq.htm â€Å"Witchcraft: A Brief History.† 1 December, 1999. Salem Wax Museum. http://www.salaemwaxuseum.com/twitch.htm â€Å"Witchcraft The Facts.† 6 December,1999. http://www.blast.net/norm3vog/prnt-it.html Word Count: 5188 .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .postImageUrl , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:hover , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:visited , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:active { border:0!important; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:active , .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202 .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8808c2d4c6d55989b4991e7c0b5e9202:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Prostitution Why Not Legalize It Essay We will write a custom essay on Witchcraft specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now