Similarities Between Salem Witch Trials And Frankenstein

Through the means of mankind, both women in the Salem Witch Trials and Victor Frankenstein’s creature possess the label of an outcast. Accused witches during the 17th century were often looked down upon because they were improper, lower-class women that did not abide by social norms. This prompted most of society to target them with charges of witchcraft. Frankenstein’s creature is also labeled as an outsider solely because of his appearance. He does not have any parallels to physical human characteristics and is therefore instantly named a monster. Because of the cultural stigmas labeling these two groups as sub-human, abuse is turned to as a solution. By treating women in the Salem Witch Trials and Victor’s creature with physical abuse,

Condemnation took place during the Salem Witch Trials because of the paranoia that formed as a reaction of physical abuse. To avoid as much abuse as possible, witches began blaming others to make themselves less guilty. They would convict other women around them so that the accusers would have another victim whom they could target instead. As an example, it is written that “On February 29, under pressure from magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, colonial officials who tried local cases, the girls blamed three women for afflicting them: Tituba, a Caribbean woman enslaved by the Parris family; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osborne, an elderly impoverished woman” (Blumberg). Most accused women would try to clear their name by singling out other lower-class women and labeling them as the “causes” of their witchcraft. Later on, this would create a domino effect of witches accusing witches. The women were so paranoid that they would be punished to death so they attempted to even out the punishment by throwing other women under the bus with them. To distract the focus that was on themselves, witches went as far as accusing young children of witchcraft. A case from the Salem Witch Trials states, “The four-year-old was arrested, kept in jail for eight months, watched her mother get carried off to the gallows, and

Respect honors the worth of an individual no matter who they are. Likewise, equity involves fairness to all regardless of their weaknesses. Equity requires the quality of fairness, and not taking advantage of those lesser. These two ethical values have been transgressed by society in both cases because they targeted those who were inferior, punished even the innocent and selfishly abused their targets. To prevent the occurrence of alienation of social groups in the future, one must interact with others through respect and equity. In doing so, society must fairly treat everyone equally and in no way dehumanize someone. It is expected that society looks past divergence and does not let cultural stigma dictate their actions towards