The Devil in Massachusetts

Initially, the novel focuses on the origin of the travesty that occurred in Salem. It lists the Puritan negligence towards the emotional needs of their female children, and these children’ striving for attention as one major reason for the Salem blunder. Furthermore, the author also mentions the harsh reality of sin and evil imposed by Puritan beliefs. For example, two girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, were the original perpetrators of the witch scare within Salem. Betty was “quailed before such terrible realities as predestination and damnation” (Starkey 24), while Abigail “instinctively took damnation, death, and most other unpleasant things as something scheduled to happen to someone else, particularly in the people she didn’t like” (Starkey 24). These views retained by the g

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The jails in Massachusetts were never meant to hold so many people at one time. The example of Rebecca Nurse was especially prominent throughout. Some knowledge about American History is required to recognize some characters such as Oliver Cromwell and Cotton Mathers. Starkey emphasizes the fact that besides accusing decadent and disrespectable members of the community, the girls also attempted to bring down pious, exemplary citizens. Interestingly enough, the past reputation of Rebecca Nurse was inadequate to save her. Moreover, as the Salem teenagers grew older and as the witch incident began to drag itself out, more an more people doubted the testimonies and accusations of these girls. It does mention that many of them later revealed that their actions were all one elaborate ruse, and these same girls were, astoundingly enough, forgiven. Even though Nurse was one of the most respected members of the Salem community, the afflicted teenagers still singled her out and accused her of witchcraft. She describes in great detail the girls who lead the identifying of witches; the names, lives, and social ranks of the accused; how they reacted under testimony and trial; and finally, how the Salem witch trials came to an end. Mowrer at Harvard in 1946, which in turn influences her writing to lean towards the side of ecological study towards the participants within Salem at the time. Philip English, the head of an almost gentry family, lost approximately 1,500 pounds in the witchcraft incident; however, the amount that was later reimbursed to his family was a mere 200 pounds.

Inevitably, the hysteria within Salem came to an end, mainly because the jails could not support the flood of people that were constantly being arrested and detained. Starkey, the author, should deserve special treatment in the unique way she decides to recount the Salem witch trials.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1232
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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