The Factors Affecting The Puritans’ Views On Witchcraft That Led To Salem Witch Trials
There are multiple ways to define witchcraft. Everyone has their own personal opinion on what it is. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines witchcraft as the use of sorcery or magic, or communication with the devil or with a familiar. In the 1950’s a man by the name of Arthur Miller wrote a book called The Crucible. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller talks about the Puritans and witchcraft. The Puritans had something called the Salem Witch Trials which is where there fear of witchcraft was shown. The Puritans fear of the wilderness, biblical misinterpretations, and understanding of witchcraft all contributed to the Salem Witch Trials.
The Puritans had a great fear of the wilderness. The Puritan men and women were scared of two things. They were afraid of the devil and were afraid of the wilderness. The Puritans believed that the wilderness was the natural habitat of the devil. The Indians also lived in the wilderness, so the two fears are similar. In The Crucible it says “the Salem folk believed that the virgin forest was the devils last preserve, his home base and the citadel of his final stand”.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the forest is where major events in the play take place. The forest is where all the witchcraft took place. The girls were in the forest with Tituba and she was singing. The girls wanted to conjure spirits. The girls danced and fun in the forest. Reverend Parris went into the forest and caught the girls dancing. You couldn’t dance in the Puritan days. Remember, you all of this took place in the forest. The whole Salem Witch Trials started in the forest which the Puritans thought was the home of the devil.
Another big part of the Salem Witch Trials is the fact that the Puritans had many misconceptions when it came to the Bible. In the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible Exodus 22:18 says “thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live” (Exodus 22:18 KJV). Many people believe the Puritans used this verse to justify all the executions of the accused witches.
In the Salem Witch Trials 19 people were hanged 1 man was pressed to death. People died in jail, and around 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. There were a lot of people arrested such as Tituba, Martha Corey, Sarah Proctor, and many many more.
In The Crucible Goody Osburn was a poor beggar who was pregnant. Goody Osburn was one of the first people accused of witchcraft even though there’s a good possibility that she didn’t do anything wrong. Some people could have very well been witches. There were some people that may have actually deserved to be hanged such as Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse.
The Puritans biblical misinterpretations came into play here. The law of the Old Testament says that we should kill all witches according to Exodus 22:18. The Puritan men and women didn’t believe in forgiveness which according to the New Testament we are supposed to do. Matthew 6:14-15 says “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”.
In the New Testament, Jesus made a way for everyone to be saved. In the King James Version of the Bible Matthew 5:17 says “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil”.
Although the Old Testament laws are still intact and they still mean something, Jesus Came here to fulfill the law, and Jesus came to save everyone. Jesus took all sins upon himself and died for everyone. The Puritans didn’t get this concept, they only tried to follow every rule from the Old Testament. I believe all these things translated into the Salem Witch Trials.
The final big part of the Salem Witch Trials was the Puritans understanding of witchcraft. Puritans believed that witches are real and that they have the ability to harm other people. The Puritans defined witchcraft as entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil. Witchcraft was considered a sin because it denied God’s superiority, and a crime because the witch could call up the Devil in his or her shape to perform cruel acts against other people. Therefore, in any case when witchcraft was suspected, it was important that it was investigated thoroughly and the person accused of doing witchcraft was identified and judged.
Witchcraft has also been defined as working with the devil. In The Crucible the girls were in the woods dancing and singing which more than likely they were practicing witchcraft. The girls should have been hanged but they were not. While on the other hand people who were innocent were hanged for the wrong reason.
Elizabeth Proctor was accused falsely of witchcraft because she had a popper and it looked like Abigail Williams. The girls were accusing people so they wouldn’t get in trouble. If anyone had a problem with someone they accused them of witchcraft. Another example is Martha Corey was accused for reading books. The Puritans fear of the wilderness, biblical misinterpretations, and understanding of witchcraft all contributed to the Salem Witch Trials.
Works Cited
- Agnew, Aileen. “The devil and the wilderness. ” Mainememory. net. Maine Historical Society, n. d. Web 27 Nov. 2017.
- Blumberg, Jess. “A brief history of the Salem Witch Trials. ” Smithsonianmag. com. N. p. 23 Oct. 2007. Web. 4 Dec 2017.
- King James Version. YouVersion app. Life. church, 2017. Web. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: penguin books, 1976. Print
- “Witchcraft” Merriam-webster. com. (2017). 5 Dec. 2017 Web 5 Dec. 2017. Z. , Grace. “Witchcraft the beginnings. ” vols. chicago. edu. Chicago University, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2012
