Puritans

Brother against brother and social turmoil

Paradigm change and cyclical history

Increase and Cotton Mather & Arthur Miller

Miller’s parallel of enforced public confession

The broken theocracy and misplaced intentions

In the annals of recorded history, the Massachusetts colonies witch trials, in which individuals were convicted and hanged for allegedly being witches, remains a symbol of the dangers of conflicting religious beliefs, of too rapid change in communities without the capacity to handle it, mass hysteria and fear, and the ability of powerful members of the status quo to literally decide who and who not should be convicted and condemned to die, regardless of how outrageous the charges or scant the evidence. However, in order to get to the underlying causes of such a mass phenomenon, we must look at many of the particulars involved in the situation and era. In

. . .
is studies in case he could not follow in his forefathers footsteps the highest calling. The austere manner with which he would involve himself in the witch trials was a palpable force in his formative years, an austerity that may have caused his over-reaction in the name of purity and religion during the trials, “By the time he was fourteen he was subjecting himself to fasts in order to come nearer to God by disciplining the flesh as he prayed for guidance, a practice that he continued to find useful throughout his life. At sixteen he joined his father’s church, confident that he was of the Elect. Scholastically, too, his self-discipline and diligence must have been unsparing” (Levy 16-17). Evidence abounds that the differences we see between Increase and Cotton Mather were not due to the intent on behalf of either to do malicious harm. Both were extremely socially oriented in their desire to be of aid to their fellow humans. However, there was a difference in judgement and reason with the son reigning supreme over the son. Increase’s influence was largely seen as the reason why the trials came to an end. Mather, on the other hand, as we shall see, was more overzealous in his desire to purge the Devil that had taken hold
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Cotton Mather, Increase Mather, Arthur Miller, History INTRODUCTION, Francis Brinley, Puritan England, Greek Hebrew, President Harvard, England Devil, City Mather, cotton mather, witch trials, increase mather, increase cotton, increase cotton mather, spectral evidence, university press, arthur miller, mather puritan, cotton mather puritan, caution skepticism, fear suspicion, witch trials 1950s, life increase mather, witch trials involvement,
Approximate Word count = 4528
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Puritans