Increase Mather

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is revered for accurately telling the story about the events which unfolded in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692. Demirkaya says that The Crucible “… opened at a time when the term witch-hunt was nearly synonymous in the public mind…” (125). The play was published in 1953 during the Red Scare, and as Susan C.W. Abbotson says in her book, Student Companion to Arthur Miller, “It tells the story behind the Salem witch trials of 1692, centering our attention on the effect of these trials had on the Proctor family, as well as making an analogous commentary on the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s” (117). Arthur Miller was adamant that his critics know these events were not made up but in fact actually took place; it “… is based on the historical accounts of the Salem witch trials in 1692, due to which nineteen adults and two dogs were hanged for witchcraft” (Demirkaya 125). He even went to a university library to learn more about the witch trials. Arthur Miller’s knowledge about the witch trials and his first hand encounter with McCarthyism gives him the wherewithal to author a historically accurate play as well as point out glaring similarities between the two time periods. Miller pointed out that he was interested in the Salem witch trials “… long before he confronted McCarthyism and decided to write a play implicating the country’s contemporary hysteria” (Budick 128). Additionally, E. Miller Budick made the…

The Pilgrim’s Progress Sin is the act of transgression against divine law. During the 1600s in England, there were two Conventicle Acts that made it a crime for any five people of the same family to meet in a private house under color of religion. John Bunyan, an evangelical Baptist preacher, was incarcerated for twelve years at the Bedford jail because he insisted on preaching the word of Christ. During his incarceration, he used his time wisely to write a novel called, The Pilgrim’s Progress,…

Separated by over a hundred years, Increase Mather and Ralph Waldo Emerson might be two of the most contradicting theologians in American history. However, is it possible for two people to be so different they are similar? Emerson is opposed to Puritanism, believing that it is too "cold" on both a scholarly and intellectual level. The transcendentalism believes that soul and mind should explore the laws which traverse the universe. Mathers believes in the Puritans strict interpretation of the…

How would you feel if you were accused of witchcraft? The Crucible accused multiple innocent people of witchcraft and majority of those that were accused were puritans, and those puritans were strong within their faith. Most people have zero mercy on one another and wanted to save themselves. What would you do ? The author of The Crucible and many other pieces of American Literature was Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller has won multiple awards for his pieces including Tony awards. Some of Miller’s…

Ever been accused of something that you didn't do? During the year 1692 to 1693 The city of Salem helds the witchcraft trials. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, The people of Salem were falsely accused of witchcraft due to Abigail Williams and many girls who say that they had seen people with the devil.Many of the people were hunted or stoned due to having connections with the devil. So Judge Danforth came to town to cleanse the town. But Judge Danforth just wanted to get out there and whoever…

Impact of Loyalty in The Crucible The deaths of thirty-seven innocent Salem community members in a three-month span resulted from the witch trials of 1692. These deaths resulted from false accusations for selfish reasons supported by an oppressive Puritan based government in the Salem area. These so-called witch trials are so famous that there have been many works of literature as well as movies based off of them. The most notable of these is Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. It is a story based on…

of holiness involving character in small talk and at meetings whenever they got the chance. Gradually, they went to influencing the colony that they were in, in hopes that the leaders, of the colonies, would institute holy character into the colony. Their next aspiration larger freedom, of direct personal access to God, was their next aspiration and to the Puritans it was one of the most important ones. They wanted to be able to speak to God without the Pope having to intervene. In England…

The Crucible Arthur Miller A Document Analysis Introduction: The play is set in the small Massachusetts village of Salem early in the year 1692. A group of people who grew dissatisfied in the Church of England were called Puritans. These puritans have worked moral, religious and societal reforms. They highly believed in the black and white lines of good and evil and they populated Salem. In exceedingly pious Puritan New England, a collection of girls fell indisposed. Extraordinary or…

The writers Mary Rowlandson and Cotton Mather were both Puritans that both had run-ins with the Indians. Rowlandson has the basis of the Puritan beliefs regarding the Indians but also understands that they are not less than human. Mather has a very strong belief that the Indians are the devil based on his very strong Puritan belief. With the shared background of Puritanism there are many similarities in their depictions of the Indians. Mary Rowlandson had a very negative view of the Indians…

Introduction In his childhood, Eminem (Marshal Bruce Mathers III) was born into poverty and a broken home, led an itinerant lifestyle with his Mother Deborah Mathers who never held down a job, constantly shifting towns and schools, living in public housing and never grounding themselves. Existing outside of acceptable living conditions and with Marshal receiving an extremely poor education, their lifestyle led to risk of disconnection from social and moral standards. Later his mother (in his…