Novelists and historians of historical events try and keep the accuracy of events that their stories produce. While historians deal primarily with facts and try to portray their writings as accurately as possible and to explain events that have happened to the best of their knowledge, novelists use more dramatic aspects to help further along their story and to end with a positive light that some events in history has not had the luxury of achieving. Historical fiction writers can toe the line between what had actually happened and what could have been to help portray to the readers a story that has historical accuracy, but has their own unique twist to their story. The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent is one of those books that the author has tried to keep the historical accuracy of the Salem witch trials, but has taken liberties with the events that had transpired over three hundred years ago. In the beginning of the book the Carrier family arrived in Andover, Massachusetts to get away from the smallpox epidemic that had ravished their hometown of Billercia. However, the smallpox had reached Andover and it was speculated that Andrew Carrier was the carrier of the disease. After their house was quarantined, to get away from the epidemic Sarah Carrier and her sister Hannah were shipped off to their aunt’s house (Kent 4-27). This is a crucial chapter in the story because it analyzes for the readers how the puritan way of life was. The fear …show more content…
The book gives specific examples that can be found in primary sources that came directly from the courts. It paints a picture of how certain events such as the smallpox epidemic and Native American raids on the settlers of Colonial America impacted Salem and its surrounding towns. While not everything in the novel could be considered historically correct, there is enough accuracy to use the book for educational
The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts can be considered a horrendous period in American history, yet is also viewed as the turning point in what was considered acceptable in a contemporary society. In a documentation of a trial against a woman named Sarah Good, the reader is able to see the way in which such an accusation was treated and how society as a whole reacted to such a claim. Sarah Good fell victim to the witchcraft hysteria because she was different, and that fear of her divergence from the Puritan lifestyle led to her eventual demise.
Being such a narrative, when I was reading about the details of Kate’s attacks I was actually scared. It gave a sense of spookiness to the book that I hoped for. I remember visiting the city of Salem, and the same chills I had walking through the town was relived while reading the book. However one difference about this book compared to the historical teachings of Salem was that in Kate’s trail it was less of a he said she said event and more on the cold hard facts. In GodBeer testimony, he examines much of what Jonathan Selleck notes on how to determine a witch is guilty because he knew how serious of an offense it truly was. I sometimes found myself wondering if this was a fictional story because of how elaborate it was or however, when he used experts from documents such as the petition for Elizabeth Clawson. The last two chapters is much about the trial process than I expected, which helped me to understand this book as a narrative with much historical
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
The Salem witch trials are a huge part of America's history regardless of whether because of it being an embarrassment or triumph. After reading the novel "The Devil in Massachusetts" by Marion L. Starkey it is evident she is trying to display this in her version of the trials. While it is true to historical documentation Starkey's version seems to be an attempt at an `easy read' for those wishing to learn about a detailed listing of events. I enjoyed the attempt at which she took to make historical facts more appealing and interesting to those who may find it dry. While the objective is supposed to be a more interesting way for those to learn about history, her vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure can often at times be confusing and cause there to be a break in the flow of the sequence of events.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft explores and breaks down the events that took place in the small village of Salem in 1692. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed, use primary sources, both published and unpublished, to tell the crazy and eventful history of Salem. They go into great detail in why some folks were accused of being Witches, the arrests and the so popular Salem Witch Trials. The main reason for this book was to try and find out what caused the terrible outbreak of events that happened in Salem and they do so by looking into the History and Social life in the famed Salem Village. The history of Witchcraft in Salem is a well-known story from High School on and this book goes in depth about why things happened the way they did and how the social aspect played a big role is the story.
The Salem Witch Trials marks a vulnerable era in history. The play allows us to see that uncontrolled rage, pride, and even religion at times, can lead to destruction and mayhem. With these factors, it’s quite clear to see why Salem was vulnerable to these
The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late
Kent, Deborah. Witchcraft Trials: Fear, Betrayal, and Death in Salem. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
To better understand the events of the Salem witch trials, it is necessary to understand the time period in which the accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics, and rivalry with nearby Salem Town all played a part in the stress. There was also a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of an attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem.
The Crucible is one of the most bizarre accounts of a historical event to date. The naïveté of the townspeople leads them down a road of madness and confusion, led by a shameless Puritan girl. Abigail Williams was a ruthless girl who showed no mercy upon accusing her victims of witchcraft. Knowing the entire town of Salem would believe her and the other girls, she would not hesitate at charging anyone she wished with the crime of the Devil’s work. However, a challenge arose to Abigail when she decided to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, and eventually her husband John, of witchcraft. The Proctor marriage was not just any simple marriage; it had its times of cold shoulders, heartfelt truth, and undying love.
John Ruston Pagan’s book, Anne Orthwood’s Bastard, is split into sections describing the different components of sex and law in early Virginia. Pagan describes these components through the story of Anne Orthwood, John Kendall, and their bastard son, Jasper. Anne Orthwood was born an illegitimate child. There was much shame and disgrace for illegitimate children. Although illegitimacy made Anne’s life especially hard, she also faced the same pressures as other members of her generation. Her generation was dealing with shortages of land and labor; increasing prices, rent, and unemployment rates; and declining wages. These struggles caused many people to emigrate from Britain to the Americas.
The Salem Witch Trials certainly casted a spell over the people of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and even decades later on historians and non-academics alike. The trials inflict discrimination, persecution, abuse of power, and religious injustice as well as causing the society to have irrational fears. The trials are very interesting now because there is no explanation of the event that has been accepted universally. There are many theories such as the “affiliated” girls of the trials were simply bored and decided to play god. Ergot poisoning which is a disease in rye grains, and there is also the cold weather theory. Along with those theories a strong belief in the Occult and also disputes, rivalries, and personal differences with residents in the town have also been talked about. The effects after the trials are as important as when the
“The Wonders of the Invisible World”, written by Cotton Mather, is an account of the Salem Witch Trials. He retells information that has been passed down to him without actually being present at the trial and simultaneously explains his theory to why witches were suddenly emerging in Salem, Massachusetts. There were quite a few holes in the Salem Witch Trials, especially regarding whether or not these events occurred the way they are said to. Mather’s book shows us how intense the Puritan ideals were, attaching anything out of the ordinary to a higher power and in doing this shows the flaws of the religion which caused to Salem Witch Trials.
The author wrote about this specific subject because of his profession, where he lives, and to clarify any confusions about the actual events of the Salem Witch Trials. The author wrote about the specific people and places mentioned in the book to establish the events of the trial through more than one point of view. By using an unprecedented format for writing, and by retelling the accounts of different people, places, and how they compare, Baker established a sense of confident understanding for his readers to
The purpose of my paper is to compare and contrast Arthur Miller’s The Crucible with the actual witch trials that took place in Salem in the 17th Century. Although many of the characters and events in the play were non-fictional, many details were changed by the playwright to add intrigue to the story. While there isn’t one specific cause or event that led to the Salem witch trials, it was a combination of events and factors that contributed to the birth and growth of the trials. Some of these events included: a small pox outbreak that was happening at the time, the revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter by Charles II, and the constant fear of Native attacks. These helped in creating anxiety among the early Puritans that they were being punished by God himself.