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…
of God and diseases determined what and how a family in a puritan society would spend their days. People had mistrust and intolerance towards their neighbors that is showcased in this section of the book when the townspeople put the Carriers under house arrest. The fear of Native Americans was also prevalent among puritan towns. Because of the attack and capture of families by Native Americans, others among the colonies took to defending themselves and their children from the attacks. Young children never left the side of their parents and boys who were of age were encouraged to learn to fight for protection (Kent 75). Native Americans practiced this by capturing children and women from neighboring tribes. This practiced ranged from humiliation or hazing before adoption to women meeting up with others from different tribes to find themselves a husband. However, most tribes used this practice somewhere in between. Indentured servitude was also prevalent in this book. When the Carrier family needed more hands to help with the farm, they wanted to pay for an indentured servant more specifically a male. They were unable to afford this so they settled for Mercy Williams, a girl whose family was murdered by the Wabanaks’ while she was kidnapped. When she was ransomed by the governor and became an indentured servant to pay off her ransom (Kent 76). This aspect of the book is treated fairly accurately in that indentured servants in colonial America either had come from Europe for a better life or were captives of Native Americans released. They had to pay of their debts and were in turn given food, shelter, and other necessities. If they broke the rules they were punished and in the case of Mercy Williams she was forced to leave. After Mercy was taken in by the Chandler’s, she and Phoebe Chandler would torment Sarah about her mother and how she would curse others in the village. One such story was about Benjamin Abbot (Kent 124). This part of the book has some truth to it because the court records show that Allen Toothaker, who was Martha Carriers’ nephew, told the story. Toothaker told the court that Martha was not happy that Abbot had interfered with the land near her house and that she would not leave his side until he would repent. He also stated that she said Abbot would be sick and not even the doctor would be able to cure him. Some accused during the Salem witch trials sought to be spared from death and therefore confessed to being a witch. They would also be asked to tell the courts about the other witches and most of them did by saying that people who were already dead or in jail were guilty of witchcraft. Martha Carrier was not one of the people who confessed to being a witch, but she had made her daughter promise to confess so that it would save her life. “If they come for you, you must tell them anything they want to hear to save yourself. And you must tell Richard and Andrew to do the same,” (Kent 177). This can be shown in the case file about the examination of Sarah Carrier. She was asked questions asking if she was a witch and who made her one, for which she said it was her mother who did. The document gives the book more historical accuracy as did the other documents. In the book Sarah’s brothers Richard and Andrew were arrested and charged with witchcraft. The boys were tortured when they would not confess to being a witch and it is described in the book: “Richard was told to lie face down on the floor, where his wrists were tied behind his back and his feet were bound together. After the rope had been wound around his neck arching his head back to me his feet. This was called ‘the bow,’ and even with the strongest of men it took only a little while for the back to weaken, the legs and head to lower, and the rope to tighten around the throat. The strangling was slow and agonizing and, unlike with a drop from a tree branch, the neck was not broken quickly to end the victim’s suffering. The tender flesh at the neck would crimp and bruise and burn, the eyes would bulge from the head and soon the blood would first trickle and then course through the nose in a torrent as the vessels burst from the pressure. The path for the air would be inexorably shut off, and if the prisoner fainted, all would be lost for the laxity of the limbs would cause the rope to completely crush the airway. ” This was an extremely painful way to die because that was what would have happened if he had not confessed to being a witch to save Andrew from the same fate. While the instance of him being tortured is inscribed in the court documents that pertained to him, there were people who were tortured to get them to confess to witchcraft. The person most noted for this would be Giles Corey. He refused to go to trial and was pressed to try and get him to admit to the fact that he was a witch. Corey was stripped naked and forced to lie down with a board over him, where rocks were placed. The story goes that he would not admit to it and had said “more weight”. He died from the torture after two days. While there are many historically accurate sections in the book, there are some places where Kent gave some theories as to what had happened with the Salem witch trials. The one theory that historians are considering for the events that took place are property disputes between neighbors and family. This can be seen between Allen Toothaker and the Carrier’s over the property that the grandmother had given it to Martha and her family even though she was the youngest daughter. Allen was furious with Martha for taking his land and he said as much to her, “‘This is my land and my house and you stole it from me, but by Christ you will burn for it if I have to go to Hell myself to get the brand to do it,’” (Kent 165). The accuracy of these statements about land being stolen can be interpreted either way. They could be accurate in that it was the reason why Martha Carrier was accused of being a witch in first place or it could be that Kent decided to add family drama to create a more dramatic story line. This theory is consistent with historical interpretations considering that some of the people accused and their accusers had a history of disputes between them which could have contributed to the hysteria surrounding the trials. At the end of the book it was suggested that Thomas Carrier was the executioner of King Charles I of England (Kent 331-332). Just like with the property disputes this could be considered to be added drama to the plot of the story, but it does give an interesting twist considering that the identity of the executioner was never revealed. This novel could be a useful tool in understanding the events surrounding the Salem witch trials.
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
purposes.
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
The thoroughness is one of its key strengths, allowing for people of varying knowledge about Salem to gain an understanding of the events and background of the witch trials. The author includes multiple sources to show the exceptionally varying ideals and their effects on Salem. “the peace that came under Joseph Green's conciliatory leaders... the important role religious strife played in the events of 1692”(Latner, 2006, 118). Joseph Green completely paralleled his predecessors, he was responsible for restoring order to Salem. This is significant because it shows the impact that ministers had, they had the power to change the town completely, Green was one of the first to not cause strife. Compared to Christine Leigh Heyrman’s “Witchcraft in Salem Village: Intersections of Religion and Society” Latner’s article correlates with the central idea that religious leaders and religion itself started the witch
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.