
December 20
th
, 2013 SSO - HF 2.P
Introduction to the Essay
For all intents and purposes, this essay seeks to summarize the Salem Witch Trials
of 1692, to analyze and interpret The Crucible with a primary focus on the book’s main
characters, John and Elizabeth Proctor, as well as to discuss the potency of Arthur Miller’s play
as an indirect critique of McCarthyism in 1950’s USA, and finally, to reach a conclusion based on
the discussion and background knowledge presented before it.
Introduction to Puritanism and its Origins
In the late 16
th
century, the rise of Puritanism was at its utmost prominent stage,
although still young. This religious reform movement was started by a group of devout
Christians in England, who thought that the level of dedication and piousness of the current
English Christian community was much too unsubstantial in its devotion to God. Initially, the
term ‘Puritan’ was a name used by people opposed to the concept of Puritanism as a spiteful
means of addressing the members of the aforementioned religious reform movement
.
However, this term was later adopted as a personal identifier by the members, themselves,
which likely led to the term’s survival to this day. Some of these religious devotees thought it
necessary to move away from the religious heedlessness in England, and chose to immigrate to
the New World, a nation not officially addressed as the United States of America until the
Declaration of Independence of 1776
. This group of colonists that left behind their nation
helped in the founding of New England. A large portion of the Puritans who left for the United
States, settled in Salem, Massachusetts, a town in which tragic events would lead to the negative
sound the term Puritanism carries today.
However, before the events, and details thereof, that transpired in Salem,
Massachusetts can be fully understood, it is necessary to first take a look at the past. In Dr.
Francis J. Bremer’s Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction, it becomes apparent that Puritanism
was not initially a distinct faith, but in fact a Christian reform movement. As earlier mentioned,
they distanced themselves from the religious heedlessness, and thought a reformation was
necessary. The people who were part of this movement sought to reform the English church, or
to purify it, in a sense. They were the epitome of religious devotion, and aimed to turn their
society, and the communities immediately around them, into parts of the kingdom of God. A
popular belief amongst the Puritans was the conviction that they were chosen by the
aforementioned deity to spread His word to everyone around them, with the goal to further
humanity’s connection with Him. Unfortunately, as a result of their high ethical and religious
standards, they were eventually seen as mere prudes by the general public of England, and
Francis J. Bremer, Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction (p. 2, l. 15-17), 2009 © Oxford University Press
Transcript of Declaration of Independence, U.S. National Archives