The Crucible Act 1

So far, I think this book is really interesting. Sometimes I think it is a little confusing when you are reading it, but once you get into it, the book is actually pretty entertaining. So, the Puritans were part of a religious movement that took place in the 1600s and 1700s. Unlike Separatists, Puritans did not really want to leave the Church of England, but rather "purify" it. Puritans believed that too much power rested in the hands of ministers and priests, which were the highest officials in the church. In this book, you can definitely pick out certain qualities that represent the Puritan lifestyle. For one, the Puritans were all about religious community. (Miller, 28) Often, government and religion would overlap and things, at times, could get pretty intense. Also, because these settlements were not super big, everybody knew everybody, so if there was talk that you did something bad or were a sinner, then you would kinda be in trouble. Another, not so great things about the Puritans was that they had little toleration for other religions if any at all. The whole reason they left England in the first place, was so they could "purify" the church and practice whatever religion that they wanted to practice. However, they did not put up with other religions at all, so this is sorta ironic. Back to what I was saying earlier, about being a sinner, the Puritans were what you would call now a days crazy religious. They were taught to read their Bibles constantly, and pray even more. (Miller, 46) Even if you were not a sinner, they encouraged this big time, and if you were a sinner...well then you would've been reading all of the time. During the Salem witch trials, there was great suspicion throughout the village. Although, the Puritans were supposed to follow God's word, with all of the weird witch theories happening, the people started to question their neighbors and whether or not they were real followers of God. There was a lot of talk about the Devil and how it was somehow taking over their village. This, as you can guess, really made the Puritans uneasy since they have always been so strict and sure of their religion. (Miller, 30)For example, in the book Betty seems to be under some sort of weird spell or something. This automatically brings up the idea of witchcraft in Salem. So, Mr. Paris tells everyone that enters the room, to not let anyone know about what is happening with Betty. If talk did get around and people started to hear things, then they would probably, eventually came to the conclusion of Betty, or any of her friends and relations being a witch or being associated somehow with evil spirits. That is why things were kept very secret in Salem and also the reason why people started turning against their neighbors. An example of that from the book is when Abigail tells everyone that Tituba was the one speaking to the Devil. (Miller, 43) Now, maybe Tituba was, but in the book she denies it. This book represents Puritan qualities very well.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.