Salem society Essay Example for Free

Salem society Essay Salem, a small town in Massachusetts consisted of puritans whose lives were strongly based around religion. They were all afraid of being accused of heresy and were suspicious of other religious sects. Their religious fanaticism ruined innocent lives. The story is set in 1692 and starts with all the young girls in the town creeping into the forest one night and dancing and casting spells. Dancing was related to the Devil and therefore was designated a crime. Two of the youngest girls were taken ill the next day. They were Betty, the reverend Parris daughter as described in the introduction i. e. Betty Parris, aged ten, is lying on the bed, inert. , and Ruth, Mrs Putnams only child, described by Parris when he says: Your Ruth sick? The girls were spotted dancing and were declared witches. To clear their names and protect their familys reputation which was very important, the girls accused innocent women in the village, of compacting with the Devil and these accusations were believed. All the villagers were expected to conform to a strict code of belief. They were expected to attend Church every Sunday and if they didnt it was considered a crime against God. For example, Hale says to John Proctor: In the book of record that Mr Parris keeps, I note that you are rarely in the Church on Sabbath Day. This illustrates that records of Church attendance were kept and scrutinised. The villagers were also expected to know the Ten Commandments from memory. Hale asks Elizabeth Proctor: Do you know your Commandments, Elizabeth? People believed in these laws so strongly that they were very willing to believe the girls stories which provides some insight into the society of Salem. People were not allowed to have different beliefs. The villagers belief in the Devil was as strong as it was in God. Parris talked about the Devil and sins in Church far more frequently than he spoke about God. Proctor says to Parris: There are many others who stay away from Church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore. But John Proctor did not like Parris; his opinion of Parris was low so this statement may not be completely true and biased. Parris was supposed to be a leader in the town but someone left a dagger stuck in his door Tonight, when I open my door to leave my housea dagger clattered to the ground There is danger for me. People were getting misled so much that he was not always believed.