The Role Of Puritan Culture In The Crucible

The Puritans constant desire for the “ city on the hill” seemed to give a cookie cutter idea for imperfect people who were told to be perfect instead of allowing individuality. It is commonly thought that a utopian society is ideal. Little did the common man know that in a population ruled by theocracy it would have a massive effect on the culture of literature, cultural environments, and texts that would be produced from these events of what were thought to be sin. In particular when we examined Puritan culture and rules through short stories and a sermon through authors alive at the time. During such a controversial time in history like anyone before or after there were the people who rebelled because they didn’t fit into a society role or mold of what they were supposed to represent in Puritan Culture. “Adultery, John” (Miller, The Crucible, 1302) In these stories we are shown that women throughout a majority of history have
Mary Warren confesses it was her poppet.” (Miller, The Crucible, 1328) In Scarlet Letter and the Crucible we see main characters who commit two different types of sin whether it be a one night stand or for love which are still common in modern day. We see symbols of young girl’s, Pearl and Abigail in both stories reminding them and being outspoken of their sin and the adultery committed. We also see a popular theme of what is thought to be innocence lost in another symbol of the forest. “Now look you. All of you. We Danced. and Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters.” (Miller, The Crucible, 1268) Knotting all of this together in Puritan literature it’s often possible for a young woman or man to lose or gain something whether it be knowledge or an event of something that’s often life changing. An example is when Hester Prynne in Scarlet Letter chapter 18 the title of the chapter is called “a flood of sunshine” representing when she goes into the forest and feels free to let her hair