Elizabeth Joesten

English 112B

Annotated Bibliography

05-10-06

 

 

Fear and Loathing in Colonial New England

 

            When studying American History we tend to brush over the early colonists and plunge head on into the American Revolution.  That�s not to say that Puritan New England is discounted entirely, but in merely studying the political and agricultural conquests of these people, I don�t think we are doing ourselves justice.  The Puritans packed strong religious zeal, cultural conformity, and political power in the ships that brought them to the new world.  Though they lost much of their power and community zeal in the years following the Salem Witch Trials, eventually dispersing altogether, their ancestral influence on us is undeniable.  They helped shape the way we think and act as Americans.  Their heartiness proved admirable yet their moral self-righteous and judgmental attitudes are flaws we still need to overcome. 

Two of the canonical pieces of literature I have at the center of this group are Nathaniel Hawthorne�s The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller�s The Crucible.  The Scarlet Letter is a great piece because it stands as a scathing and haunting critique of the alienating and moral self-righteousness of the Puritans and their God.  It focuses more on the male double standard of sin as well as the judgmental nature of banishment.  On larger scale, the book gives an overview of conformists� society and what happens to one woman when she inadvertently breaks that rigid, moral conformity.  The Crucible dramatizes the Salem Witch Trials, giving life to historical characters we really don�t know all that much about.  Nevertheless the play stands as both a political and social commentary on the nature of �witch hunts� both then and now.  In his play Miller draws a parallel between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings he was all too familiar with.  Thus this play would be a good place to launch a discussion about modern day witch hunts and how far we�ve really come since 1692.  

It would benefit students to study the phenomena of the Salem Witch Trials from a cultural standpoint.  Sociologically speaking the entire event speaks horrifying volumes about what human nature can be capable of.  At the very heart of the events that occurred in 1692 lies manipulation, deceit, and intense fear � three very human traits that when blended together in any given community produce disastrous results, often innocent casualties.  If nothing else let the Salem Witch Trials stand as a model for students for the dangers of irrationality and a bandwagon mentality.  Peer pressure can be a dangerous thing � and it is something that doesn�t end with high school.  It creeps into the adult world too.  Moreover let it stand as an example to students for the danger that often comes when we don�t question what doesn�t feel right.  A majority ruling in any direction doesn�t make something morally right, and a person in a position of power isn�t God.  History is filled with events in which persons in power have manipulated the masses through fear, xenophobia, and social insecurities to produce detrimental results.  The Twentieth Century alone has produced the Spanish American War, the Holocaust, Japanese Internment, the McCarthy Era hearings, Blacklisting during the McCarthy Era, the Kent State shootings, and many more.  Nevertheless, students should find the moral value of maintaining individuality while remembering to always question what doesn�t feel right.

 

Historical Fiction

Annotated Bibliography

 

Fear and Loathing in Colonial New England

 

 

Books:

 

Jordan, Sherryl.  The Raging Quiet.  New York: Pulse, 1999.

 

            Left a young widow and a newcomer to a seaside community, Marnie is out-casted by townspeople who suspect her involvement in her much older husband�s death.  On her own, Marnie is left with only two friends: the village priest and the town madman, Raver.  Her friendship with Raver causes such a transformation in him, the village suspects them both of witchcraft.  Marnie is then faced with an ordeal that threatens her very life.

           

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  The Scarlet Letter.  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  5th ed.  Vol. 1.  Ed. Nina  Baym.  New York: Norton & Co., 1998.  1131-1447.

 

            Hester Prynne is at the center of this dark novel set in Puritan Massachusetts roughly a few years before the notorious Salem Witch Trials.  She has been charged with adultery, banished to the outskirts of town with her illegitimate daughter, Pearl, and is made to forever wear a scarlet �A� to publicly announce her sin.  The multiple layers in this canonical piece are wrought with unforgettable characters such as the mysterious Roger Chillingworth and the brutally tormented Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.  Despite the groans students might issue forth when being made to plow through this book�s layers, it is a valuable commentary and critique on moral self-righteousness, repentance and redemption.      

 

 

Lasky, Katheryn.  Beyond the Burning Time.  New York: Scholastic Inc., 1994.

 

            This book is a look at the Salem Witch Trials as seen through the eyes of a fictional character, 12-year-old Mary Chase.  Mary and her widowed mother keep to themselves as they try to keep their farm afloat.  When a �strangeness� begins to take over some of the town�s girls, Mary�s not sure what to make of it.  Some people call it witchcraft and soon the whole town is up in arms, everyone at once suspicious and begging their innocence.  Mary and her mother are at once incredulous and horrified.  But when Mary�s mother becomes too vocal about her disapproval of the accusations and trials, the fury of the Salem witch hunt starts hitting too close to their home. 

 

Miller, Arthur.  The Crucible.  New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

 

            This classic piece of Modern American literature dramatically chronicles one of the most disturbing events in American history.  Miller�s play dramatizes the real-life events that surround the fury and fear of the Salem Witch Trials.  When the daughter and niece of the town�s Reverend Parris along with some other town girls take up dancing rituals with his slave from Barbados, Tituba, they fall into mysterious fits that can only be explained as witchcraft by the local doctor.  It is when the girls claim to have seen the devil�s book documenting Salem�s local witches that they begin to point fingers and all hell break�s loose.  This piece would be a great platform on which to bring drama into the classroom.  Students might be asked to break into groups and produce a scene for parents or other classmates.   

 

Rinaldi, Ann.  A Break with Charity.  New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1992.

 

            Told from the perspective of fourteen-year-old Susanna English, this novel chronicles the events leading up to the Salem Witch Trials in ways that most teens would be able to relate to.  Susanna is the daughter of one of the town�s wealthy merchants and she�s a bit of an outsider to the rest of the girls her age within the Puritan community.  The girls that reject her from their click are the very ones who use Tituba as a scapegoat for their madness.  What ensues is malice and jealousy acted out through accusations of witchcraft � accusations of witchcraft that touch Susanna�s own family.    

 

           

Speare, Elizabeth George.  The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  New York: Scholastic Inc., 1993.

 

             It is 1687 and sixteen-year-old Kit has grown up in Barbados on a plantation with her rich grandfather.  But when her grandfather dies, she must go live with her strict aunt and uncle in a Puritan colony in the newly formed Connecticut.  She is definitely an outsider in the community, a free-spirit unaccustomed to the Puritanical culture.  With her Anglican background, colorful sense of fashion and passion for the works of a play write named Shakespeare, it is uncertain as to whether or not Kit will ever fit in.  But when she befriends the Widow Tupper, an outcast thought to be a witch, she finds herself in a world of trouble. 

 

Wesley, Kathryn.  Salem Witch Trials.  New York: Pocket Books, 2002.

 

            Here is another view on the Salem Witch Trials that could be paired up with Arthur Miller�s play.  Unlike the other works I have listed here, this book gives more of a voice and perspective to Tituba, the slave woman allegedly responsible for stirring up the accusatory girls of Salem in the first place.  This book also gives voice to the girls supposedly wracked with fits, possessed by the witches they later accuse.  Readers get a chance to delve into these girls� psyche and the motives they might have had for being responsible for at least twenty innocent deaths.  Readers will get a sense that for some of the girls emotional and psychological problems might have contributed to their trance-like fits but for most it seems it was the political endeavors of their families that contributed to their accusations.   

 

Winthrop, John.  �Selections from the Journal of John Winthrop.�  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  5th ed.  Vol. 1.  Ed. Nina Baym.  New York: Norton & Co., 1998.  226-234.

 

            Though this selection might prove to be a bit dry, I felt that it provided a valuable historical context for the other books on this list.  John Winthrop was the governor of Massachusetts, a colony he helped to found, from 1630 to about 1650.  His journal provides great insight into the culture, beliefs and fears of the early Puritans in New England.  Noteworthy selections of this journal are the entries in which he documents the charges, warrants, and trials of two famous Rhode Island outcasts, Ann Hutchinson and Roger Williams.  Both were banished from the Massachusetts colony for their religious �misconduct� and subsequent individuality.       

 

Movies:

 

The Crucible.  Dir. Nicholas Hytner.  Perf. Daniel Day Lewis, Wynona Ryder, and Joan Allen.  20th Century Fox, 1996.

           

            Since plays are meant to be either performed or watched, this great adaptation of Arthur Miller�s play would be a wonderful accompaniment to the reading.  Students will be able to make comparisons between the literature and the film.  Moreover, they will get to witness the emotionally charged character development � something that simply reading won�t do any justice to.  Students might be able to note differences in the film director�s vision of the play that may or may not be apparent in the reading of it.

 

Good Night and Good Luck.  Dir. George Clooney.  Perf. George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella.  Warner Independent Pictures, 2006.

 

            Though set in the 1950�s during the infamous McCarthy era hearings, this excellent film would be a great way to contextualize the relevancy of studying the Salem Witch Trials.  Of course, this analogy certainly isn�t new.  Arthur Miller had exactly that aim in mind as he wrote The Crucible in the 1950�s.  The film chronicles broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow as he dares to speak out against modern-day political witch hunter, Senator Joseph McCarthy.  This film reminds students that we aren�t past the era of mass hysteria and intolerance that we thought we left behind in 1692. 

 

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