... their universe. In a vain attempt to explain what befell them, the Puritans built up "such personifications [and] marvelous interpretations"32 as to reveal their own morbid fascination with the unnatural. Arthur Miller's The Crucible best illustrates this hypocritical attraction-abhorrence nature of the Puritans. They believe that the forest was "the Devil's last preserve."33 Hence, when the Salem minister, Reverend Parris ... so much with witches as it does with the Black Man, which "is a traditional American name for the Devil."44 In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery ...

• Word Count: 3126
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School