Cotton Mather's The Wonders Of The Invisible World

In the late 17th century religion was the cornerstone in New England, and the vast majority of new settlers at this time considered themselves to be Puritans. These particular colonists left England in search of religious freedom. The Puritan lifestyle was not one of ease however, and followed strict codes with high moral standards. Puritans were expected to have an excellent work ethic, show little opinion, and restrain their emotions. They strongly believed that all sins should be punished by God, and that His will was above all else. Puritan society also actively believed that the Devil was just as real as God, and a common, frequent internal conflict that most believers faced was the struggle of keeping a good, strong faith and not allowing …show more content…
The Devil became irritated [by] these actions and, “immediately tried all sorts of methods to overturn this poor plantation” (para. 1). With God’s help, however, the devil was rejected and unsuccessful, until with one last effort; Mather claims that the Devil attempted to regain control of his land through witchcraft. Innocent members of the community, including children, began to become tormented in their own homes by witchcraft from the Devil. In “The Wonders of the Invisible World” Mather explains that the Devil worked through people to gain his personal success. With anxiety of this particular situation there then came irrational allegations. Unreasonable accusations were brought to the court and ranged from the fact that a perpetrator was simply a woman or had a low social rank. The majority of evidence that was collected for a person’s hearing was more often than not just a coincidence. For example, On August 2, 1692 Martha Carrier was indicted for bewitching people; she pled not guilty, but members of the community accused Carrier of tormenting them. Her children also confessed of being witches as well. Most of Carrier’s accusers claimed that she was responsible for making them physically ill and/or killing their cattle. The majority of Carrier’s accusers argued that after having a disagreement with Martha they either became unexplainably sick or their cattle was mysteriously killed. Irrational allegations of similar fashion were used towards other people who were accused. Once people saw these trials skyrocket more and more community members were struck with fear. Neighbors, friends, and even family members began to accuse one another of allowing the Devil into their