The Devil In Mather's Short Stories

We evaluate each story for their different views on the devil itself. Each story is different in structure but has the devil as a central figure important to the focal point of the story. While Mathers presents the devil as a religious monster who uses witches to commence its evil deeds, Hawthorne uses the devil as a character in a tale who seems to have real life implications. Aside from the fact that each story is exploring a different type of theme, we can appreciate the fact that each author thinks of the devil in radically different ways. That is why each author and the story they portray to the audience are unique. Mathers was both a man of science and an influential religious figure during the time period of the Salem Witch Trials. Even with the amount of scientific knowledge he had retained, many historians considered him to be ignorant and a power hungry maniac who used religion as a weapon. He was involved more specifically with the judgement of local women who he considered to be guilty of practicing witchcraft. Mathers was considered a devout proclaimer of his faith and that showed heavily within his manuscripts and writings. These writings portrayed the devil as ring leader of mass evil. He sent witches to earth to corrupt the souls of the living and do his biddings. …show more content…
But both novels use the devil in different lights and compare the devil as a figure much differently. Mathers sees the devil more as a ring leader of evil who uses witches to carry forth its sinister deeds. Hawthorne on the other hand sees the devil as both a force that can be released through internal thoughts and a haven for the evil of the words of his novel. While Mathers grounded the devil more in terms of a religious figure, Hawthorne conveyed the devil as a figure of thoughts and internal evil. This is how each passage varies from each other and how each have a different viewpoint on the