Stories of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

The history and horrors of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 were vividly expressed in Arthur Miller's, "The Crucible" and Cotton Mather's, "The Wonders of the Invisible World". Even though both authors built their ideas and truths along the same foundations of the trials, among the two selections when taking into consideration the views of the two authors, similarities along with differences can be gathered. This is why each of these accounts reflecting the witchcraft trials can be identified as subjective as well as objective.

An example of these similarities and differences can be established through the author's objective and subjective ideology. Likewise Mather and Miller were intent on using actual evidence of the witchcraft trials, and of Puritan values to provide readers with an objective understanding of the trials. This was their overall goal, regardless of whether they thought of the trials as a humane, or an inhumane act against innocent people, by fraudulent people.

The basis of the objectiveness in Mather's portrayal of the Salem witchcraft trials was that he witnessed the trials primarily and was thus able to recapitulate them the way in which he envisioned them. He accomplished this mission by first addressing the reason for Martha Carrier's indictment which was the bewitching of several people.
Second, by briefly stating each bewitched witness and their testimony against Martha Carrier. Miller however, who was not at hand during the times of the witchcraft investigations was able to capture the atrocities of them through historical research. This provided Miller with plenty of knowledge regarding 17th century Salem, allowing him to author his 1953 play The Crucible from an objective standpoint. Historical Context located in the text, and complete descriptions of Salem, Puritan values, as well as actual characters, throughout the play through the use of dialogue and narration is clear evidence of his research.

Although the authors planned to use the objectiveness of the trials as the backbone to their masterpieces, they nevertheless exposed their subjective perception of the trials through their choice of certain words. In the early portion of Mather's text, he adds his own very biased description of the people that were supposedly bewitched by Martha Carrier when he writes "the poor people were so tortured that everyone expected their very death upon the spot". Towards the end of his text, Mather referred to Carrier as a "rampant hag" further advertising his prejudices.

The justification of Miller's subjectivity was partially his choice to use dialogue. Because he wasn't present during this time period, the dialogue used between actual characters is based solely on his assumption, creativity, and knowledge of the event. In addition to this Miller witnessed the disgraceful and disturbing McCarthy era which was considered a modern day witch-hunt. The biography of Miller (1032) states that The Crucible was actually inspired by Miller's belief that the witchcraft trials compared to the McCarthy Era. With that in mind, the commentary in the end of The Wonders of the Invisible World hints Miller may have felt a personal connection with John Proctor. This is simply because they both refused to testify in court during both witch-hunts. This may have given him reason to perhaps replace John Proctor's personal feelings with those of his own giving the reader the wrong impression of what Proctor may actually be feeling.

In conclusion, both authors based their selections on the saga of the Salem witchcraft trials. The differences in the two text lye in the content of each text, and the views of each author. Both Mather and Miller were intent on providing and accurate, detailed account of the events leading up until and that took place within the courtroom as to justify the outcome of these unjust incomparable trials.