Witches Children

For the month’s reading assignment I read the historical novel called Witches Children: A Story of Salem by Patricia Clapp. Although at times it was somewhat repetitive and the characters under-developed, it was historically accurate and deepened my understanding of the witch trials to a greater extent. When we were assigned the reading based on this topic, it mentioned the victims (usually young girls) who were thrown in convulsions and visions of witches. The book raised these “victims” to a much more personal level. Because the of strict, uniform lifestyle of the Puritans, children were not allowed as much pleasure and leisure as they craved, thus creating a longing for adventure and the breaking away from their normal, redundant schedules. When the female youths of Salem were exposed to the magics of witchcraft, it gave them a reason to act out. In the Purtian society, there was an intense fear of the devil, and many people immeditatley believed the girls “fits” to be controlled by Satan’s “employees,” or witches. The book implied that what the girls only did such abnormal acts were out of boredom, it brought excitement and meaning to their lives, rather than the actual practice of witchcraft.

After reading this book, I became aware of how people truly were dedicated to religion; they wouldn’t have killed so many of their people for something so unjustified if they didn’t truly believe in God and the devil. Although this in itself is interesting,