Comparing Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer, The Story of the...

Comparing Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, The Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Bryan Le Beau, and The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 spread just about as fast as the Black Plague. This epidemic caused chaos among neighbors in a community. The chronology of events describes an awful time for colonists from June 10th to September 22nd of that year. The books Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, The Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Bryan Le Beau, and The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen all describe these events and provide varying explanations for the epidemic that plagued Salem Village. This review will look at the†¦show more content†¦Common sense should tell any human that such an isolated event was not capable of causing such hysteria among villagers. For hundreds of years scholars, among them the previously mentioned authors, have researched the various factors that influenced the witch hunting to spread. The first factor that helps put the whole story in motion is the arrival of the arrival of Reverend Samuel Parris as the new minis ter for the church in Salem Village. On November 19, 1689 the Reverend Parris, with his family at his side, was ordained the new minister for the Salem Village Church. (Boyer Nissenbaum, 153) Reverend Parris came to Salem at a very tumultuous time. The church had just gained its independence from the church in Salem Town, thus causing many rifts among residents of both the village and the town. From the start, Parris was a poor leader for the town. He was continually concerned more with increasing his salary and living allowances than he was with the happenings of the village. Parris himself also became a centerpiece of the factionalism that was plaguing the town. He continued to push his parishioners toward a more conservative and moralistic way of life that he felt would cleanse the town of all of its problems. It was Parriss daughter and niece in fact that began the Salem witch hysteria. The Reverend Parris agreed fully with the findings of the authorities