Family actions or compliance could be taken as proof of witchcraft.

Multiple witnesses connect Burroughs to witchcraft through familial and community testimony. Accusations extend to others, showing how suspicion could be manipulated or amplified.

Illustrates the physical and social impact of fear-based testimonies. People having fits were removed by authorities to stop the panic.

Everyday events were suspected as supernatural, reflecting mass paranoia.

Suggests supernatural fear surrounding Burroughs’ name; people were afraid to even say his name. Highlights perception of hidden powers and moral threat.

Burroughs supposedly appeared in spirit and made her sign a book. Demonstrates belief in invisible influence of the accused.

Physical presence interpreted as supernatural influence. People thought Burroughs could harm them just by looking. Reinforces fear and perception of hidden power.

Spectral evidence: some witnesses claim Burroughs is linked to the dead through supernatural phenomena. They said that Burroughs’ dead wives appeared.

Burroughs repeatedly denies supernatural involvement, the haunting of his house, and coercion of his family. His answers are factual and restrained, yet the community interprets them through a lens of suspicion.

Accusations extended to other women, showing how fear spreads in the community, and multiple people can be implicated. Accusing others could be a survival strategy: shifting blame to reduce her own risk, similar to Tituba.

Describes fits and afflictions of the children. Reflects the belief that witches could harm others through supernatural means. Their suffering increases suspicion and legitimizes the accusations.

Children accuse her directly. Fear and community pressure turn children into key witnesses, making denial almost impossible.

Sarah Good denies all accusations. Shows how accused witches often responded rationally.

Accusations quickly led to imprisonment. Shows real legal consequences of fear and suspicion.

The children’s fits continue even when she is not near them, suggesting spectral influence.

Describes fits and afflictions of the children. Reflects belief in supernatural influence.

This examination shows how fear of punishment influenced testimony, and how survival in Salem often meant “admitting” to witchcraft even if innocent. It also reveals the social dynamics of accusation: once one person is accused, others could quickly be implicated.

Tituba ends her testimony, emphasizing the subjective nature of spectral evidence. Much of her story is shaped by what she believes will protect her.

Description of the Devil as a threatening figure. Highlights how Puritan fears shaped the narrative.

She claims Sarah Good can harm children physically. Tituba’s story implicates others, possibly to divert blame from herself.

Magical travel or teleportation, typical in witchcraft lore. Shows Tituba shaping her story to meet the interrogators’ expectations.

Animals acting as familiars reinforce the expectation that witches had helpers. Again, likely emphasized by Tituba to fit the narrative expected of her.

Shape-shifting apparitions reflect Puritan ideas of familiars and evil spirits. Suggests how imagination and fear were intertwined.

She describes threats from spirits, reinforcing coercion. Highlights how the accused were pressured to confess or participate in accusations to survive.

Tituba accuses other women of harming children. This was likely a strategy to protect herself, showing how accusations could be used to shift suspicion onto others.

Tituba claims the Devil appeared and forced her to serve him. By framing herself as under the Devil’s influence, she confirms the Puritan expectation of witchcraft, even though she may not be guilty.

Tituba initially denies causing any harm. Tituba initially denies harming anyone. This shows her rational defense, but it also highlights how the accused had to navigate extreme fear to survive. It highlights the gap between personal truth and communal belief.

Reinforces the instability of reputation in Salem: even the innocent may be misrepresented. Reflects real community anxieties during the trials.

Direct warning: improper participation in church rituals could enhance the devil’s influence. Reinforces community-wide fear and moral control.

Direct spiritual intimidation. Parris weaponizes shame, portraying Christ as someone who despises hypocrites.

Warning against falling into self-satisfaction and assuming that belonging to an institution guarantees salvation. Encourages self-examination and personal piety.

Implied threat: Christ already knows the false believers. Encourages the listeners to assume divine surveillance over every action.

Hypocrisy is morally worse than ordinary sin. Links moral failure with spiritual damnation and eternal consequences.

Defines “Devils” metaphorically as sinful humans, not supernatural beings. This allows Parris to morally condemn individuals without claiming literal possession.

Foundation of Parris’s message: the church is a mixed body. This dualism legitimizes suspicion and moral policing within the congregation.

Repetition intensifies the theme: even those closest to God can harbor corruption. For his listeners, this implies that anyone among them could be a hidden threat.

Parris draws a biblical parallel between the apostles and his own congregation. The “Devil among the twelve” allows him to accuse indirectly without naming individuals. He emphasizes the presence of evil within the church and warns against hypocrisy.

Shows direct involvement of church members in witchcraft accusations. Illustrates how fear and suspicion infiltrated the community. Consecrates Parris as moral guardian.

Indicates the immediate social fear of witchcraft in Salem, which originated the sermon. Parris frames the witchcraft events as a divine or moral crisis requiring immediate attention.

Parris delivers this sermon during the height of the Salem witchcraft panic. Several church members are under suspicion of witchcraft. The purpose of the sermon is to warn the congregation about “Devils” within the church, encourage vigilance, and discourage hypocrisy.

Marks the religious setting: the sermon is delivered during a sacred ritual, intensifying its emotional impact. Parris uses the solemnity of the sacrament to lend authority and urgency to his message.

Links sin (especially greed) directly to spiritual damnation. Greed is portrayed as a moral failing that can turn believers into “Devils,” reflecting Puritan values and fear of moral corruption.

Reinforces the sermon’s binary opposition between good and evil. Fear-based rhetoric: the congregation is warned that there is no middle ground between virtue and sin. Encourages self-reflection and vigilance.

Shows fear-based moral reasoning: one evil person (or “Devil”) can ruin the spiritual integrity of the whole church. Reinforces urgency for communal purity.

Encourages spiritual vigilance and prayer as protection against evil. Highlights the Puritan belief that unseen spiritual threats can infiltrate the community.

Parris compares Salem’s situation to biblical examples (Corinth) to emphasize moral accountability. He heightens fear by linking witchcraft suspicions to spiritual corruption.

Call for self-reflection. Connects moral and spiritual vigilance to everyday behavior and participation in the church.

This is the central theme of the sermon. Moral binary of good vs evil within the church. Shows the coexistence of virtuous and corrupt individuals.

Moral lesson linking greed/corruption to spiritual damnation. Suggests that small sins can lead to a devil-like state.