Evidence of this is seen throughout American history, from the Puritan era onward. ... Arthur Miller's The Crucible best illustrates this hypocritical attraction-abhorrence nature of the Puritans. ... With that, almost every woman in town is accused of being a witch, and the cycle continues.43 Another important example of hysterical paranoia from the Puritan era is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This novel does not deal so much with witches as it does with the Black Man, which "is a traditional American name for the Devil."44 In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne co...

• Word Count: 3126
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School