Witch Trials
What was the common method of execution for witches in New England?
Hanging
What is the true identity of the man that Goodman Brown meets in the forest? Give at least one detail to support this hypothesis.
Satan. His staff was wriggling serpent and the same staff the magi used against Moses. Goody Cloyse refers to him affectionately as the devil. He has knowledge that spans across multiple lifetimes.
What does the forest tend to represent in Hawthorne's stories?
A place of evil, outside society, where people go to commune with the devil.
What is an important theme in Jonthan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?
People need to fear the wrath of God.
The unsaved could be but a moment away from God's eternal punishment.
How did the audience react to Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?
They screamed and ran out in fear.
What types of people were accused of witchcraft?
Mostly women. It started with outcasts, then moved to respected church members, all the way up to the governor's wife.
What types of characters is Hawthorne known for creating?
Ambiguous characters, such as a sinful preacher or pious sinner.
Summarize the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
A school teacher competes with a jock to win a rich girl's affection; after she rejects him at a party, he is chased by the Headless Horseman and disappears.
In Sleepy Hollow, how does superstition relate to the story?
Brom Bones likely uses the Headless Horseman ghost story to get away with murder.
Why was King Philip's War significant?
It was the bloodiest war in American history, and marked a destructive shift in colonist-Native relations.
What started the witch trials?
Two young girls who had mysterious fits.
Who was King Philip in early American history?
A Pokanoket chief that led an armed rebellion against the colonists.
What falls from the sky that convinces Brown that his wife is at the witch's sabbath?
Her pink hair ribbons.
In "High Horse's Courting," why did the girl's father finally accept High Horse's dowry? Why was this last gesture in the story important?
Before High Horse had only offered a mediocre dowry of a few horses that weren't in that great of health. At the end of the story, he makes this grand gesture by rounding up hundreds of the enemy tribe's horses for the girl.
For the girl's father, it wasn't just about the number or quality of the horses. He wanted High Horse to prove himself as a man.
What is one fundamental difference between the views of the Puritans vs. the Native Americans?
How they viewed nature: natives revered nature and lived in harmony; Puritans feared nature.
Beliefs: Natives less restrictive.
Why did the witch trials finally end?
Someone accused the governor's wife.
Who does Goodman Brown see when he's walking with the Devil? List 2.
Goody Cloyse, Martha Carrier; Deacon Gookin.
How is the town of Sleepy Hollow described?
As a little town nestled in the woods of New England that has a mystical aura, which includes strange sights, sounds, and trances; there used to be a powerful Native wizard that lived there, and more shooting stars fall over the town than anywhere else.
What is an important lesson that can be learned from The Salem witch trials? What is an example of a modern day witch hunt?
Use your rationality and question everything, especially when the discourse is inciting hate and violence.
Modern witch hunt responses may vary.
What are 3 different types of Native American stories?
Origin stories, heroic journey, moral tales, trickster tale, creation story.
What was the best way to avoid execution if you were accused of witchcraft?
Confess to witchcraft and name another 'witch.'
In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, how are Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones foils?
Ichabod Crane is skinny and lanky but sensitive and artistic; Bones is athletic and traditionally masculine.
What do you think happened at the end of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Refer to at least two details from the text that support your theory.
Answers may vary.
How does the theme of "Young Goodman Brown" relate to the Puritan belief of original sin?
Original sin states that humans are naturally evil; this is accompanied by an extreme sense of guilt and distrust. In "YGB," Brown comes face to face with the secret, hidden evil that surrounds him in the village, and it causes him to question appearance vs. reality.
What does "City upon a Hill" refer to?
How Puritans were meant to create a utopian society for the rest of the world to look up to and model themselves after.