Modern Puritan

            When I think about comparing the Puritans to a modern day society today, I think about the characteristics of the puritan society.  Form literature like the Crucible and the Scarlet Letter, I understand that the people that made up those communities could be harsh and judgmental.  And when I think of a community that has these same characteristics, I can’t help but thinking about High School. Schools can be somewhat unforgiving if you make a mistake.  There are definitely zero-tolerance rules that they have.  And depending on the mistake you make it could affect your future.  You could be expelled and have to go to a different school, and already have a bad reputation.  And from there it can really affect what happens later on.  And just because of one stupid mistake. 

            And it is not just the administrators, but sometimes (most times) the worst part can be the other students.  And I’m fortunate that this hasn’t happened to me, but some kids can be very mean to others.  Even if they never even talk to the other person.  There can always be gossip and rumors, leading to student feeling like an outcast.  Which is basically what happened to Hester in the Scarlet Letter.  And it is not just the gossip but also how long your mistake can last.  Sometimes it seems as if it never leaves, it always follows where you go.  People start to judge you on the mistake that you made and look at you as if you are a different person. 

            I don’t like that this is the case today, and hopefully schools will make an effort so this doesn’t continue. 

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

            John Proctor is a very interesting character.  And I don’t like to categorize him as either a hero or a stooge, since I believe he is in the story to somewhat represent an ordinary man.  A normal man can have heroic moments as well as ones that he is ashamed of.   Obviously John is embarrassed about what happened with Abigail.  And also maybe a little uneasy about questioning his religion.  He is at a time of his life where he is trying to make up for that.  He becomes more faithful to his wife and also becomes sort of a representative for some of the people in the town.  I think this helps paint him as a hero.  And I think if I had to say if he was a hero or stooge that he would be more of a hero.  And I think the biggest reason is because he was honest until he died.  I think part of what makes a hero is that even if they make mistakes they learn from them.  And I think that Proctor realized that lying always messed things up, and not just for him but also for the people around him.  So when he was faced with either lying and staying alive or being honest and dying for it, he chose what was right.  I think at the end of the play it is clear that John wants to be judged not by his religion but by his character. 

Arrivals...There Goes the Neighborhood

            I find the clash between the Native Americans and Explorers interesting since it is a pattern that keeps on occurring in our history.  I believe that it shows some of the worst attributes of the human race: arrogance, ignorance, and stubbornness.  These traits are what prevent progress, especially between groups of people.  Right from the beginning, the explorers that came had this idea that they would be able to convert the Natives and rule over them.  They thought that they were “saving” them.  From Columbus’ journals we see that he was expecting to easily control the land and the people.  He didn’t even consider that they might disagree.  Then once they got there they realized these people weren’t willing to change their beliefs.  They also don’t respect the Natives’ religions.  They are ignorant, and not willing to cooperate with them.  In the memoir of John Smith, it is obvious that he thinks that he is better than, what he calls, the “savages”.  I also noticed how in his story he gives a lot of detail of the customs he goes through when he is captured, and I believe this is because he’s never heard/seen them before.  He didn’t know any part of the culture of his neighbors.  Besides the arrogance, and ignorance of the explorers, I believe it was their stubbornness that prevented them from actually trying to work with the Native Americans.  It wasn’t until Bradford’s memoir that we hear about this agreement with the Indians.  I believe this is because it was a long time between when Smith got here and when Bradford did.  And in that time, the Europeans and Native Americans started to cooperate more.
            There isn’t really any primary evidence on how the Natives felt or reacted, but I believe that they felt like they were being invaded and forced to change.  This is the biggest part of the disagreement.  It was about land, and resources but it was about beliefs, and who was “right”.  And even though the Indians were being taken over, they probably were also at fault.  They probably were also ignorant and stubborn.  To have a conflict, two parties must resist each other.