Imagery In Salem

Questions in Salem Through the use of repetition and Imagery, Cotton Mather significantly enhances his account, “Wonders of the Invisible World”, of what exactly happened in the dreadful Salem Witch Trials. The trials began in the summer of 1692 after accusations of witchcraft started to surface in the settlement. Many were condemned, however, contrary to popular belief, none of them were burned at the stake. Mather was asked by the judges of the trial, shortly after it ended, to explain and record what had transpired in Salem. He employs literary elements to dispel skepticism as to if his writings are genuine and be accepted as history. Though there are very few that actually believe in witchcraft, Cotton Mather uses repetition extremely

He believes that the land once belonged to the devil, in the form of the savages, but has come back to wreak havoc on the settlements and test the faith of the people in them. Mather speaks of a metaphorical vine which refers to the colonization of America and the spread of the word of God, dispelling the devil and his demons. Mather believes that once the vine takes root, the word of God will extend to all the land. “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?” (Jeremiah 2:21) As the passage means, a good vine will produce good fruit, but a wild, wicked vine will produce rotten fruit. Similarly, a good Protestant will proclaim the word of God, and a wild savage would bring evil to the land. However, according to Mather, the devil knows this and is trying to destroy and contaminate the vine. If Satan were to destroy the vine, Mather says the world would end. “The New Englanders are a people of God settled in those, which were once the devils territories…” (328). The quote suggests that Mather thought that only New Englanders were capable of following God, and “the devils territories” refer to the land previously inhabited by the Native Americans. His incorporation of metaphors demonstrates how strongly he feels about the