A Delusion of Satan Essay

Words: 958
Pages: 4

Ted Ford
Dr. Strickland
November 29, 2010
History 101
A Delusion of Satan A Delusion of Satan, was written by Frances Hill and covers in the personal situations of the people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The book opens up describing the intense and strict life style of the Puritan. Then we go into discussion of the town of Salem at the time, being owned by mainly the Putman family. The pastor there, Samuel Parris, has lived there in Salem since 1689. He resides with his wife, his children, niece (Abigail Williams), and two
Caribbean Indian slaves, Tituba and John Indian. The Parris family also had two other children with them which was common during this time. Then Abigail and one of Parris’s
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The material is interesting, but is kind of unnecessary. It’s not making a clearer point about the
Salem towns people views because it was already described in the first chapter, but it also shows that Hill has done all the research and knows the information on the subject of witchcraft in the west. However, even if there was a sense of unorganization with material, Hill was able to describe the trials and the people in ways that a novelist would do. Having read both fiction and nonfiction, I would believe that fiction is much easier to read, but Hill managed to take an informative nonfiction piece of work and make it appealing to even the laziest of readers. While describing Nathenial, Hill writes, “The tone of his account, written several years after the event, is of deep pain and sorrow rather than rage.” (pg 148). Having been described something like that and becoming so in depth with a real person, makes this nonfiction book seem like it’s a novel filled with drama and suspense. Having been very interested in the paranormal, witchcraft, and oddly enough the cruelty of peoples’ hearts, I was eager to pick up this book and read it. Since I am not a devoted reader,
I was kind of skeptical about it, but Hill provides a lot research and a very clear and informative message. There was no bias about this book whatsoever. There was no sense of anger towards the Puritan’s for taking the accusations too