Sin and Corruption of Puritan Society Illustrated in...

Puritans may have tried to give themselves the appearance of a perfect society, but it was really just as corrupt and full of sinners as any society today. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and â€Å"To My Dear and Loving Husband† by Anne Bradstreet, there is evidence for this. In Puritan literature, although they try to hide it, sin is very common, in that Puritans do the opposite of what they preach, but still harshly punish those who sin. Affairs are a common sin with the Puritans that cannot be kept secret, because of the Puritan stress on faithfulness and love in marriages and the negative view of divorce. Affairs are bountiful in Puritan society; even a minister, one who preaches sin, commits†¦show more content†¦This is the standard level of devotion expected in Puritan couples and if it is not met, surrounding people figure that something must not be right, and they investigate, often uncovering sin. Although adultery is preached against in the Ten Commandments, Puritans are still often discovered committing this sin. Another common, harshly punished sin is witchcraft, and the irony is clear when the Puritans turn each other in, against their strong idea of unity. The Puritans try hard to keep this offense hidden as well. When Mary Warren is talking to Abby she says, â€Å"It’s a sin to conjure, and we-† and Abby replies, â€Å"I say shut it, Mary Warren!† (Miller 19) Abby is hiding this sin by lies of omission, another sin in itself. The lies of omission are motivated by the fact that when a Puritan is even suspected of witchcraft, they are punished harshly, even by death. When Danforth is talking about the power he possesses he says, â€Å"And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?† (Miller 87). With so many people dying, the Puritans are terrified and will do anything to protect themselves from this fate. To try to avoid the harsh punishment that is doled out to citizens accused of witchery, the Puritans rat each other out, even though they stress the ideal of unity. With pressure and threats from