Essay Sample on Puritans of England: 16th-17th Century Reformers

It can be established that Puritans are the Protestants of England ad existed in the 16th and 17th century. They sought and championed for the purification of the Church of England from the practices of the Catholic Church. They maintained that the Church of England was not fully reformed and thus needed to become more of protestant. They were not satisfied with the limited extent in which the English church was reformed alongside the toleration of the Church of England in toleration to particular practices that were associated with the Catholic Church (Booker $Keith, 24). There various religious groups would advocate for greater worship, doctrine, corporate and personal piety. They adopted the theology that had been reformed. Some of them also advocated from their separation from the larger Christian denominations followed by their alignment to the independently gathered churches. They used and adhered to the statements in the Bible and believed that they had a covenant with God (Booker $Keith, 28). They also believed in judgmental God, salvation, and that humans are naturally sinful, providence, and God's grace. In the movie trailer entitled ''The Witch'' directed by Robert Eggers, there is the accurate representation of some aspects of the New England Puritan experiences and worldview as brought out subsequently.

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First, there is the representation of the Puritan aspects of baptism and their belief of the existence of witches that prevailed upon the unbaptized. It can be observed in the events that occurred following the arrival of William and his family into the farmland in the forest following their banishment from the Puritan Plymouth colony (Booker $Keith, 8). In such a case, William and Katherine sired Samuel, their lastborn, and before he could be baptised was disappeared. In such a case, the baptism was the Puritan form of devotion and commitment to the ways of God as prescribed in their scriptures. Thus, just before being baptised Samuel disappeared. Katherine had the belief that he had been stolen by the witches who could then kill him and use his remains in making of flying ointment (Booker $Keith, 18). The belief by Katherine was the representation of the entire Puritans who belief in the existence of witches as the antagonists of God, and who preyed upon anyone who had did not live in Godly way dictated in the scriptures. Thus, the trailer had an accurate representation of Puritan belief in baptism and witches.

Besides, there is an accurate representation of Puritans belief in prayers and the existence of heaven. It can be observed in the juncture when the unbaptised Samuel disappeared. In this case, Katherine spent most of her days crying on it while praying to God. Thus, it can be discerned that Katherine believed that through prayer, God would be informed of the disappearance of her son and therefore, would intervene (Robinson &Tasha, 14). There is also Caleb, while with hunting with his father, asks whether the unbaptised soul of Samuel would reach heaven. Thus, it is evident that Puritans, in general, believed in the existence of heaven where one's soul would go upon death, alongside their use of prayers to communicate with God whose existence they believed in.

Moreover, there is an aspect of Puritans believing in the existence of witchcraft and spells that could harm humans. Such can be observed in the cases of Caleb and Fowler. For the instance of Caleb, they had gone to check on a trap deep in the woods with his sister Thomasin. It turned out that some supernatural events occurred believed by Katherine as resulting from witchcraft. It happened that when both Caleb and Fowler - the dog - were chasing the horse and hare, Caleb would soon find Fowler lying while disembowelled (Robinson &Tasha, 12). In such a scenario, witchcraft was believed to prevail upon the occurrences that befell the dog. On the other hand, as he walked deep in the woods, he went across a cottage where a young and beautiful woman emerged from. It happened that the woman seduced him. Once in close range with Caleb, the woman had her hand turned old and frail. She could grab Caleb. On the return home, Thomasin found him naked while in a disturbed mental state from an unknown illness (Robinson &Tasha, 20). On waking up the day that followed, Caleb could expel an apple with blood from his mouth, an incident in which his mother termed originated from witchcraft, which can also be associated with the woman he met in the forest. Katherine believed that Caleb was under some spell that can be alluded to his meeting with the woman in the woods. Thus, the belief in witchcraft by Puritans in the movie ''The Witch'' can be termed as the correct representation of the Puritans' belief in the existence of witchcraft and spell.

Furthermore, there is a correct representation of the Puritans believed in the existence of a source of any awkward happenings and evil witnessed. It is because of Puritans belief that any evil events are not free living. It can be observed in the case of Thomasin, who was blamed variously as the witch following the evil occurrences in the family. At the start, when the unbaptised Samuel disappeared, Katherine blamed Thomasin as responsible for it since they were playing together Peekaboo. Also, when the silver cup too disappeared, Katherine blamed Thomasin for it (Booker $Keith, 12). Furthermore, when Caleb went alongside Thomasin to check on the trap in the woods, it can be observed that William found Thomasin and took her home. Katherine would then blame Thomasin for taking Caleb into the woods leading to his disappearance. When Caleb died, the twins would blame Thomasin for witchcraft (Robinson &Tasha, 16). Finally, when the twins died and the goats disembowelled, Thomasin would be condemned by Katherine for such tragedies. Thus, there is a correct representation of Puritans believing in the source of any spell as seen in the movies.

Works Cited

Booker, M. Keith. "THE WITCH (2015): DIRECTOR ROBERT EGGERS."

Eggers, Robert, and Carmen Maria Machado. The Witch. A24 Films LLC, 2019.

Robinson, Tasha. "The Witch director Robert Eggers talks about bringing puritan fears to a modern world." The Verge 19 (2016)