The Devils Shadow :: essays research papers

The Devils ShadowTime Setting The Devils Shadow by Clifford Lindsey Alderman took place in thelate seventeenth century from 1692-1693. This is the time period that the capital of OregonWitch Trials took place. The main plot of the story rested on the eventsleading up to the Salem Witch Trials, the trials themselves, and the aftermathof the trials. Detailed accounts of witch executions, the actual trials, andthe events that caused the trials were discussed in the story.Place Setting Most of the action in this story took place in Salem,Massachusetts. This was the provenance of the witchcraft hysteria and it wasalso the actual site of the Salem Witch Trials. The town of Salem,Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century was a blue puritan community thatwas largely uneducated and very superstitious. Since many lacked education,they did not understand many events that happened in their day-after-day lives. Manythings that went wrong in their daily lives would be blamed on witchcraft orsorcery. Such common things as burnt bread or broken plates would be blamed onthe supernatural. Many people, especially the uneducated, firmly believed inthe existence of witches and warlocks. They believed that such individuals hadthe power to perform "black magic" that caused some kind of trouble. Every timesomething hopeless happened they would blame it on witches and witchcraft.Main Characters One of the main shares in this story was Tituba, anAfrican slave woman from Barbados. She was purchased in Barbados by a merchantnamed Samuel Parris. She lived in Barbados until Samuel Parris brought her toSalem to work as his servant. She was known to practice Obeah, an African cultsorcery. People who performed or practiced Obeah were said to be able to herald the future, make magical charms, and drive away evil spirits. Titubawas accused of teaching witchcraft to a small group of girls in Salem.     Samuel Parris, another main character in this story, was a merchant whoattended Harvard University. He was the owner of Tituba and her husband. Hehad studied to become a minister before he left Harvard. He was a business manwho traded slaves, sugar, and rum in Barbados. Things began to not work out forhim when he started making less and less money. He gave up his passage as amerchant in 1689 and moved to Salem to become a minister.     Other main characters in this story include the girls that were taughtwitchcraft by Tituba, the judges in the courtroom, and the men and women whowere accused of witchcraft.