Exploring the Text

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  1. In the opening paragraph, Cotton Mather speaks as a Puritan minister to his congregation—or flock—telling them they are in danger. What rhetorical strategies does he use to impress on them the urgency of the situation?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - In the opening paragraph, Cotton Mather speaks as a Puritan minister to his congregation—or flock—telling them they are in danger. What rhetorical strategies does he use to impress on them the urgency of the situation?
  2. Throughout the speech, Mather makes use of biblical references and passages as evidence. Select at least three and discuss how they support the argument he is making.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Throughout the speech, Mather makes use of biblical references and passages as evidence. Select at least three and discuss how they support the argument he is making.
  3. In this speech, Mather proceeds from a general warning that the devil has come into the community to increasingly specific and frightening allegations of the manifestations of the evil. What are they? How is each calculated to escalate the level of fear?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - In this speech, Mather proceeds from a general warning that the devil has come into the community to increasingly specific and frightening allegations of the manifestations of the evil. What are they? How is each calculated to escalate the level of fear?
  4. Selecting either paragraph 2 or 3, analyze how through his choice of language Mather dramatizes the battle between the forces of good and evil; note his use of specific words as well as images.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Selecting either paragraph 2 or 3, analyze how through his choice of language Mather dramatizes the battle between the forces of good and evil; note his use of specific words as well as images.
  5. During the Salem Witch Trials, a key issue was the inclusion of “spectral evidence”—that is, evidence that cannot be seen. As expressed in this address, what is Mather’s position on the use and usefulness of such evidence?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - During the Salem Witch Trials, a key issue was the inclusion of “spectral evidence”—that is, evidence that cannot be seen. As expressed in this address, what is Mather’s position on the use and usefulness of such evidence?
  6. What is it that Mather claims “makes this Descent [of the Devil into the community] the more formidable” (par. 3)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is it that Mather claims “makes this Descent [of the Devil into the community] the more formidable” (par. 3)?
  7. What is the “wrath unto the uttermost” (par. 5)? What is the reasoning Mather develops to support his claim?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is the “wrath unto the uttermost” (par. 5)? What is the reasoning Mather develops to support his claim?
  8. How does Mather characterize “New-England” as the site of this conflict between opposing forces? What significance is there to the fact that “New-England should this way be harassed!” (par. 5)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How does Mather characterize “New-England” as the site of this conflict between opposing forces? What significance is there to the fact that “New-England should this way be harassed!” (par. 5)?
  9. A “hortatory” address calls the audience to action—that is, it exhorts them. What action is Mather urging his Salem community to take, and what rhetorical strategies does he use to encourage them?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - A “hortatory” address calls the audience to action—that is, it exhorts them. What action is Mather urging his Salem community to take, and what rhetorical strategies does he use to encourage them?
  10. As a Puritan minister, Mather believed that God had chosen him for a special mission in the New World: to root out evil and establish the kingdom of God. Where in his text do you find evidence of this sense of personal destiny?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - As a Puritan minister, Mather believed that God had chosen him for a special mission in the New World: to root out evil and establish the kingdom of God. Where in his text do you find evidence of this sense of personal destiny?
  11. Look at the painting on page 247. How does it capture the fear and hysteria that Mather calls on in his speech?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Look at the painting on page 247. How does it capture the fear and hysteria that Mather calls on in his speech?