Modern Puritans

             Back then, Puritans were very strict. Someone could get into a lot of trouble for what some may now view as outrageous. For example, children were not allowed/expected to be children, meaning they couldn't dance,scream, etc. Today, there are some puritan-like people/places.
              There are charter schools in Chicago that are very strict. If you don't have your shirt tucked, or if you don't wear the required shoes to school, you will get a demerit. You get 3 demerits, then you get a detention. Demerits can be given out for the smallest matters, but those are the school rules and only authorities can change them. That's sort of how the Puritans were as they picked out every single nib-bit there was about someone and you could be punished for what they picked out.
             Puritans also had rules based off their religion, and were very strict about it. I think this can be applied in some way to the Westboro Church. Puritans say that they do things for their religion, and the Westboro Church also claims that. However, they go very extreme, and are looked down upon many. They are very strict about their rules, and if others break their rules, (one of them being homosexuality) then they will chase you down with their picket signs. These people are like a meaner version of Puritans, but are very strict like them as well. These are some of the people/places that I think are like Puritans.

John Proctor - Hero or Stooge?

        I believe John Proctor was a hero. He stood up for his friends such as Giles, and when he was offered a deal by Danforth, he denied it, as he wanted to help his friends' wives that were also accused. Despite him having an affair with Abigail, he was still a good person since he confessed in front of the whole court. He fought in court of what he believed, and fought until the end where he was arrested. At the end of the play, he also could have saved his life by lying, but knowing how Giles had died, he knew he could not live with that, and so he decided to get executed instead. He stood up with his beliefs, and did them, which made him a good man. He had many wrongs, but everyone else does as well... it's just whether or not you learn/change from those mistakes.
        In some eyes, such as Parris', they didn't feel that John Proctor was a good man according to his actions of the Puritan's rules. Some rules would have been going to church, and getting your children baptized, and as you know, Proctor's youngest son didn't get baptized, he didn't go to church often, and he also didn't know all ten commandments. However, his actions were mostly righteous, as he did have many good beliefs as stated above. John Proctor was a hero: a person that put his friends first, fought his beliefs, and learned from the mistakes he did.
     

Arrivals...There Goes the Neighborhood

         I feel that when the English came over to the New World, they were harsh. They came over to where the Indians lived, and forcefully tried to convert them. They had advanced technology (such as guns) while the Indians used spears and things that they made from stone. They didn't care for the Native's beliefs, and killed animals that the Indians thought of as sacred, and they destroyed forests to settle in. They took away the lovely nature that the Natives had so loved, and that made them despise the English. The English only had one thing in their mind: the wealth that would come from the land. In my opinion, the English were irrational as they took over the lands, because they saw the Natives as primitive, or in a condescending matter. If they had tried to cooperate with them, and if the settlers were actually nice and didn't try to force things upon them, I feel that both sides would've been able to work something out. Both sides had to fight and lose many people, and yet, it didn't prove anything, it merely made them lose lots of resources. It wasn't fair that the Indians were portrayed by some as evil-doers, while the English were also doing bad things. They didn't respect them or their traditions, and took away their lands, which they claimed despite them living there since forever. However, without the English settlement, I wouldn't be here today. To conclude, I do feel that it was wrong to do this to the Natives, but I also in a way feel happy that they did so, because it was the only way that I would be here.