Text: Prentice Hall pp. 76-80

1. For what was Martha Carrier indicted?

2. To what had Carrier's children confessed prior to the trial?

What might be some reasons they would say these things?

3. According to Benjamin Abbot's testimony, what happened to Abbot after Martha Carrier became angry with him?

What detail in Abbot's description of his physical ailments is clearly exaggerated?

4. According to Phoebe Chandler's testimony, what did Martha Carrier do to Chandler "on a Lordsday"?

What happened "quickly after" this incident?

What does Chandler's testimony that she heard a voice "over her head" that she "took to be Martha Carrier's" imply about Carrier?

5. What information does Mather present in his "memorandum" at the end of the excerpt?

6. Do you think witnesses might have been likely to fabricate their testimony during the Salem witchcraft trials? Explain your answer.

7. Style refers to the way in which a writer expresses his or her thoughts. For example, in The Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather writes in a plain, direct, journalistic style. How does Mather's style make his report of the trial seem like an objective, factual account?

8. Bias means "partiality" or an inclination toward a certain position. Although Mather certainly tried through his style to make his account of the trial seem objective, his choice of words makes it clear that in reality his report is written from a biased point of view.

How does Mather's statement that "a number of bewitched persons" were brought in to testify against Carrier reveal his bias? (Think of how a reporter today would put that statement is she were covering a trial for a newspaper.)

Find (and quote) two other examples of language that clearly indicates Mather's bias.

9. Do the Usage and Mechanics Worksheet and the Grammar in Action Worksheet for from Wonders of the Invisible World.