Now that you’ve read several sources, you can better relate to someone who has witnessed the Salem witch trials, or at least lived in Salem at the time. Think about what you’ve learned about the trials from both primary and secondary sources. Then write a fictitious diary entry or letter of about 200 words. Make sure you reflect the feelings of someone living in Salem during the trials. You will need to pretend you are a person who witnessed the trials. Make up a name and an age. You can use the following questions to help develop your character. You don’t need to answer every question, but thinking about the questions can be useful. What is your character’s name?
How old is your character?
Is your character rich? Poor? In between?
Is your character among the accused? The accusers? Or simply a witness to the events?
How does your character feel about these events? What does your character fear most? What does your character want most?
What details of the events stand out most in your character’s mind?
What does your character think will happen next?
Once you have listed sufficient details about your character, you can start writing a letter from your character's perspective.