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Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance by Kai T. Erikson

Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance by Kai T. Erikson


introduction

The book is fundamental in the understanding of deviance in the society. It is a review of one of the most deviant behaviors in the history of the world as depicted by the puritans who settled in Massachusetts in New England. This paper will review the aspect of deviance as demonstrated by the 17th century people residing in New England. It will explore three major themes of the puritans as they are depicted in the book. The first one is that there is a fundamental relationship between the nature of problems which are exhibited by the society and the value of behavior which the value can brand as deviant. The other theme is that the quantity of deviant will inevitably stay in the society for a while, and the third one is that there is a correlation between the how the deviant behavior is handled by the society and the social and the value of the organization of the society.


Description of the book

The book explores the subject of deviance and considers the probable sociology behind what happened in the 17th century in New England. The book is inclined in the understanding of the deviant behaviors of the people in New England and what would have probably precipitated to such behaviors. The author delves into the lives of the people in determining that deviant people are different probably because the difference is what makes them deviant. The author in his conviction and coherent in his objectification of the idea that deviant behavior can at times be natural and such that it can be of benefit to the society where it is being demonstrated.


The three implications or themes explored by the author are such that they give the reader the vivid imagination of what deviance is and how the society approaches to manage it. Having a relationship between the behavior which is being experienced in the society and the values of the society on what it terms as deviant. It is understandable that there are some aspects which are deviant in one society and accepted in the other. Therefore, the author embarks on his first chapter of the book detailing how in sociology there should be a criterion which determines what is normal and not normal. In this case, what the society would consider normal and not normal can be determined by the values and the morals which are upheld by the society now. Also, there is an extent in which the deviance will have a specific volume over time. This is in the essence that convictions of the people in going against what is expected will take the time to wear off and complacency initiative taken by the deviant group. In this regard, the extent of the deviant behavior will proceed for a period to make there subject or conviction felt by the society. Also, deviant behavior is essential because it has both positive aspects in the society. The society is composed of many factors which are at play and determine its development. Therefore, a deviant behavior in the society ussually brings in the aspect of the anomalies in the society and the oppressed aspects which are not upheld by all. In this case, it gives the society the impetus to change and have proper mechanisms in which the society can address the problems.


Critical review

One of the major themes which are critical themes in the book is the kind of the deviance which is experienced and the boundaries of the community. It is determinable that each of the human society in the world has its unique identity and special set of boundaries. In this case, each community has its own unique characteristic way and a style of deviant behavior. For example, there in this case a society which has a high emphasis on religions will have a high probability of having deviant behavior which is termed based on morals and ethics of a certain doctrine. In New England, one of the major aspects of the puritans is that they fled from the United Kingdom and settled in the American continent. This is after the religious group deviated from the presumed doctrine of the Roman Catholic church which was heavily tied to the monarchy. This is an aspect which is relative to the boundaries which had been set out by the monarchy with regards to the conduct of the people and the church. In this case, the deviance was divided into the three sections in the way the believers in that there were two which were extreme and one which was moderate.


However, the book does not detail the persecution of the believers by the church and matters of faith, but it delves in the sociology of the aspect of the reason for deviance between the believers and the church. The believers were more inclined in the manner of revisiting and refining the aspect of faith by having a revision of spirituality. This would have made them have a community of saints living on earth and abiding by the teachings of the bible as Christianity intended it to be. However, the church and the monarchy had a boundary which the author auspices as the governing of the conduct which the society regarded as normal. Both king James and Charles thought that the puritans were a menace and hellbent on wrecking the harmony which existed in the preservation of the catholic church doctrine.


In this case, the deviant behavior as depicted by the Erickson is that the puritans wanted the church to be as simple as it was when Jesus Christ and his disciples where around. To them the bible was everything, is the road map to the way of gaining salvation, prosperity and punishment for the sins one committed(Erikson, 1967: 67). In this case, they were differentiating themselves from the complex system of worship of the Roman catholic church. Therefore, there is a sense in which the puritans crossed the boundary on what the society regarded as normal on matters of the church. This is the aspect which the author of the book exemplifies in the manner that there is an aspect which is dictated by the society which does not agree with the belief of everybody. It is determinable that people differ in perspective, and the author inclines himself in dealing with the difference in perspective of the functionality of the spiritual aspect of Christianity.


The book delves into making it understood how it was not easy to understand who a puritan is, during other believers. In this case, the three groups of the puritans came to differentiate themselves in that there were those who were religiously tolerant. This is the aspect the such a deviant behavior is always bound to maintain a momentum for some time. Therefore, there was an extended period of deviant behavior which led to the establishment of the religious entities such as the Quakers. These came with a series of waves as they are depicted by the author in the book. These waves happened in the first six decades of the settlement bin New England which the author details as the “shapes of the devil.” These are given prominence in the last section of the book. According to Erikson, (1967: 78) The first one was the Antinomian controversy which happened in 1636 which was based on the case of Ann Hutchinson, she was one of the first people to deviated from the normal boundaries of religiosity. She professed on the covenant of grace which was not welcome by the church.


The second wave was the persecution of the Quakers which happened in the late 1650s. this was an extension of the persecution of the latter puritans. In this case, the author puts it into perspective as a crime wave in which the first Quakers who came into the Massachusetts bay were not well treated. Their books were burned, and most of them were imprisoned, and the magistrates of new England were determined to keep the Quakers at bay (Means & Erikson, 1967:81). In this case, persecutions became a common feature something which the author does not give many empathies on. However, not even the persecution could stop the Quakers, and the momentum continued.


The third wave was the witchcraft hysteria which happened in 1692. This is something which is detailed as having sprung up in Salem when a group of two girls was bewitched. This is a kind of continued deviance on the king of England in the manner that the puritans in the New England had defied the laws which had been given by the king to them. This is to the extend that the author determines that the author went to the extent of sending someone to ensure that his rules where followed. What followed in 1692 was that a group of girls aged between nine years and 20 years associated themselves with a diviner. Later the girls according to the author showed afflictions which were said to be witchcraft and what followed was random handpicking of witches even without those who were not (Erikson, 1967: 89). Before the accusations of the girls were determined to be farfetched, already a mass of damage had been done and around nineteen people had been hanged. After the hysteria was over, according to Erickson, the settlement returned into a quiet town, and a new governor was appointed by the king. This is an indicator that deviance of the society will have its momentum for a period and will bring about the anomalies which are in the society (Erikson, 1967: 91).

The last part of the book is more inclined in deviancy and the puritans in the new settlement. In this case, the fourth section details the statistics of the crime rate in the settlement which is an indicator that the crimes were consistent. In this case, it can be understood that deviance is one of how the society can gain insight on the aspect of the discontent in the system and order of the community. The puritans mostly had their crimes judged against the public order and were crimes deemed against the symmetry of the society. However, the deviance of the puritans was the eye opener where many of the religious factions sprung up in the decades which followed. It is determinable that the deviance of the puritans was in the eyes of the church and the monarchy, a crime against the orderliness of nature.


The book is overwhelmingly interesting in that it offers a lot of information as it is very educational. The history of the settlement and first lives of the puritans in America gives a glimpse of how faith and its functionality in people’s lives have changed over the centuries. The book is highly commendable to anyone who is interested in understanding the life in New England, deviance and sociology. The book can be determined in the way in which it contributes to the sociology theory. This is also in the way the book can be used in the application of sociology in the interpretation of history.


The author attempts to show that the society is an agent who handles and defines deviant behavior. However, the author delves in showing how some groups or individuals within the society ussually take charge of managing the deviant behavior. However, there seems to be a relationship between the behavior and crucial values which can be defined as deviant. This is an indicator that the society has an inclination of making a continuation of the behavior and shows ways in which different groups ussually play in the management of deviant behaviors. Erickson has brought to light the aspect in which is played by deviancy in the societies’ social organizations. The book is written with a distinction of style and sensitivity in that it provides an exemplary way of how deviance plays out in the society.

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