Reinforces the instability of reputation in Salem: even the innocent may be misrepresented. Reflects real community anxieties during the trials.

Direct warning: improper participation in church rituals could enhance the devil’s influence. Reinforces community-wide fear and moral control.

Direct spiritual intimidation. Parris weaponizes shame, portraying Christ as someone who despises hypocrites.

Warning against falling into self-satisfaction and assuming that belonging to an institution guarantees salvation. Encourages self-examination and personal piety.

Implied threat: Christ already knows the false believers. Encourages the listeners to assume divine surveillance over every action.

Hypocrisy is morally worse than ordinary sin. Links moral failure with spiritual damnation and eternal consequences.

Defines “Devils” metaphorically as sinful humans, not supernatural beings. This allows Parris to morally condemn individuals without claiming literal possession.

Foundation of Parris’s message: the church is a mixed body. This dualism legitimizes suspicion and moral policing within the congregation.

Repetition intensifies the theme: even those closest to God can harbor corruption. For his listeners, this implies that anyone among them could be a hidden threat.

Parris draws a biblical parallel between the apostles and his own congregation. The “Devil among the twelve” allows him to accuse indirectly without naming individuals. He emphasizes the presence of evil within the church and warns against hypocrisy.

Shows direct involvement of church members in witchcraft accusations. Illustrates how fear and suspicion infiltrated the community. Consecrates Parris as moral guardian.

Indicates the immediate social fear of witchcraft in Salem, which originated the sermon. Parris frames the witchcraft events as a divine or moral crisis requiring immediate attention.

Parris delivers this sermon during the height of the Salem witchcraft panic. Several church members are under suspicion of witchcraft. The purpose of the sermon is to warn the congregation about “Devils” within the church, encourage vigilance, and discourage hypocrisy.

Marks the religious setting: the sermon is delivered during a sacred ritual, intensifying its emotional impact. Parris uses the solemnity of the sacrament to lend authority and urgency to his message.

Links sin (especially greed) directly to spiritual damnation. Greed is portrayed as a moral failing that can turn believers into “Devils,” reflecting Puritan values and fear of moral corruption.

Reinforces the sermon’s binary opposition between good and evil. Fear-based rhetoric: the congregation is warned that there is no middle ground between virtue and sin. Encourages self-reflection and vigilance.

Shows fear-based moral reasoning: one evil person (or “Devil”) can ruin the spiritual integrity of the whole church. Reinforces urgency for communal purity.

Encourages spiritual vigilance and prayer as protection against evil. Highlights the Puritan belief that unseen spiritual threats can infiltrate the community.

Parris compares Salem’s situation to biblical examples (Corinth) to emphasize moral accountability. He heightens fear by linking witchcraft suspicions to spiritual corruption.

Call for self-reflection. Connects moral and spiritual vigilance to everyday behavior and participation in the church.

This is the central theme of the sermon. Moral binary of good vs evil within the church. Shows the coexistence of virtuous and corrupt individuals.

Moral lesson linking greed/corruption to spiritual damnation. Suggests that small sins can lead to a devil-like state.