In Arthur Miller's paragraph, he described the settlement as a space so antagonistic to man and the Puritans as people who practice self-denial, hard-handed justice, who were suspicious of vain pursuits, and most importantly purposefulness.
He specifically chose these words with purpose.
Self-denial showed how much they had to sacrifice to just barely endure the years devil's winter.
It was necessary to reject the need of sleep, the pleasure of being sufficiently fed, and the enjoyment of recreation so they have a chance at living another harsh year.
They also had a purpose(job)which they had to fulfill 24/7 with little rest and barely anything filling up their stomachs.
Everyone relied on you to complete your task even if you were only a mere child. According to Wendell Phillips,
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They made sure that no one took anything for themselves and were constantly policing each other to be sure.
“The common unity strengthened the community.
In a foreign land surrounded by the hardships of pioneer life, their spiritual bond made them sympathetic to each other's needs.
Their overall survival techniques permeated the colonies and on the whole, made them more successful in several areas beyond that of the colonies established to their south”(see below*).
They believed if they slacked off, not only would the devil's winter occur, in addition to that, God would punish them.
According to Leland Ryken, ¨The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths.
Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God was a recurrent Puritan theme.¨
This caused them to survive most winter, absolutely no time for fun and for them to serve slackers hard handed justice.
If anyone suspected you not working as hard as you could, the townspeople could possibly create harsh punishment for you to bare