What Happens During Magawisca's Trial

The passage I chose takes place during Magawisca’s trial. Towards the end of the trial, she tells Governor Winthrop she would rather be sentenced to death right away than placed back in the cell. To some this can be seen as Magawisca being weak. The text says she spoke with a sense of impatience for the first time. To me it shows that she is simply tired of being strong and she needs someone to come to her rescue. This made me think of her risking her life, and ultimately her arm, to save Everell. Once the spectators noticed Magawisca’s dismembered arm, they showcased their emotions. This made me believe they were eventually going to show her mercy. Luckily Everell did come to her rescue by telling the judge to grant her liberty. The crowd also followed his suit.

She swayed their emotions and that could possible cause them to be confused about why they are so against Indians. Though a man interrupted by reminding the crowd that Indians were their archenemies and Magawisca was only trying to cloud their judgement, they were still confused. She left them with a “strange contrariety of opinion and feelings.” There may come a time in one’s life when they are put in a position to go against what they are taught in order to do something they may feel is right. Even though her wish was not granted, the fact that she made them question their teachings says a lot. This also raises the concern about how far Sir Phillip will go to make sure he is deemed innocent and does not get caught up in his own lies. Even though he is under the pretense of being Puritan, his feelings toward Magawisca fall along the lines of their feelings toward Indians. With that being, people with strong religious ties are more than likely to follow their teachings and beliefs than go against them even if they are being