Puritanism During The Salem Witch Trials The Puritans in the time of the Salem Witch trials showed that it was possible for humans to lose all “rational” thought and blindly condemn people to death. Arthur Miller, a contemporary American playwright, dramatized these proceedings in the attempt to mirror the McCarthy investigations, and show how absurd they truly were. Arthur Miller says of the Puritans, “They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. We have inherited this belief, and it has helped and hurt us.” Americans today believe that this country possesses a “candle” for the world, though man