Brief Summary: The Salem Witch Trial

Arlin Alvarado
E Gross
English 111H Period 4
March 3, 2013
The Salem Witch Trial When people think about The Salem Witch Trial, the first thing that comes to mind is “oh it 's just a bunch of wannabe witches being killed.” But in reality they were innocent people being accused by a bunch of little girls trying to get got of trouble. People were very suspicious and paranoid about everything back then-if a few people in the village suddenly became ill, it was because of a "witch". Remember, they had no science to explain anything, so they had to make up stuff that seems ridiculous to us today. They feared what they didn 't know and understand, therefore seeking any kind of solution . . . in this case their fear led to The Salem witch
trial. Why did the Salem witch trial occur? Were these trials appropriate? Or were they truly a Devil 's work? The Salem Witch Trials might have occurred for a variety of reasons such as people 's ignorance that led to superstitions. It might have also occurred because people 's crave for power, or it might also be because of fear. The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 was caused by superstition, lack of evidence, and theory of the fungus called ergot. When superstition causes great fear then people do extreme things. Because of the superstition, witchcraft made many people became hysterical and accused women of being witches for ridiculous reasons. One reason included Goody Putnam 's babies dying at birth. Many of the people of Salem feared for their lives, causing them to make these accusations for what they believed was self preservation. If a person fears death enough they will do whatever is possible to prevent it. In the end common sense comes to another town called Andover and the people realize that superstition is exactly what it is... superstition. There is no evidence to support superstition. In The Crucible the people of Andover realize that the accusations of witchcraft are completely false and steeped in superstition. This causes the townspeople to overthrow the court. This is revealed by Parris in Act 4 on page 1266 when he states, "Andover have thrown out the court, they say, and will have no part in witchcraft." Don 't walk under a ladder, a rabbit 's foot brings good luck, never break a mirror; all great examples of superstition. None have ever been taken as far as superstition was in Salem when people who were believed to be witches were hanged. The superstition that the devil revealed his dark deeds through witches turned superstition into fear for the townspeople of Salem. This fear led the townspeople to hang innocent citizens in Salem. One must wonder, could this historical event be repeated in today 's society if a modern superstition causes hysteria? Hopefully a superstition will never be taken as far as it was in Salem, Massachusetts. Two kinds of evidence of witchcraft were considered less persuasive, although they seem to have influenced certain New England magistrates.
One was anger followed by mischief – a sidelong glance by the suspected witch followed quickly by an accident to the victim. The last and most fragile evidence, testimony by the afflicted that were “visited” by some demonic form (Salem DBQ 9). In my opinion this is not real and valid evidence. Two reasons why I say this, for one, I don 't fully understand because in my mind it 's saying, that if you look suspicious or do suspicious things someone is allowed to follow you and if they believe you are practicing witchcraft they have the right to accuse you and send you to jail and give you a trial. Now if I’m right I think that is very and I mean very stupid because if your neighbor is the one accusing you then the your land will become a free for all and that neighbor will have most of your land and become a little more powerful in the social status. Secondly those “ afflicted “ girls could have been faking and lying about what they seen or did therefor their evidence is also
invalid. When hysteria mixed with family rivalries fomented the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692-93, more than 200 people were accused unjustly of practicing witchcraft Eventually, the colonial government acknowledged that the trials were a mistake, and compensated the families of those convicted. But that vindication came too late for the 19 defendants who were executed. A 20th, Giles Corey, was pressed to death when he refused to plead. As many as 13 others died in prison.(Joseph E. Baker ) I believe the authorities took those girls too serious without believable evidence.
There was a theory that a fungus called ergot can sometimes infect rye grains. Rye grain is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. The fungus produces some chemicals which are very similar to LSD. LSD is one of the major drugs made up of hallucinogen. It was discovered in 1938 and is one of the most potent mood- changing chemical. So this whole time the girls could have been on LSD the whole time hallucinating the whole time or acting. Either way I don 't believe that the “devil” had anything to do with the Salem witch trials at
all. The Salem Witch Trials is an example of a tragic time in history. This event still fascinates our imagination to this day, and shows us what can happen if we make decisions based on fear and ignorance. How has our modern judicial system changed? Would today courts allow evidence such as mass hysteria, specters, intangible evidence, forced confessions and "here say”to convict a person of a crime? At what point in history do you think"witch craft" stopped being a crime? It has been three hundred and twenty one years since the Salem Witch Trials started. Since that time, countless groups and individuals have come together to educate people regarding this tragic time in history and have worked tirelessly to ensure what happened in our past, cannot be repeated. Bibliography
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Baker, Joseph E. "Salem Witchcraft Trials." National Geographic Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. .