Essay about Salem Witch Trials

Puritans in Salem were colonists that had left England to seek religious tolerance. The life of a Puritan was extremely restrained and strict. Reverend Samuel Parris, was appointed minister to the village’s only church in 1689, to later have strong objections lodged against him in 1691. Parris’ response was that the Devil was set on destroying their, to which his job was to bring God back to Salem village. The first to be afflicted was his daughter, Betty, and niece, Abigail. After trying to cure both girls, it was concluded that witchcraft was the cause of their inability to control their own bodies. The majority of villagers who were accused of witchcraft did not belong to the covenant, implying that those who didn’t live the same life as a Puritan were easily the ones behind the witchcraft. During these accusations, mostly women were accused of witchcraft. As mentioned in ___________ , it said that “As Richard Latner has recently shown, there was ‘an environment of divisive religious contention’ in

In 1620, the Puritans faced an arduous journey, not knowing that seventy years later, their community would rip apart. One of the main reasons why these allegations started was because a few girls were showing demonic symptoms. These symptoms started with the daughter of minister Samuel Parris, in which she had fits that included contortions and random, uncontrollable, violent, screaming. Sadly, for early 17th century America, the belief in the supernatural was a very prominent idea. So the doctor decided to diagnose the girl with bewitchment, and soon other girls began having the same exact symptoms as her. These girls began accusing older women of bewitching them and arrest charges were made against them. Three women were brought forth to the judges and one confessed in order to have a lighter sentence. While it was thought the cause of these poor girls’ symptoms was bewitchment, it actually was just food poisoning from

Samuel Parris was the new reverend of the Salem church and he knew that Abigail and the three girls weren’t possessed by demons. He was a horrible man who sabotaged people’s trials so that they would die because he didn’t want to lose his job. In the end Samuel Parris was driven out by Sarah's husband who took over the town. The people of Salem were afraid. They didn’t want to cause harm, but they did want to stay away from witches. About 100 people were accused of being witches but were never killed,

Reverend Parris’ fear of losing his job provokes him to cry witch. Reverend Parris’ daughter feigns to be in a coma. When the doctor bade Susanna tell Reverend Parris that he “might look to unnatural things for the cause of it” (9), he denies that possibility because he fears that rumors of witchcraft under his roof would help his “many enemies” (10) to drive him from his

All the horrified villagers and upperclassmen saw the witches in action they saw the monstrous effect that black magic was apparently having on poor little child Abigail and twelve year old Ann Putnam Jr., a spell bounded choreography of outburst and spasms. “Look to her! She will have a fit presently,” one girl would cry out, pointing to another, who would promptly commence convulsing. “At other times they warned, ‘We shall all fall!’ and about seven girls would pass out, babbling to the floor. The head of the courtroom on that day was Thomas Danforth, deputy governor of Massachusetts and Harvard’s longtime treasurer, one of the several senior colonial officials . Betty's father called in more authorities to decide if witchcraft was the reason for the girl’s illness. Seeing that nothing was working not the praying or the vigils nor the sermons. Reverend decided to call in the doctors. Being puritan they did not believe in science but there were no options left. Betty was sent away, and did not participate in the trials; the other girls were joined by other young women in staging publicly putting on displays of their distress when in the presence of accused

Under stress, people can easily forget parts of the Lord’s Prayer or the Commandments, yet this is used as a test to determine whether or not someone is a witch. These often unsound methods of justice, which are standard in Puritan society, leads to the accusation and hanging of many people that are actually innocent.

In the evenings Tituba entertained little Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams by the kitchen fire. She played fortune-telling games and told them stories of magic and spirits from the Caribbean. Tituba was pointed out by the three girls and accused of teaching them witchcraft and fortune telling, which resulted in their strange behavior. Tituba did not deny the allegations. She confessed to being a witch after Reverend Parris beat her.

During the phase of witchcraft accusations, it was observed that generally women were both the accusers and the suspects of witchcraft. An Indian slave named Tituba was the first perpetrator of witchcraft, who used to work in Samuel Parris’ house (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 82). She was severely tortured and interrogated during her capture. At one stage of interrogation, Samuel Parris brutally assaulted her, which resulted her to confess about her involvement in

It was a bright cold day in Salem, where the sun seeped through overcast skies above and the mist danced around in the street. The wind hissed and howled, and swept through the narrow streets. In the centre of the town, stood the proud house of Reverend Parris. But that day, Reverend Parris was not a proud man as the accusations of witchcraft drifted through the town, overwhelming him completely.

That Little Betty Parris was sick, and that the Dr. Griggs (who was too proud to say that he could not diagnose Little Betty illness) claimed she was bewitched (Richardson 7), were enough reasons for court authorities to suspect witchcraft was the cause of the illness. In addition, several young girls in the village had participated in 弎lack magic?experiments ?harmless adolescent games ?in the company of Tituba, Reverend Parris slave. The restless young girls allegedly met in Parris shed, and created and listened to Tituba incredible tales of sorcery and black arts, which were doubtless an outlet for their repressed feelings. Soon, faulty cause-and-effect relationships sparked delirium.

In 1692, a town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village found itself in one of the most well-known cases of mass hysteria. This saga started with three girls Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determine that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched. What started as a silly game between children, slowly brought the town of Salem to the edge of insanity. This insanity lead to the killing of 25 innocent people due to their crimes of witchcraft. When scholars look back at the Salem Witch Trials they often time ask the question “What were the key factors in the spread of hysteria throughout the town of Salem?” Most scholars contribute the widespread of hysteria to three important factors; these factors include social, political, and religious tension that occurred in Salem Village. Each one of these factors played a key role in the start of the Salem trials and why it spread so rapidly throughout Salem Village.

In the year of 1692, Salem Village, Massachusetts went through an event known as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. This odd occurrence all started whenever 2 young village girls encountered a West Indian Slave woman to learn about thier futures. One of the girls claimed to see a coffin by looking into a glass with egg white in it. In the months following this incident, one of the girls father, Reverend Samuel Parris reported the girls suspicious behavior. He reported that they had been crawling in holes, under chairs and stools, and mumbling ridiculous phrases. Reverend Parris later found out about these girls meeting with the indian woman and professed that the girls were not sick, but rather possessed. This “possession” spread rapidly and the witch hunt began.

The first accusations were made by Reverend Parris’ niece, Abigail and daughter Betty. At the time Parris’ daughter was sick and no one could diagnose her with any medical issues. She showed symptoms of throwing temper tantrums, spoke in strange manners, and sensations of being pinched, among others. Health professionals believe that their actions were reflections of post-traumatic syndrome or perhaps abusive parents (The Economist, A31). Had Betty’s behaviors been examined by professionals today, they may have been able to diagnose her properly. There were other girls aged between 11 and 16 years, who complained of similar symptoms such as a lofty amount of emotions and pains, which were then given the authority to accuse the witches who were responsible (McHugh 20). At first glance it is evident that the girls were probably going through adolescence,

The path of religious decline inspired the creation of a dark culture of witchcraft in Europe. It was an unintended consequence of the war between France and American colonies. Significant turmoil remained as a result of the war. It destroyed American regions and drove refugees into Salem Village in Massachusetts Bay. Salem’s first ordained minister, Reverend Samuel Parris, was greedy and devious. Villagers openly voiced concern, stating the turmoil in their region was inspired by the devil. In attempt to combat the evil, a group of young girls in Salem, Massachusettes claimed to be bewitched by older women from New England. A “witch hunt” ensued, seeking to find the “possessed”. Thousands of witches were lynched because of their affiliation with witchcraft. (Cohen, 2013)

Salem Witch Trials: Casting a spell on the people Today, the idea of seeing a witch is almost inconsequential. Our Halloween holiday marks a celebration in which many will adorn themselves with pointy black hats and long stringy hair, and most will embrace them as comical and festive. Even the contemporary witchcraft religious groups forming are being accepted with less criticism. More recently, the Blair Witch movie craze has brought more fascination than fear to these dark and magical figures. So, it becomes no wonder that when our generations watch movies like the Crucible, a somewhat accurate depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, we are enraged and confused by the injustice and the mayhem that occurred in 1692. For most, our egocentric