Another possible reason the accusers may have gotten mass hysteria was if one person got scared of witches, it is human nature to say “I’m scared of witches too!” Some of the accusers had a good reason to believe certain people could have been witches. Tituba, the slav... ... middle of paper ... ...ether it could have been the Indian War or believing you have something just because someone else has it, the chances of this odd illness randomly occurring is highly unusual. The Salem Witch Trials were highly unusual and incredibly unreasonable, but it was a serious, unfortunate event. Innocent lives were taken due to a form of mass hysteria so mass hysteria is no laughing matter. Works Cited In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials.
She was accused of having a "malignant touch," Hale noted, and her medicines were said to have "extraordinary violent effects." When people refused to take her medical advice, he added, "their diseases and hurts continued, with relapse against the ordinary course, and beyond the apprehension of all physicians and surgeons. "(P.21) Hale also mentioned that Jones was believed to possess psychic powers: "some things which she foretold came to pass accordingly; other things she could tell of ... she had no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of. "(P.20) Hale's writings showed that stealing, and other crimes such as fornication and infanticide, were regularly associated with witchcraft, by both the clergy and the larger pop... ... middle of paper ... ... deaths of fathers, husbands, brothers, or sons. This would happen because these women were part of a society with an inheritance system designed to keep property in the hands of men.
It almost brings tears to our eyes because these people gave in to death in order to maintain humanity on this Earth. Although the deaths of these people were very tragic, it clearly demonstrates that good deed will always over power evil. The people, who reinforced this statement, were people like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. These people uprooted the seeds for evil from the ground, to lay the seeds for goodness. Throughout history citizens have branded people as witches, and warlocks.
Many innocent people were brutally killed for being a “witch”. Families were broken and friendships ended. The fact that people accused friends and neighbors is horrible. It makes people rethink about who they can actually trust. Salem has been affected by these trials since 1692.
His diagnosis of bewitchment was put in place of being mot... ... middle of paper ... ... before he was hung. They had no choice but to just listen to Abigail and what she was saying about everyone being in witchcraft. Giles Corey was being pressed to death for not standing to trials also affected people greatly. Giles Corey had no mercy because they didn’t believe a word he was saying but what he was telling them was actually the truth. This made people look at things different they thought before they did.
The Salem Witch Trials began when Betty Paris, Abigail Williams, and some of their friends began to act strange with odd fits (Hall 1). Because many mental and emotional disorders were not understood, the people of Salem believed it was the work of witchcraft. When sickness or even misfortune came, the most Bednar 2 sensible reason was witchcraft (Godbeer 28). The Salem Witch Trials were a prime example of the prejudice in early America with the different personal lives and beliefs (Adams 26). The prejudice and panic caused much instability in the Salem comm... ... middle of paper ... ...n in Salem.
Now they can see what torments them: the figures of actual people coming to pinch and hit them”(79). They claim that a witch is pinching them, and that their eyes are now open to the invisible world. Then, hysteria coming upon the population with more and more people claiming that they are afflicted. Not only does this occur in I Walk in Dread, but similarly it happens in The Crucible. The plot is very similar, but “Betty Parris, aged ten, is lying on the bed, inert”(3).
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. "Going Native." The New York Times on the Web. 18 October 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/18/reviews/981018.18linket.html.
Many historians say to these records that since their body was put under so much strain and fear of the witchcraft that surrounded them all the time, their bodies going through strange changes such as paralysis or temporary blindness with no real cause rather than stress. But many historians also believe the witnesses were voluntarily acting and committing fraud against the others. But why was this such an enigma to understand why this small town in New England was all of a sudden becoming a cen... ... middle of paper ... ...all. He highly stressed that the different factors of change of business, Quaker ministers preaching to the Puritans, and overall disagreement of ideas among the townspeople. He doesn’t seem to think that the people deliberately accused their rivals of witchcraft and not committing fraud but involuntarily fed into the lies they were told and had strange reactions when told to convey what they saw.
The Salem Witch Trials has been a well-known topic and known for how tragic it was and all the wrongful deaths it brought; but what caused all of this to occur? It was a time in which numerous, innocent people (mostly women) were killed because they were believed to be partaking in witchcraft. There are several possible causes as to why the Salem Witch Trials occurred. The Salem Witch Trials stemmed from the belief that Satan is acting in the world, whether it be through giving a disease or recruiting new witches to work for him, kids that were bored and brought it upon themselves to lie that they were witches to have fun, feuds between those in the community, and confessions leading town officials to believe that their belief that witchcraft