Salem Witch Trials

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The Salem witch trials occurred in Salem, Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. There were over 200 people who were accused of witchcraft, and about twenty were executed. Today, we do not necessarily take as severe of actions on those whom are different, but there are witch hunts occurring every day in our society. Both in the 1600s and today, humans fear the unknown, or unconformity. People take their personal values, and combine them with the values of their society, and “witch hunts” begin to form in the society. Witch hunts are where a certain group gets looked at differently because of their thoughts or actions. In the 1690’s, the puritan society feared certain people because they were different. 320 years later this still occurs in our society because of the same reason. A couple examples of how certain groups are victimized are the topics of body image, and a person’s sexual orientation.
The habitants of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 were called puritans. Puritans had societal values that were strictly followed and valued in the puritan society. Many of them we still value today. These values are mainly based on god. Because of their emphasis on god, their society also had many fears such as sinning, the Devil, as well as non-conformity, which leads to suspecting witchcraft of those whom are different. When Abigail Williams and her friends began showing signs of being with the devil, the citizens recognized that the girls were not like all of the others in the town, so they begin to treat them differently than the other citizens, especially because the devil is the opposing force of god. They also feared the forest, “the Salem folk believed that the virgin forest was the devil’s last preserve, his home base, and the citade...

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... of the unknown, and afraid of people not being conformed. So, if society sees a person or a group of people who do not fit the mold of society exactly, they get treated differently. The society sets the standards for what is expected, and then people add their personal beliefs to this.

Works Cited

Janssen, I, WM Craig, WF Boyce, and W Pickett. "PubMed." NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .
"ANAD." Eating Disorders Statistics « « National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .
"Obesity affects job prospects for women, study finds." The University of Manchester. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .

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