Dbq Salem Witch Hunt

Gabriela Cortez Lopez, Kjai Hamblin, and Phoenix Lehnick
Mrs. Gann
English Honors III
4 April 2023
The Last of Us (Witch Hunt Edition)
The Salem Witch Trials were various trials that consisted of the accusations of people in Salem, Massachusetts during the time of the 1690s. People were coming down “with a mysterious and terrifying illness”(Caporael.) People were vomiting, screaming uncontrollably, claiming they see things that no one else can, and convulsing and contorting their bodies into impossible positions. Doctors soon called to examine the girls who were experiencing such things yet there was no medical reason for experiencing these things. At this point, the people turned to other types of forces that may be causing these symptoms.

Because ergot tends to grow in these conditions it could have caused rye to become heavily infected. “Rye, which grows best in low, wet areas and is susceptible to ergot infection, was a staple crop in Salem” (Caporael.) Because the western section of Salem's farmland is swampy, it can also contribute to the growth and spread of ergot in Salem. Due to these swampy fields it can be inferred that the western part of Salem had more accused or afflicted than other areas, and as it so happens 30 of the 32 accused lived in the western side of Salem. The way that the accused felt and acted was very similar to the symptoms of ergot when and if consumed. Its variety of neurotoxins and halogens can cause vomiting, needle-like sensations under the skin, and even hallucinations. If these symptoms don’t sound familiar to you, they are similar if not the same symptoms that are seen in the accused during the

Part of those reasons being, “the actions of the girls in the courtroom during examinations and trials when the girls fell into their fits based on the movements of the accused which caused them to cry out names” (Howlett.) As well as others turning to the work of Arthur Miller The Crucible for direction of what happened during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. They think as John Proctor states in the play “They‘re pretending!”(Mr.) Even though many theories say differently Ergot is one of the only reasonable explanations for the way that the accused had been acting. There was no other medical reason during that time and even when they were inspected by doctors they found nothing. The weather during the time of the trails was ideal for the growth of ergot and so was the swamp-like field in the Western part of Salem. As well as the symptoms that matched the same symptoms as the ones that the accused were