ipl-logo

Salem Witch Trials And Sarah Good With The Devil

1099 Words5 Pages

Salem Witch Trials Argumentative Essay “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Kinsella 1286). In 1692, mass hysteria hit Salem Village in the form of Satan and his mephistophelian goals. Turning neighbors upon neighbors, accusations of one another piled up, damaging reputations and the liveliness of the town along with it. A group of young afflicted girls in Salem describe their experiences and witnesses gaze upon their supernatural exertions. In this course of events, the most logical explanation for the girl's behavior during the hysteria that took place was due to supernatural causes, inflicted by the devil. First being seen, the girls were afflicted with all sorts of effects that could not be explained using the medical knowledge of the day. It was reported that they would have convulsive fits, scream as if …show more content…

This has led some researchers to believe it as a potential cause of this mass hysteria. Ergot is a fungal infection that has the potential to grow on rye, wheat, oats and other cereals if the seasons have had a cold winter followed by a long spring with wet soil (Caporael). Salem did in fact have all of the right conditions to support the growth of Ergot. All of the girls had logical ways to find contaminated grain in their homes.When an individual consumes Ergot, they will begin to experience the effects of ergotism. Ergotism behaviors include but are not limited to nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and weakness, numbness, itching, and rapid or slow heartbeat, convulsions, muscle spasms, confusion and unconsciousness (Caporael). Ergot symptoms lineup similarly to the behavior of the girls in Salem. There are a plethora of reasons why Ergot was simply not the cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Salem was a very successful port city, meaning they were not hurting for food rich in nutrients, specifically Vitamin A

Show More
Related

Salem Witch Dbq Essay

480 Words | 2 Pages

The Salem Witch trials had nothing to do with the devil and all to do with ergot. Ergot is a parasitic fungus that grows on cereal grains like rye. This infection is most common in the summer and spring. People can get this infection by eating bad rye bread. It was more common for women to get Ergot than men.

Read More

Salem Witch Hunt Analysis

1001 Words | 5 Pages

Causing many suspicion of demonic activity throughout the salem village, hysteria spread quickly as the population ascended to witchcraft creating the act of cynicism. Most conducted these suspicions though dissecting their physical and mental image meaning that most of the civilians would convert to supernatural explanations in order to assume the act of demonic possession and I quote “Good also had a reputation for holding a grudge and for muttering curses against those who crossed her, which would have alarmed her neighbours, not least because many people believed that such curses would work” ( The Salem Witch Hunt, p.69). This quote taken from Sarah Good’s bibliography confirms the suspicions of witchcraft as these sign were depicted as supernatural to the puritans perspective. Being fearful of the devil, most puritans believed that the abnormal should endure punishment as for these acts were created against the church law leading to christian ignorance and disbelief and I quote “They also show how easily people could become convicted that hostile neighbours were wielding occult forces against them”(The Salem Witch Hunt, p.69).

Read More

The Testimon Young Women In Salem Possessed

1418 Words | 6 Pages

The witch panic started in Salem, Massachusetts hanged 19 people and inspired a wide-swept fear of the Devil and witchcraft that lasted for over a year. Historians have discussed why this panic occurred for years, producing a slew of opinions on what caused one small community to erupt into such fear. Two such historians, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, attempted to understand the 1692 Salem witch trials by analyzing Salem Village’s social and economic tensions dividing the community in the book Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft. Yet the two historians ignore the largest group of participants in the witch trials: women. When looking at the documents recording the events of 1692, however, a historian cannot escape the importance of the young girls who were first afflicted and started the accusations.

Read More

Sarah Osborne's Life In The Salem Witch Trials

562 Words | 3 Pages

In the late 1600s, the small town of Salem, Massachusetts was engulfed by a dark cloud of mass hysteria during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Innocent women were unjustly accused, condemned, and subjected to torturous deaths for the alleged crime of witchcraft. Amongst the chaos and fear, lived a young woman named Sarah Osborne. This narrative essay delves into the life of Sarah, exploring her experiences before and after being accused, and sheds light on the devastating consequences that arise when mass hysteria drives people to make irrational choices. Sarah Osborne, a spirited and determined young woman, lived a modest life in the close-knit community of Salem.

Read More

What Caused Dbq Salem Witch Trials In 1692

974 Words | 4 Pages

Nineteen men and women hung from the tree of destruction, for they were the ornaments of hysteria. New England was supposed to be a land of opportunity for the Puritans. During the summer of 1692, Salem Village proved to a wretched example of this; twenty people were falsely accused of witchcraft and were accordingly jailed and executed. Salem’s infamy has bewildered many, for nobody truly knows in entirety what caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, envious, young, single women; sexism; and lying little girls stand out as the main causes.

Read More

Dbq Salem Witch Hunt

865 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Salem Witch Trials Dbq Essay

745 Words | 3 Pages

N) also brings up the possibility of a fungus called ergot triggering the hysteria of 1692. Ergot grows on cereal grains and can be poisonous which was a “common condition resulting from eating contaminated rye bread” back in the seventeen hundred´s. Ergot is believed to have affected the accusers by causing symptoms such as “crawling sensations, tingling in the fingers, vertigo and hallucinations”. To better understand how ergot played a role in the Salem witch hysteria, an additional document listing how much rye and other cereal grains were consumed during the year 1692 would help determine a

Read More

Chapter Summary: The Salem Witch Trials

1223 Words | 5 Pages

How two little girls (Abigail and Betty) where the first to suffer from fits of hysterical outbreaks and how many accusers came forward and described how they or their animals had been bewitched. It mentions the court cases and how there were more woman than men accused of practicing witch craft. It also states how historians believe the girls were faking their fits from the start. Also mentions how religious Salem was at the time which influenced the trials. •

Read More

Pre-Colonial Times: The Salem Witch Trials

2248 Words | 9 Pages

When Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, Abigail Williams, and the other young girls started to experience strange fits and hallucinations, doctors struggled to find the cause, as Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History explains, “The girls began having hallucinations and strange physical ailments, some of them babbling incoherently. Doctors were called in and diagnosed witchcraft”. Most of them had never heard of an extreme case like Salem was encountering, so it was hard for them to diagnose exactly what the problem was. Eventually, “they [doctors] deemed the symptoms to be so unusual as to be supernatural, essentially passing the problem on to religious leaders. From that point the problem was viewed as a spiritual one, and the ministers became involved” (Carlson 51).

Read More

How Did The Salem Witch Hunts In 1692

859 Words | 4 Pages

When a person was accused of Witchcraft and was hanged while pleading not guilty, then all the land that they owned would not stay in their family; instead, the land would be put up for auction. A flaw people have seen in the fraudulent explanation of the girls behavior, is ergotism. Ergotism is a fungus that most commonly grows on rye. While rye is abundantly found in Salem, many farms grew rye there. Ergotism causes many different symptoms such as vertigo, hallucinations, painful contractions, headaches, disturbances, and crawling sensations.

Read More

Abigail Williams Motivation In The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

795 Words | 4 Pages

The sudden onset of symptoms in multiple individuals without a clear medical diagnosis causes high suspicion. Without concrete medical evidence to support their claims, we begin to speculate that the girls might be exaggerating their symptoms for attention or other motives. While some attribute the girls' behavior to ergot poisoning, Ergot poisoning typically results from consuming grains contaminated with the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which produces toxic alkaloids. Ergot poisoning can cause symptoms such as convulsions, hallucinations, and erratic behavior (Howlett). Moreover, ergot was located in rye, a grain that has been said to be the reason for the ergot poisoning, during this time this grain was one of the main sources of food (Weller).

Read More

Analysis: The Salem Witch Trials

348 Words | 2 Pages

This theory is supported by what is known as the Little Ice Age, where the climate during the 14th and mid-19th century were abnormally cold and fell on the same time period as the Great Witch Craze. I believe that the ergot poisoning theory is more plausible than the Cold Weather Theory, I believe this because the side effects of ergot poisoning are known and can be tested even today. Additionally, the village of Salem was more than likely very dependent on the growth and harvest of rye grain. On the other hand, I believe that the Cold Weather Theory could have happened but is less likely to be the whole

Read More

Ergot And The Salem Witch Trials

557 Words | 3 Pages

Some people think ergot is the main cause of the Salem witch trials but they are wrong. The salem witch trials are a great example of how the power of suggestion can change your view of people. Ergot is a fungi that grows on rye and is poisonous to humans. Ergot can cause LSD like effects to humans. People thought this was the cause

Read More

Reasons Behind The Crucible Essay

624 Words | 3 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials accusing others of a feared crime showed definite evidence that mass hysteria was to blame. Salem was a religious settlement, following Puritan beliefs (Miller, 6). A large fear for everyone in Salem was the touch of the Devil (Miller, Arthur). According to Puritan beliefs, if a man or woman was touched by the Devil he would convince them to do witchcraft. Once word was mentioned the Devil had possibly touched Salem, the fear spread.

Read More

Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

593 Words | 3 Pages

In order to understand the magnitude of the Salem witch trials, it is important to know about the symptoms from which the accusers suffered, to know who were the victims being accused, and the history of ergot poisoning. The symptoms of the accused are very important to understand. In 1691, late December, eight girls had started acting odd after the minister

Read More

More about Salem Witch Trials And Sarah Good With The Devil

Open Document