The Crucible: The Salem Witch Trials

Small town mystery During the year 1692, a major historical event took place in the town known as Salem, Massachusetts. In this period of time, many men and women were convicted of practicing witchcraft and using there given powers to cause distress and fear amongst the Puritan village. Witchcraft is the Belief in the supernatural–and specifically in the devil’s practice of giving certain humans (witches) the power to harm others in return for their loyalty (Douglas). The hysteria began to leave the village with questions when a group of young girls began to display bizarre behavior. After finding no natural cause to explain this behavior it led the people to believe that this was the work of the devil doing harm over there town. Time after …show more content…
The young girls experienced convulsive seizures, reverent screaming, and trance like states (“The Salem Witch Trials, 1692”). A week went by without an conclusion to what caused all this. The girl’s families and local minister came to conclusion that it was evil that had taken over the village. A woman by the name of Mary Sibley came out willingly to confess what she said was the truth. She confessed that the girls had been given a witch cake, which is what caused them to act like this. The cake was a rye meal mixed with the urine of the afflicted girls. Her alleged neighbors Tituba and John Indian were the ones who gave the bread. She explained to the counsel that if the cake was then fed to a dog, apparently that if the girls were bewitched, the animal would experience torments similar to their own. (Boyer 3) Sibley is a classic example of the participants of evil and wrongdoing that were involved long before the Salem trials occurred. This, in turn, would lead to mass exposure in the coming …show more content…
There were victims of all ages including animals that were tormented and plagued be these witches. These men and women were punished for there wrongdoing and ultimately had to pay the price for there crimes committed. The Puritans were very faith driven and ultimately feared for their safety due to these strange occurrences. Inflicting harm, evil, and retaliation were some of the major motives behind these crimes. Plus, these activities and practices were occurring long before the Salem events happened but were kept hidden from the public knowledge. Centuries have passed since 1692 and over time have brought change and new beginnings. Though the legacy of Salem, Massachusetts will never be