The New World Times

By Jana L.

     A four year old child is chained to a wall after whimpering out a confession to witchcraft. Dorcas (Dorothy) was born to the poor Sarah and William Good. Sarah and William lost their home ten years ago when they had too many debts to pay and not enough money to pay them. The Goods became homeless, spending most days asking for food and money from their neighbors in Salem Village. Sarah and Dorcas Good were recently accused of witchcraft on February 25th, 1692, and arrested.

     Sarah Good was often considered an outcast, since she begged for a living and was a woman who might argue with people who would refuse or disrespect her. When Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and other young girls recently began having never-before-seen symptoms such as fits and visions as well as barking like dogs, the many doctors who came to try to cure them could not define it as any disease or sickness. So the people of Salem explained it in their own way: witches. Everyone began accusing their neighbors or loved ones of being witches, but it was thought that an accusation of a witch from an afflicted person was the most accurate of all. Sarah Good and Dorcas Good were accused by Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and other afflicted girls. Sarah Good had no real place in the community, so her neighbors agreed she might be bewitching young girls since she was such an outcast.

     Sarah Good was very stubborn and persistent during her trial. She was examined for witchcraft along with two other accused witches, Sarah Osborne and Tituba, at Lieutenant Nathaniel Ingersoll’s house on March 1st, 1692. Good’s daughter Dorcas also joined her, while almost the entire town watched in anticipation. Sarah Good was checked over for warts on her body, a clear identifier of a witch, during which she stood still as stone, not wanting her examiners to assume anything from her body language. After being examined, Sarah was questioned about her involvement in the ways of witches. She looked straight ahead, never hesitating, and refused to admit to being a witch. She answered question after question as her interrogators tried to get her to confess. Her own husband, William Good, said that he remembered noticing a wart on her for the first time the night before the trial. William was probably scared that his wife might actually be practicing witchcraft, so he would rather get rid of a potential witch than support his wife. When Tituba was questioned, she claimed that both Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were her partners in crime, and were definitely witches. Sarah Good had many charges against her, but she still held strong.

     Dorcas Good, however, could not stand the intensity of the trial. Finally, she could not sustain her silence. Whether or not she was actually guilty, Dorcas confessed to practicing witchcraft with her mother, Sarah Good. Tears of shame rolled down Dorcas’ cheeks as they hauled her and Sarah off to the prison in Salem Town. Sarah also had a newborn baby that she could not part with, and brought the baby with her into the prison. As some of the first few witches to be accused, there were not many others imprisoned currently, but the stench of previous usage was overwhelming. It was dim, dank and beyond unsanitary. Mother and daughter were chained close to the wall, barely able to reach out and touch each other because the chains were so tight. Sarah’s baby died not long after they were chained because of the dire conditions. There was not much for Dorcas to do except think about how she wished she had not confessed, and there was plenty of time to do that in the eight months she was imprisoned there.  

    Dorcas Good never recovered from her imprisonment. She probably went insane because of the tedious boredom of being chained up for eight full months, and not being able to move without the chains digging into her skin. She was never given proper care or love, since her mother Sarah Good was hanged for witchcraft on July 19, 1692, (along with four other accused witches) when Dorcas was just five years old. As for her father, he was an irresponsible man and couldn’t care for her like a proper father. But he was all that Dorcas had, so she relied on him to take care of her after her mother’s death. Dorcas could never become independent since her mind was shattered when she was so young, but at least she lived, unlike her mother Sarah. Dorcas Good and Sarah Good, like many others, would be scarred forever because of the betrayal of loved ones and inhumane punishments of the Salem Witch Trials.