Bystander Effect In The Crucible

What is Social Influence Theory? Social Influence Theory is the change in behavior that another person causes, intentionally or unintentionally. Social Influence Theory has to deal with the social situations of people, and how they affect, persuade, or influence each other. This is especially relevant in today's society in the teenage generation with all their social medias and having high standards for social status that most people follow. Social Influence Theory has three areas that are evident in the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The characters Abigail and Tituba are good examples of being impacted or showing Social Influence.

Within today’s society, an individual’s morals determines how one is scrutinized, judged, and reprimanded. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a character with compelling moral principles. Abigail’s disoriented moral constitution allows the theme, the detrimental effects of mass hysteria, to be constantly reassured throughout the play. Through the egotistical, manipulative, and deceitful rhetoric of Abigail Williams, Arthur Miller is successful in conveying how the spread of misinformation can tear apart a small town.

Although not written by Miller, the introductory information for The Crucible establishes his credibility. An editor of Prentice Hall Literature informs the audience of Miller’s knowledge of the subject, “Arthur Miller has chronicled the dilemmas of common people pitted against powerful and unyielding social forces” (Kinsella 1230). The editor verifies Miller’s expertise and past work on other pieces focused on social issues such as All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. Additionally, the background information reveals that Miller based the play off a real historical event. Therefore, the play serves as a convincing example of real life social pressures and the resulting consequences that helps to prove Miller’s argument. While experiencing the play, a personal connection can be formed between John Proctor and audience members who have also experienced persecution. The ability to connect with the character allows the audience to empathize with the argument and consequently be more likely to be convinced by it.

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is wonderful example of how mass hysteria can spread throughout a small community. The setting of the play is Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 during the infamous Witch Trials. Miller uses these trials and the way they impacted the Salem community as a parallel to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Both time periods show the effect corrupt authorities can have on the lives of others. The author’s most striking commentary is on the role

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical play set in 1962 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. As you may know, you've all placed your trust in the words and actions of someone close to you. And what do they do? They betray you! It's rarely justified, and can happen to the best of us. Based on authentic records of witchcraft trials in the seventeenth-century this play explains how a small group of girls manage to create a massive panic in their town by spreading accusations of witchcraft. These rumors in turn are the causes that many citizens are hung for. This essay will show how the lies and betrayal of a few individuals eventually leads to the downfall of Salem and its society.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was not only a captivating play, but also a platform to fight against the iniquitous force of McCarthyism during the 1950s. Set in Salem, a town in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the play dramatized the witch trials that brought widespread paranoia during 1692 to 1693. So to no one’s surprise, The Crucible and McCarthyism were juxtaposed. Since Arthur Miller wanted to criticize the acts of Senator Joseph McCarthy, he chose to express specific themes that appeared in both the play’s Puritan setting and in the United States. One of the major themes Arthur Miller wanted to convey through his work is the distrust of nature. In the remainder of this essay, I will be discussing the relationship of this theme to the play’s

Slapping, punching, pushing, shoving, kicking, and ultimately killing are all forms of violence that occur in a person’s lifetime. In Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible, the act of public violence is presented. People in the community had come to accept violence as a way of life in Salem, Massachusetts. This is very much the same level of acceptance for violence in today’s society. In fact, this level of violence occurs frequently throughout the book. Community members are accustomed to violence way back in 1692, as well as in 2016. Miller points out this savage need for violence.

One innocent man being crushed to death, 141 people being arrested, and 19 being hanged were some of the many gruesome events that took place during the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, some few unnatural events cause mass hysteria to sweep through a small town, placing dozens of innocent people in jail. When rumors sweep through Salem of an unconscious girl who will not wake up, people automatically point to witchcraft. Accusation after accusation, fear of being accused themselves causes people to suspect the worst about the people they associate with. In result, many people turn against themselves and others around them in fear of losing the normal life they have accustomed to. The three characters in the play that acted out of fear and caused an unnecessary hysteria against innocent people are Mary Warren, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams.

While all people like to believe they are virtuous and honorable, it is often not the case. In fact, many would rather stand by and watch as unjust treatment occur, thinking it would not affect them. These people, known collectively as bystanders, are present at the event, but choose to not take part in it. They often feel remorse for the sufferer, yet would not lend a hand in fear of becoming one. In “The Hangman”, a narrative poem by Maurice Ogden, and Eve Bunting’s “Terrible Things”,figurative language is used to emphasize the significance of bystanders. These literary devices help develop several cruel yet irrefutable themes.

Imagine a mother driving with her newborn baby strapped in a car seat behind her. She sings to her favorite song on the radio and is overwhelmed with happiness in seeing her child in the rearview mirror. Out of nowhere she is thrown against her car door surrounded by sounds of twisted metal and shattered glass which drown out her crying child. A man runs to their aid and dials 911 for help. An ambulance soon arrives at the scene to bring the victims to the Emergency Room. Numerous tests are performed and the family is notified that the mother has become mentally handicapped. Due to one man’s senseless actions of choosing alcohol over safe driving, a family’s life has changed forever. With the application of common sense, this man would not have to live with the guilt of the accident. This advice could also be given to those involved in the 1862 Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials. The witchcraft accusations and deaths could have been avoided through the use of a little reasoning. These historical events are tied into society through The Crucible, which surrounds a dynamic and round character by the name of John Proctor, who gains a sense of logic that can be seen through his actions and internal struggle until death. Almost identically as Arthur Miller portrays in The Crucible through the rebel

Within Arthur Miller’s award-winning play, The Crucible, there is a constant trend that flows through time. As the tale persists, Salem, Massachusetts gets wound up in the witch hunt of 1692, creating an infectious hysteria on all the villagers. City-wide fear overtakes individual thought and reasoning as well as it can today in America’s “trivial” matters.

The world-famous and highly influential play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was written in an effort to make the public aware of one of the most awful chapters in history, and the goal of the author was to use the characters and events as a vehicle to communicate the moral lessons that should be learned from these examples of flawed human behavior. Various themes and motifs that illustrate important morals are explored extensively throughout the play. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is indeed considered a great piece of literary art and does inevitably give moral instruction through the author’s use of the

“Where there is no human connection, there is no compassion. Without compassion, then community, commitment, loving-kindness, human understanding, and peace all shrivel. Individuals become isolated, the isolated turn cruel, and the tragic hovers in the forms of domestic and civil violence.” - Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue. In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, relationships within the communities demonstrate the need for human connection, whether it be in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, or 16th century Messina, Italy. Both Elizabeth Proctor and Hero are cast out from their communities after being falsely accused of committing a serious crime. Although they bear superficial similarities, the differences among the relationship between Hero’s community’s response to her being accused and the relationship between Elizabeth being accused and how her community responded to this are pronounced.

Throughout history, many horrific incidents based on an act of violence or disagreement have resulted in panic and mass hysteria. These historical events include but are not limited to, The Holocaust, mass shootings, and 9/11. Many of these tragic events have led to people being immensely afraid. These events often create fear for those who participate in everyday activities. A healthy community consists of a support system, peace, trust, and adhering to societal laws. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, illustrates parallels between the Salem 17th century witch trials and the Communist Red Scare in the 1950’s to exemplify how destructive irrational fear and mass hysteria can become. When a community is overcome with fear it creates an insalubrious system of mistrust, corruption, hypocrisy, and the defiance of laws. Conflict relating to witchcraft in The Crucible, led to tension and struggle for the people of Salem. In his allegory, Arthur Miller illustrates the devastating impact of irrational fear on a community through the actions of the characters of Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth and Judge Hathorne.

Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.