Effects Of Hysteria In The Crucible

“Even in an enlightened democracy, the media have to check themselves to make sure they are not contributing to an unnecessary mass hysteria” (Brainyquote). Even the most sophisticated governments can lead the public into a state of hysteria. Often times when people become hysterical, others take that opportunity to obtain power for their personal benefit. In history and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, public hysteria was exploited in order to obtain and manipulate power for personal gain.

Imagine being so wrapped up in a lie that you yourself begin to genuinely believe that the lie is really the truth. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, there is a character named Abigail Williams who is stuck in the middle of a questionable situation. To try to get out of any punishment for her acts, she starts blaming people for being witches that make her do evil things and physically harm her. In spite of the obvious theory that Abigail was at the root of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts, there are many other beliefs as to who was really the start of the frenzied delirium. The three people most responsible for creating this mass hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts are Thomas Putnam, Reverend Parris, and John Proctor.

Hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of fear among a society. Throughout the story “The Crucible, hysteria spread by fear of others throughout the community in many ways. Abigail was one of the main characters in the story that showed great hysteria fearing others that mentioned her name. At the beginning of the story Abigail and some girls were found dancing in the woods. Fearing that she would be accused for witchcraft Abigail responded “Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you’d best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor’s packed with people, sir. I’ll sit with her” (Miller, 10). This is showing how Abigail was worried about her reputation in the community and how she wanted her uncle to go to the parlor to deny it to the people. This is also showing how over one night an uprising of fear spread throughout the town, fearing

There have been many times in history where fear has been a catalyst of hysteria.One example of that is the Red Scare in the mid 1900’s with McCarthyism.This used the fear of communism to create hysteria in the U.S.Arthur Miller saw this and made a connection between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials in his play The Crucible.Fear,hysteria,and revenge are important elements within “The Crucible” because they affect the way people think and act which develops the conflict.

One of the most vibrant, deep, and sagacious screenplays of the 21st century is Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Miller brilliantly comments on human morals, authority, and mass hysteria. He parallels the events of Salem in 1600's to the blacklisting and the discrimination against those who were labeled as a "communist" in America during the 1950's. He proficiently shows how mass hysteria could sweep an entire community like a tsunami and erase all logical thought and rationality. Especially in the "yellow bird" scene during Act III, he portrays how mass hysteria is achieved and the effects of such panic. Miller uses the dialogue, the stage directions, and the atmosphere, setting, and time period of the scene to

In today's society there are many cases of mass hysteria just like long ago. In the book John Proctor says a quote that hits big time for mass hysteria, he says “God is dead” while laughing insanely, and if that does not cause mass hysteria then nothing does.

Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This can lead to lie being spread that people will believe due to hysteria. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Arthur use the red scare of post war america as his inspiration for his novel. During the red scare people were accusing any person of being a communist and people believed because due to hysteria. Arthur miller uses hysteria to show that it leads to Damaged reputations,lies ,and hurting people's lives.

“Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion, and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it” (Elia Kazan). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the story of the Salem witch trials and how people react to the situation during the 1690’s. Miller’s message concerning individual conscience in an atmosphere of fear and mass hysteria in The Crucible is that people can turn on others and suspect each other or tell lies or false accusations in order to save themselves or loved ones.

     Hysteria was a very obvious theme shown throughout the play, The Crucible. It was all started by a few young girls in Salem, Massachusetts. They were all dancing in the woods one night and were caught by Paris, the reverend in that small town. The next day two of the young girls were sick and would not move, talk, nor eat . The town began to start talk of witch craft

In the crucible, Reverend Hale finds a bunch of girls dancing around in the forest and thinks that it is witchcraft. This leaks out and eventually everyone is accusing eachother of witchcraft, and if they don't admit to it, they get hung or burned or drowned. In this essay I am going to tell you how fear, and hysteria are big contributors to the events in “The Crucible”.

During the late 1940’s and the early 1950’s, America acted out of fear instead of their head. Author Miller motivated to write The Crucible due to his being alive during the late 1950’s when McCarthyism was prevalent in the U.S. He was trying to make the comparison of the two-time periods. Author Miller wrote The Crucible to point out the hysteria caused by the Red Scare by drawing comparisons with fear fueling hysteria, the ignoring of evidence, and types of people who were falsely accused.

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.

Throughout history, mass hysterias have occurred as the result of psychological stress and the irrational fear of the unknown. In fact, the Salem Witch trial was the result of the irrational fear from the town that the devil was present in their everyday lives. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the consequences of the fear of witchcraft spreading through the community of Salem. Laura Dimon furthers Gladwell’s argument in “What Witchcraft is Facebook” by arguing that hysterias occur because of preexisting tensions and psychological stress. Thus, as long as the fear of the unknown is present in a society, oppression and psychological abuse will endure, resulting in individuals to feeling vulnerable and succumbing to the pressures of their disordered and dysfunctional environment.

“The Crucible” displays hysteria in many ways throughout the play, but the main act of hysteria was that it wrecked the people of Salem. Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion, which is mainly demonstrated by divisions of society. Hysteria takes a main part of the play because it caused the people of Salem to do such unreasonable acts. One hysterical act in “The Crucible” was during the Salem Witch Trials, one hundred fifth people were accused for practicing

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.