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Examples Of Fear In The Crucible

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The Psychology of Fear In The Crucible characters would continuously not tell the truth under certain circumstances. Why is that? For example in The Crucible when Tituba was asked, “When did you compact with the Devil” (Miller 41), by Rev. Hale. Then Tituba replied, “I do not compact with no Devil” (Miller 42). After Tituba denied compacting with the Devil she then was threatened to be whipped and hanged. After those threats Tituba then said, “I tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir” (Miller 42). Is it not a coincidence that Tituba acknowledges that she had communicated with the devil after she was threatened? This is an example of how fear can impact your decision making and can affect a person mentally and physically. There are many other examples of fear based decisions like, in Act 1 when Abigail Williams tries to cover up what her and her friends did in the forest and in Act 3 when Mary Warren cracks under the pressure of what John Proctor wanted her to do. To conclude my question, why do people act certain ways when fear is present? Written by Oxford English Dictionary, fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm, and is an emotion that is programmed into all animals and people as an instinctual response to potential danger. Fear isn’t always adaptive though. For example, a small amount of fear before an important speech serves a purpose. It encourages you to focus on your topic and avoid embarrassing yourself. This is a type

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