Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

Although hysteria plays a major role in many moments of The Crucible there are specific examples, "I--I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I--It were only sport in the beginning sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I--I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not." (Miller, 100). Here Tituba, a slave to one of the main characters, starts naming people who might be witches and is praised for it. Tituba began naming people in the town who had never participated in witchcraft before because she was in fear for life. In The Count of Monte Cristo hysteria is not as noticeable, but it is still in a very important scene in the novel. "When one thinks," said Caderousse, letting his hand drop on the paper, "there is here wherewithal to kill a man more sure than if we waited at the corner of a wood to assassinate him! I have always had more dread of a pen, a bottle of ink, and a sheet of paper, than of a sword or pistol." (Dumas, 23). In this moment of the novel hysteria has begun to spread in the group of men who wish to get rid of Dantès. All four men fell such an overwhelming feeling of hatred and jealousy towards Dantès that they act based on their feelings, and not their minds. Hysteria began the downfall of Dantès in The

In the Crucible I believe it was a mass hysteria because the girls Abby and Betty were accused of doing witchcraft in the woods with other girls and their slave Tituba. After Betty’s dad caught them at the forest. He says on page 10 in the book, “I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I came on you”. He saw everything that happened in the woods that day. After that day Betty would not wake, or she would have her eyes open but would not talk or walk. A lot of people believe that it’s witchcraft, Mrs. Putnam believes that Tituba murdered her seven born babies and that Tituba can also speak to the dead. Mrs. Putnam is a very strong believer of witchcraft. Her daughter Ruth Putnam is also very sick she has the same symptoms as Betty. Mrs. Putnam thinks Ruth was very close to speaking to her dead sisters. Abby blames Tituba for making the girls drink chicken blood, Tituba confesses it. She also accused Tituba of making her laugh at prayers. Tituba accuses Abby for making her conjure and charm.

Mass Hysteria is defined by a group of people affected by excitement or anxiety leading to symptoms of an illness and in Salem most are so overcome fear they do not even realize they are giving into the hysteria going on in Salem. The girls caught in the woods start to yell they see people with the devil that they do not actually see and betty yells out “I saw martha bellows with the devils,” (1287 Miller). The girls, including Abigail, that were dancing in the woods who started this whole mess are overwhelmed and anxious for their life this mass hysteria fueled their actions. If the girls were not so scared, then they would have not affected by mass hysteria. The girl’s unseen illness makes them think they see people with the devil. This causes them to faint along with other symptoms of an illness they know not of. Proctor asks his servant mary warren about the women being convicted of witchcraft he asked if fourteen women were convicted and mary warren replies that “there be thirty nine now,” (1295 Miller). The girls accuse so many women again due to mass hysteria, and not

Throughout the play, The Crucible, many examples of mass hysteria causing civil unrest and the death of innocent people are included. For instance, when Betty Parris was ill and the girls were being asked about witchcraft and conjuring the devil, Abigail hysterically yelled “I never called him! Tituba [did]”(Miller 43). By throwing Tituba under the bus, it started the panic that the devil was in Salem and would have caused Tituba to be hung, if she had not confessed. This caused the hysteria over the possibility the devil could be lurking in their town. Another instance when hysteria led to the loss of a life, was when Mary Warren was going to confess and had been only acting with the other girls, however, the girls started screaming and yelling “Mary, please, don‘t, don’t—!”(Miller 90). When the girls blamed Mary in a terrified way they created hysteria. The hysteria fueled the panic the town already had, and helped persuade the court to believe the frightened girls, consequently this would have led Mary to hang. The final way hysteria led to death was when Mary hysterically said to Proctor “You’re the Devil’s man!”(Miller 90). To save her own life, Mary convinced the court that it was actually John Proctor who was conjuring the

Throughout the play pride and fear are two constant motifs. In the play most of Salem Village put fear and pride over rational thought. After being questioned by Parris about her dismissal from the Proctor home Abigail’s first instinct was to protect her name. She claimed "My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar (Miller 12) !" and she went on to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, all over pride of her reputation. Her instinct to protect her name overshadowed all rational thought. In act 2 Rebecca Nurse was accused of witchcraft out of fear from the accusers. Hale stated "if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning (Miller 72)." Rebecca had previously been seen as a very devout Puritan and wife. She had done no wrong. Hale’s quote is more proof that the accusers had put their fear over all rational thought. In act 3 when Danford realized that executing the rest of the accused was wrong, he decided not to act on his instinct because he wanted to save his name. Another example of someone putting their reputation over rational thought is in act 5 where John Proctor has a chance to go home free with his family, but he has to confess. John signs the confession, but ends us tearing it up because he wanted to protect his name (Miller 141-144). John choose

Moore and Miller extend their portrayal of hysteria from derivations of the extreme versions of historical political climates that exploited the morals and cognition of those they were governing. Power was evident within ‘The Crucible’ directly through the corrupt judicial system, basing their judgements on tactics that relied solely on the accused’s confession. ‘sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between’(Act 3. Scene 2. 45) explains Danforth’s black and white perception towards the authorities and the judicial system similar to majority of the authorities’ attitudes. Providing further insight into how Moore utilised dialogue to characterise and further structure the influence that power had on mass hysteria. Miller explored the idea of faith and how preconceived notions concerning the authenticity of religious figures in power are damaging to society, specifically through the characters of Reverend John Hale and Reverend Parris’s constant affirmations of propaganda that incited hysteria including publicly doubt within the community through ‘You have sent your spirit out upon this child, have you not? Are you gathering souls for the Devil? (Act 1. Scene 1. Page 34) ‘The Crucible’ was structured as a play so audiences could fully comprehend the emotive language intended to persuade and scare the community in a state of hysteria, consequently, allowing opposing perspectives to be easily identified. Moore explored

Hysteria is displayed by communities all over the world. Hysteria in Salem is parallel to 9/11 when a tragedy that occurred built tension, and which caused chaos among the city. In scientifically ignorant societies such as Puritan Salem in 1692, fear runs rampant when a dozen innocent people are accused of witchcraft and are hanged. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, hysteria plays an important role of tearing apart the community of Salem by creating an environment where people act on their grudges and fears, which is expressed by many of the characters throughout the play, such as Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Judge Danforth.

Supernatural and mass hysteria both were influenced in “ The crucible “ example of the supernatural on page 10 in the book it says , "I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire when I went ahead you". He saw everything that occurred in the forested areas that time . After that day Betty would not wake up, or she would have her eyes open yet would not talk or walk. Many people trust that it's witchcraft, Mrs. Putnam trusts that Tituba killed her seven conceived babies and that Tituba can likewise address the dead. Mrs. Putnam is an extremely solid devotee of witchcraft. Her little girl, Ruth Putnam is additionally exceptionally debilitated she has an indistinguishable manifestation from Betty Mrs. Putnam thinks Ruth was near addressing her dead sisters. Abby censures Tituba for influencing the young ladies to drink chicken blood, Tituba admits it. She likewise blamed Tituba for making her snicker at petitions. Tituba blames Abby for influencing her to invoke and beguile. Robust debilitates Tituba in the event that she doesn't admit witchcraft or calling the demon. Tituba admits and says that she sees Sarah Great accompany the villain" circling and carrying on". She additionally says that the demon charges her to slaughter Parris and he will make her free and send her back to Barbados. Abby not so long after she admits her moving for the fallen angel, writing in his book. Betty wakes up and begins naming people she sang with the fiend. John Delegate returns home one night

Fear is an emotion that is motivated by things that people can’t understand. In most cases, fear can lead to hysteria, which is an exaggerated excitement or fear among a cluster of people. An example of Mass hysteria is the Salem Witch Trails of 1692. During this time, religion was taken very seriously and it was used in The Salem Witch Trails as a method to manipulate the village of Salem. The townspeople were fearsome that the black man, or the devil, had come to the town of Salem. The young girls caused hysteria as they tricked the village into believing that people in their own town were witches.Their reasons for their accusations were to achieve personal vendettas and to hide their own wrong doings. In the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, many died due to these fits of madness. The main people to blame for this mass frenzy were Abigail Williams, Parris, and the whole town of Salem.

Throughout the centuries, episodes of hysteria have disturbed humanity, plaguing both small communities and powerful empires. Although often short-lived, these instances of widespread panic can disrupt social and political order. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller reveals that self-centered ambition underlies the spread of false ideas, which can fuel societal paranoia. However, Miller argues that individuals can escape this hysteria and preserve their dignity if they choose to sacrifice their personal needs by denying false allegations. First, Abigail’s rivalry with Elizabeth Proctor and Mrs. Putnam’s grief over infants’ deaths demonstrate that people accuse others in order to solve their own problems. Second, Danforth’s concern of losing authority and Tituba’s fear of death illustrate that fear also serves as a hidden sentiment that can trigger widespread paranoia. Finally, John Proctor’s and Gile Corey’s refusal to confess to witchcraft indicate that in the midst of hysteria, those who reject all falsehoods liberate themselves from deception and retain their dignity.

Hysteria does strange things to people; it often changes them beyond recognition. The Puritans believed that humans were good, and it was nearly impossible for them to imagine a “Christian” sinning, or behaving in a way that they believed was the way of the devil. They were for the most part closed minded, fearful of unknown things and everything they did, they did keeping in mind what they thought God demanded of them. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, they were convinced that there were witches in Salem and even though there likely was, most of the things the Puritans saw were imagined, made up, or just rumors that spread through the village. During the Salem Witch trials, numerous innocent were falsely accused and executed by a corrupt court. Despite there being many small factors that contributed to the execution of twenty-six guiltless people, the major aspects of Puritanism that led up to this tragedy are: the fear of the unknown the puritans had, a faulty theocratic government, and the religious societal repression that accompanied the rule of this government.

Hysteria shapes our live and determines who we will become though the process of developing ourselves to be imperturbable. It helps to comprehend what hysteria is--an overwhelming fear and elation that overrides all logic, and is often heightened and augmented by the presence of others who are acting out on that fear as well. Fear is the emotion of being terror-stricken of someone or something that is likely to cause you impairment, pain, or a risk. Hysteria was a major factor in the many accusations of witchcraft that transpired throughout The Crucible. For example when ()

The central argument of the play, The Crucible, is targeting the idea that dark urges and secret motives may be the cause of radical behavior. In Act One, Abigail mentions to the other girls that they must not speak a word of the things that they actually did in the woods. Abigail says, “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you... I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down.” (Miller 19). With this statement, she aims to hide the truth in order to start and grow hysteria within the village. The dark motive behind Abigail and the other girls’ bizarre behavior is to ultimately have Elizabeth Proctor out of the picture and John Proctor to herself. Furthermore, in Act Four, Hale pleads with Elizabeth to persuade John to confess that he is working with the devil. Hale reasons, “I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer... I have sought a Christian way, for damnation’s doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie... will you plead with him?” (Miller 122). From this excerpt, it shows Hale and the court officials’ reasons to coax the convicted to confess that they are witches. Throughout the court proceedings, the judges and ministers have realized that they may have condemned innocent people. Therefore, they are forcing people to lie through confession and allow the blood to be

    Throughout The Crucible, the reader is shown first hand just how destructive and detrimental it can be when the citizens of a municipality overreact or panic too quickly. This all started when the Reverend Parris caught his daughter, Betty, his niece, Abigail, and his slave, Tituba, dancing in the woods. He immediately jumped to the conclusion that they were doing some sort of black magic, based on some rumors that had been circulating around Salem. This, however, did not spark the reaction of the town until Abigail began spreading around that Tituba and Ruth (Thomas Putnam’s daughter), had in fact been practicing witchcraft. After the people of Salem started to catch wind of this scandal, the witch frenzy began. Everybody started accusing friends, neighbors, or even

In Act 1, rumors of witchcraft rummage through the town of Salem. When Ann Putnam’s child dies, she automatically blames supernatural forces for her daughters death. Even though this idea seems so complex, the people around her are too afraid to question her thinking in fear she might become suspicious of them and pin them for the death of their daughter, even if they’re not guilty. Due to this, the rationality of the people is skewed and they only see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, etc. Putnam says, “Don’t you understand it, sir? There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark,” which shows that the townspeople are quick to jump to conclusions and to blame others before they think logically. (Miller 28) . Abigail is interrogated about her suspicious activities in the woods, and when she becomes flustered with emotion, she blames Tituba to avoid