Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller about the horrific events that happened in the city of Salem, Massachusetts. The definition of the word crucible is a severe test or also known as a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Arthur Miller picked this word as the severe test represents people being prosecuted and the high temperatures needed to melt metal in a container represents the high tensions in Salem. These horrific events are known as the Salem Witch Trials, where over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 people had been sentenced to death. All this corruption had been caused over hysteria. In The Crucible hysteria is what tears the town apart as people acted on their grudges and dislikes.

There is no such thing as an honest person. Everybody has lied at least once in their lifetime. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, several girls in a highly religious and Puritan Salem, Massachusetts get caught dancing in the woods. In order to avoid punishment, these girls lie and accuse others of witchcraft. Eventually, it is revealed that the people in the town accused each other of witchcraft for ulterior motives. Regardless of their motives, these accusations created mass hysteria in Salem. The three people that were responsible for creating mass hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts were Parris, Abigail, and Hale.

The Crucible explores the deadly power of hysteria within a community engulfed by the Salem witch trials. In this play, the characters' actions and perceptions are influenced by the mass hysteria that develops while reading through this book. Arthur Miller writes of a cautionary tale that shows the dangerous ability of hysteria and the erosion of morality in a society overwhelmed by fear. Hysteria manifests itself through the actions of characters like Abigail Williams, whose manipulation of the town's fear ignites the witch hunt. Abigail's false accusations highlight the destructive potential of unchecked hysteria.

In the context of “The Crucible” the characters who are capable of ending the witch trails and the mass hysteria would be Abigail and Parris, Because Abigail can just say the truth that what her and the other girls where doing in the forest to the other town people’s she and the other girls will not be punished harshly. Alose Parris knows this because Abigail told the truth to him and Parris can just tell the other court members and not cause all this mass hysteria. During “The Crucible” Parris says to Abigail that he saw them in the forest, that there was a naked person running around, even though Abigail told him the truth about what they were doing, Parris decided not to say anything to anyone. Much of this stems from the dramatic exposition at the start of Act I. Some people may say that he had no choice because Parris says that it will make it bad in his name and he might lose his job in the court because of that he picked the wrong decision and that led to nineteen people dying.

Have you ever experienced hysteria? In “The Crucible” there are many made up situations where someone is accused of witchcraft and having interactions with the devil. Arthur Miller's book “The Crucible” is about a community in the city of Salem that has many problems with mass hysteria and witchcraft. A character named Reverend Hale has been back and forth on either side, but overall he is against the witch trials. Many topics may run through the readers mind such as, How is Hale against Abby?

What is mass hysteria? It is a condition in which a large group of people exhibit similar physical or emotional symptoms, such as anxiety or extreme excitement. In the Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials take place. The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1642 in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials was a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. The Crucible and the Salem Witch Trials is a notable example of mass hysteria. One example of mass hysteria was in 1994, The Toxic Lady. The Toxic Lady was a woman whose body and blood made the workers at Riverside General Hospital fall ill. But, when doctors and professionals took a closer look in the situation; they found out that mass hysteria has taken

only hiding the past affair, but how Abigail is trying to kill John’s wife so she can have him all to

Hysteria means “exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement among a group.” During the Witch-Craft trials of Salem; hysteria tore apart communities. Many people were executed during this time. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller shows how hysteria tears apart a community.

It is a universal idea that lies are the base for continual lies to come next. Many times we often tell a lie to save ourselves from getting into even more trouble than if we had told the truth. Although, this can lead to a downward spiral that requires more and more lies that continue to get even bigger and worse. This is shown in great extent through Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible with the mass hysteria caused by Abigail and Procter.

While reading the Crucible people may believe that witch trials are a thing of the past, but the truth is that witch hysteria is a conflict people even face today. Witch hysteria was first felt in 1692 when a group of young girls said they were possessed. This started to spread and everyone would accuse others of being witches. Lot of people were tried, and if they denied being a witch they would be hung. 20 people were put to death as a result of the trials. Looking at the Salem trials, as well as more recent events we can tell that human nature wants an explanation for the unexplainable.

The hysteria concerning the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was caused mostly by human weaknesses and a series of events that spiraled out of control. The human weaknesses and character flaws that help to cause this mass hysteria included, jealousy, desire, greed, ignorance and intolerance.

Another great theme in the Crucible is the theme hysteria. The theme hysteria can play a big part in breaking apart a community and a society. Hysteria is set in place for logic and allows people to believe that their neighbors are doing bad crimes. Even if they really aren’t. In The Crucible, all of the towns people become a big part of the theme hysteria.

When analyzing someone 's behavior and thoughts a countless number of elements can be accounted for. Hysteria is a major leader in past and present day society when it comes to how people act and think in different situations. The Crucible provides great examples with how hysteria can affect a group of people. Back in Salem, Massachusetts 1692, hysterics swept the town, creating storms of emotion. Everyone is wondering, what to do? What to think? In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the effects of mass hysteria to reveal his purpose of using it in his writing, how society at that time reacts to hysterics, and the consequences of these incoherences, which still appear in present-day.

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.