Examples 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.

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

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.

1. Throughout The Crucible, the theme of mass hysteria is presented. For example, after Tituba “confessed” to have been working under pressure, Abigail screams “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (54) The reason why Abigail suddenly “confesses” starts with Tituba. Tituba was under extreme pressure when Reverend Hale and many others were screaming at her; therefore she decided to just give them what they want – a confession – so they would stop. Seeing this, Abigail joins in that she will not be interrogated later, thus adding to the overall hysteria and madness of a witch hunt. In addition, the theme of vengeance is also displayed when John Proctor blatantly states “I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem… now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom,

Hysteria has been seen throughout history, but what dictates the outcome is how the community reacts. Hysteria can be defined as uncontrollable emotion among a group of people. It has been depicted throughout human history, which can be seen during the the Cold War, 9/11, and terrorist threats. The Crucible evidently shows how hysteria leads to the disunification of a community through the human obsession of reputation, the Puritan lack of respect for privacy, and human anger.

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.

The Crucible has many components where the characters experience moments of hysteria. The play introduces the concept of witchcraft where in a Puritan society is strictly forbidden as it goes against all God-like practice. Hysteria is introduced with Abigail Williams, and the other girls, who concoct a lie to prevent themselves from punishment. Abigail lies, “I want to open myself! . .

John Mellencamp once said, “When you live in hysteria, people start thinking emotionally.” Arthur Miller's drama The Crucible expresses many themes including the dangers of pride and envy. However, out of many themes conveyed in The Crucible the most applicable, that relates to Puritan America and the McCarthy Era, is the role that mass hysteria plays in tearing down a community. In The Crucible, hysterical fear becomes a senseless means of declaring the bitterness and anger subdued by Puritan society.

“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

Hysteria is displayed by communities all over the world. It is an important factor in making and especially breaking relationships. In The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, hysteria plays an important role of tearing apart the community of Salem by creating an environment where people act on their grudges. It is shown by many of the characters throughout the play as they eventually ruin one another as the book goes on. Mass hysteria negatively affects the lives of people around us. Many things have changed around us since 1692 but the belief of mass hysteria hasn't. The Crucible remains important in society today because the mass hysteria portrayed in the Salem Witch Trials was shown in the N.Y outbreak.

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us that misinformation and lack of leadership can drive masses to hysteria and he shows how important an appearance is in a community. Hysteria can drive people to do horrific things that they normally wouldn’t do. It could also push people to accuse others that they might not like for personal gains. The story features characters that are lower on the social ladder at the time rise to importance. For example Abigail and other girls were given more importance than the average woman at the time. People in Salem also use this hysteria to rid themselves of beggars and homeless citizens. In my opinion there were two types people in this book, those who wanted to follow religion blindly and kill heretics and, those who wanted to gain from the panic within the town.

Hysteria was a main theme in The Crucible. Hysteria, meaning an exaggeration of emotion, was happening amongst the townspeople, afraid to be claimed as a witch or because of jealousy townspeople began to accuse people they've known for years as a witch. Once this happens the town of Salem falls into a hysteria, community wide fear over rules the judgment of right and wrong and puts everyone in a position of "survival of the fittest," if you couldn't lie for yourself and broke under the pressure of accusation, you would die if you didn’t confess to being a witch, ruin your "good" name, and/or end up in jail. Reputation, how people perceive you, is also a recurring theme in The Crucible. In the time period the Witch Trials took place, if

In a small community within Salem, Massachusetts, a witch hunt breaks out, causing widespread hysteria. People contribute to mass hysteria in different ways. Some characters try to stop hysteria, while other characters try to continue the spread of hysteria for self-gain. Many innocent people are hanged due to a growing fear of witches. Miller uses The Crucible to express his feelings towards the McCarthy trials. He views the Salem witch trials as useless killings, caused by vengeful people. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses a variety of characters who each symbolize different types of people, in order to convey his opinion on how they contributed to mass hysteria.