Examples Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

In The Crucible, people gained power through hysteria when the girls started accusing innocent people of witchcraft. First, people in the town received the accusations in large numbers by others without solid proof. Elizabeth Proctor started acknowledging the hysteria: “There be fourteen people in the jail now. And they’ll be tried, and the court have power to hang them too” (Miller 1163). Emotionally, Elizabeth told John of all the people accused of witchcraft by the girls and the hysteria that resulted from it. Deceiving others, the girls used the hysteria in the town to obtain power, which they used to avoid getting in trouble themselves. Next, the judges in town would not stop until they discovered all of the evil and rid the town of the evil. Danforth acknowledged the alleged witchcraft in the town and they lived in “a sharp time, now, a precise time-we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world” (Miller 1194). As the judge in the town, Danforth wanted to find all of the accused witches, hold a trial, make a ruling about them, and then get them out of Salem. Hysteria strengthened Danforth’s power as judge because he had the power rule whether the accused were guilty of witchcraft and he would not stop until all of there were no witches left. Continuing on during the trials, people in the town began to doubt the court's rulings and if the accused were truly guilty. To Parris’s dismay, as the executions went on, people became less enthusiastic and supportive of the trials: “When I summoned the congregation for John Proctor's excommunication there were hardly thirty people come to eat it. That speak a discontent, I think” (Miller 1221). Reverend Parris noticed the town

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.

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,

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, explains the marvels of witchcraft and the world of “magic”, which unravels a set of confusing disasters in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. While confronted between a choice of life and death, situations hastily get out of hand, and soon become uncontrollable. These events are based on true happenings that led to the writing of this play, which contains the themes mass hysteria, groupthink, and abuse of power. The vast world of witchcraft may not have seemed too intimidating, but it is proven that it’s more dangerous than one can truly imagine.

“The little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law now.” In Arthur Miller’s dramatic tragedy, “The Crucible”, he examines how mass hysteria has effected people throughout the ages, with the idea that one accusation can change a life instantly. Mass hysteria led to the tragic events of The Crucible because the power and leadership that comes with making accusations can have a dramatic impact on a community. The story also illustrates how people would rather kill others than get killed themselves.

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.

Mass hysteria has afflicted a multitude of groups and has compelled them to do very exorbitant things. Some such groups are: the citizens of Salem in 1692-1693 who held the Salem Witch Trials where 20 people were executed, the townspeople of Halifax who claimed to be assailed by a man with a knife, which led many people to wound themselves for attention, and the 90+ students of an all-girls school in Tanzania who laughed uncontrollably for up to fifteen days. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller effectively uses the Salem Witch Trials to show: what can cause mass hysteria, what mass hysteria can lead to, and how mass hysteria can be manipulated for someone’s gain.

In 1692 mass hysteria struck Salem, Massachusetts. The hysteria was caused by accusations against others for performing witchcraft, and since no one knew the truth, the accused often were put to death. Witchcraft was seen as an act of the Devil, and though this play may seem like it is simply about witchcraft, it actually is not. It is about using the accusations of witchcraft to manipulate others and to establish power. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller wonderfully and dramatically displays these events, and subtly shows how people can be manipulated through jealousy, abuse of authority, and even by using the church’s influence to further their own ends.

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.

The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and the events leading up to it. Salem at the time was a very religious and strict community with very little to do. In 1692, some of the girls in the town fell ill, not being able to find a cure or reason for the sickness the people of the town turned to the explanation of witchcraft. Many people were jailed and hung on the accusation of witchcraft without proper trial. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays the theme that when hysteria sets into a community then that community can be destroyed and free of logic.

Cases of mass hysteria have been recorded all over the globe and throughout the years. One such case was that of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, where various people were tried and convicted for witchcraft. These trials were the basis on which Arthur Miller wrote his play, The Crucible. Accordingly, there are many instances of mass hysteria throughout the play. The mass hysteria exhibited in the play can be described as anxiety and unusual behavior in a group of people caused by an abnormality with no real backing. In his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller exhibits multiple examples of mass hysteria and depicts the factors and effects related with it by utilizing characters like Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth to reinforce fear and credibility,

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller was written in the 1950s about McCarthyism and its Nazi 'witch trials'. This book has several underlying themes but one of the more universal themes is hysteria as it is both still common and was prominent during the period the book was written. Hysteria can be described as exaggerated emotions especially in large groups. The characters in The Crucible all exhibit certain reactions to the hysteria that is within the town of Salem. While some try to use the hysteria to their advantage and settle old guess others try to increase their standings in the town. All of these examples can relate to McCarthyism.

In 1962, Salem Massachusetts found itself in a panic for the hanging of twenty people’s

The theme of Hysteria was evident throughout all scenes of The Crucible and tension of relationship was apparent with a number of characters, particularly with Abigail Williams, John Proctor and Mary Warren. Within the town of ‘Salem’ hysteria made its mark in the very beginning of the play, and it stayed consistent right throughout the entirety of the show. In scene two of the play, witchcraft is already mentioned when referring to Betty who laid unconscious. The rumour moved throughout the town quickly which created an atmosphere of chaos, this heightened the emotions and fears of the towns people. An example from the play that displayed tension of relationship was when Proctor and Abigail face the audience with the rest of the court focused on them.

Over 200 people were falsely accused of witchcraft from 1692 to 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts and 20 of those people were executed. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible follows a group of people in Salem and their struggle to find an answer that explains the tragedies of life through religion. Their faith plays such an influential role in their life that they use it to explain things that modern science would explain. They believe that the bad things that happen are due to the devil who is aided by witches. As the people of Salem struggle to define themselves as a town during their struggle between good and evil, they develop a sense of hysteria as waves of emotions and an alarming rate of new plot points rushes toward them every second. Arthur Miller creates an atmosphere of hysteria by constantly introducing new plot points and shifting who the reader trusts in order to accurately represent the time period.