Essay on Hysteria

The Crucible is aiming to tell audiences about the dangers of mass hysteria and what damage could be done either to a small community or a larger, more controllable, area. In the beginning, we find out that at least three girls, Abigail, Betty, and Tituba, are involved with a forest dancing and perhaps calling upon the Devil, after more girls are accused and word is spread thru town, mass hysteria begins. Hysteria in society can spread rapidly leading to panic, chaos, and disaster, and in The Crucible this is exactly the message trying to be sent to the readers.

Imagine being so wrapped up in a lie that you yourself begin to genuinely believe that the lie is really the truth. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, there is a character named Abigail Williams who is stuck in the middle of a questionable situation. To try to get out of any punishment for her acts, she starts blaming people for being witches that make her do evil things and physically harm her. In spite of the obvious theory that Abigail was at the root of the witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts, there are many other beliefs as to who was really the start of the frenzied delirium. The three people most responsible for creating this mass hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts are Thomas Putnam, Reverend Parris, and John Proctor.

One major influence to the short story was the aforementioned condition known as neurasthenia. It was first identified in the early 19th century and became a popular diagnosis primarily among women of that time. It was characterized with symptoms that included weakness, irritability, dizziness, and fainting, as well as emotional instability. An ancestor to this condition was another well-known, women associated diagnosis, Hysteria. One would assume that these conditions would relate on a psychological level rather than a

In this world there have been causes of mass hysteria even back in the old days. In 1939 Mysterious girls were having cases of strange twitching making parents of the students curious. A big cause of hysteria was found in a case of a girl suffering in lack of attention. She was having sorts of insecurity and paranoia. For common people, twitching is a sign of nerve problem. But one case in Louisiana in 1939 involved numerous students suffering from twitching and all inflicted students were female. It began when one female student show sign of twitching in her right. It happened during an annual homecoming ball. Unfortunately, the twitching did not end up on that particular day, in fact, the twitching became worse as weeks went by. Following the incident, some of her fellow

In the novel the author uses hysteria ever since the beginning when the afflicted girls are being integrated by parris, he show that he understands the hysteria that it will damage his reputation “In my house? In my house,

Firstly, let me explain to you what a hysteria is, it is uncontrollable emotion or excitement. You’re probably wondering why would this be exciting, well I am about to tell you. When nine and eleven-year-old girls sought to know their destiny they found the unfortunate answer by engaging with a West Indian woman named Tituba. To see their future the woman used an egg white in a glass of water and looked for telltale shapes. One of the girls thought she

Hysteria was one of the class diseases of the 19th century…for centuries hysteria has been seen as characteristically female- the hysterical woman the embodiment of a perverse or hyper femininity…and in [the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s…physicians reported a high incidence of nervous disease and hysteria among women who felt overwhelmed by the burdens of frequent pregnancies, the demands of children, the daily exertions of housekeeping and family management (Smith-Rosenberg, 1972, 652, 653, 657).

In early 1692, a priest’s daughter and niece started to act out. They had raging fits, made weird sounds, and continuously complained of fever and pain. As time went on more and more girls were affected, that’s when adults started being concerned. After the doctor examined the girls and tested all of his remedies, and declared that it was supernatural. The girls were questioned if they knew someone who would do this to them they listed three women: Tituba (an Indian slave), Sarah Good (a beggar), and Sarah Osborne (a local gossip).

Mass hysteria is a phenomenon that transmits collective allusions of threats through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear. The Crucible by Arthur Miller accurately portrays mass hysteria that took place during the Salem witch trials of 1692. People were accused based on revenge or other malicious motives and to make the situation worse, nothing about the trials was logical. After a few people were accused, fear set into the town and everyone was viewed as a witch until proven innocent. Mass hysteria not only happened during the Salem witch trials, but right after the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001 as well. Mass hysteria ties into both the accusations made in The Crucible and the islamophobia that set in after 9/11.

In the book, The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall, written by Katie Alender, I chose the scene of where all the ghosts are set free, Delia is smiling and the car of her family is driving away in the background. I chose to add the detail of her parents in the background driving away because it symbolizes something. That detail symbolizes that Delia has accepted the fact that her family is no longer part of her life, and she is willing to move on with her other ghost friends. I was hesitating on whether I should do another scene which also has a huge affect on me. The other scene was a scene of Delia looking at her dead body outside the window.

Until the medical breakthroughs that we have made in the modern day, psychology as a science was not fully understood. Modern technology has given us a clearer idea of psychology, but in the past there was less known about the science. This alongside a predominantly male medical discourse led to a medical diagnosis in many women called hysteria. Female hysteria was a medical diagnosis given to specifically women as far back as the ancient Greek civilization. Hysteria started as a supernatural phenomena, but as medicine evolved it would be described as a mental disorder, (Tasca). Hysteria. in actuality, is an absurd and fabricated diagnosis that institutionalized and discriminated countless women. The way it makes a women feel, and the fact that it strips a woman of any sort of free will is a sickening display of blatant misogyny. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman perfectly displays not only the misogyny, but the torture a woman must face trapped under a hysteria diagnosis. Hysteria as a diagnoses fails to effectively treat many women, instead leading to the mistreatment and wrongful institutionalization of women.

Jane is a victim of a nervous disorder of the brain called hysteria. She is aware that she suffers from a series of mental and physical disturbances. She says that she has a " temporary nervous depression: -- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do?"(2).

In her book Women's Madness, Misogyny or Mental Illness, Ussher notes that in the Victorian era, hysteria was diagnosed primarily in strong, outspoken women: in other words: women who transgressed the ideal of true womanhood and thus challenged patriarchy. This is

Panic disorder is something that develops for no apparent reason. It causes repeated and unexpected attacks of intense fear. It can last for a few minutes or even hours. The people that have this disorder usually live in fear of having another attack. They are afraid to be alone, or to be far from medical help. The feelings of intense fear can trigger severe physical reactions. This disorder is very real and treatable.

Annie states that the Agoraphobia is a result of her overthinking how people view her. Throughout the interview, Annie often demonstrates how she thinks others view her—“why did she just run out” or “she is crazy”. During the interview, it becomes clear that Annie is mainly afraid of judgment by other people.