Hysteria In The Crucible

Aristotle once said, “All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.” According to the site titled History, “McCarthy declared that he had a list of 205 known members of the Communist Party who were “working and shaping policy” in the State Department.” (http://www.history.com). This accusation led to a mob hysteria known as the Red Scare. The Crucible demonstrated the strange phenomenon of Mob Hysteria. As we understand, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible with the influences of the non-fictional events during the Salem Witch Trials, as well as the events that occurred during the McCarthy Era. The Crucible portrays how mass hysteria influenced people to state false accusations, unfair trials in the court

Stopping Hysteria Mass hysteria has pledged the planet since the beginning of time. Mass hysteria takes place when a group of a society fears another group with or without reason. For example, the events surrounding the mass hysteria of Y2K or the japanese camps of america during wwII. In both instances, people's fear caused them to do things without real cause. This type of behavior can also be seen in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible; however, in the play, two characters could have stopped the hysteria, John Proctor and Abigail Williams.

Arthur Miller is a renowned actor from the early days of Hollywood. In the late 1950’s he was persecuted for his political beliefs. He leaned left on the political scale, this may not seem like a major issue, but at the time anything left of centralist was considered communism. Why you may ask? Well, that is because of a man named Joseph McCarthy.

The theme that reoccurred consistently throughout Act 2 was “Hysteria and Religion.” The hysteria spread throughout the Puritan society like a wildfire. Puritans were cautious and quick to judge based off of circumstantial evidence, nevertheless, dozens of people were convicted of crimes that they may or may not have committed. Religion was the center of all life at the time. The average individual knew the Bible inside and out. While (most) individuals attended church services regularly, no one could be exempt from persecution. A reputation could change with one misstep, “remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven” (Miller 71).

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

Mass Hysteria in The Crucible Many characters in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible contribute to the mass hysteria in the story. Mass hysteria isn’t an uncommon phenomenon; it happens all of the time, and one of the best known examples of mass hysteria is the Salem Witch Trials. Mass hysteria happens when a group of people fear something whether it’s real or a rumor. An example of mass hysteria in today’s society is the Charlie Charlie Challenge, this challenge caused many people to panic because they thought by doing the challenge, they were inviting a demon into their house.

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.

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.

Hysteria has played a big part in US history and is still present today. Fear and suspicions, two aspects of hysteria can lead people to act in a way that is not normal. In the drama Crucible, Abigail and other girls were caught dancing and and in fear of getting in trouble, they blame innocent people to take the blame. Suspicion and fear can lead to injustice and harm to the innocent because people are afraid so they point fingers.

Often in literature an author presents us with behavior that seems somewhat odd or different in the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, several girls get caught dancing in the woods and this sparks a controversy so large, that eventually more than 80 people lose their lives by various means. Hysteria sometimes plays a role in how people behave and in what they believe, in the play the girls pretend to be “witched” because Reverend Parris, while walking in the woods, comes across them while they dancing around a cauldron. Some of the girls have taken off their garments and this horrifies the Reverend. The girls disperse, and two cannot wake up the next day. The girls behave in this manner for several reasons; they do not wish to be punished, they seek revenge, and they gain a sense of power and like it. This occurs in life today. One may go to any sporting event and see chaos ensue in the stands or on the field. This can be seen by our

There have been many times in history where fear has been a catalyst of hysteria.One example of that is the Red Scare in the mid 1900’s with McCarthyism.This used the fear of communism to create hysteria in the U.S.Arthur Miller saw this and made a connection between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials in his play The Crucible.Fear,hysteria,and revenge are important elements within “The Crucible” because they affect the way people think and act which develops the conflict.

An event in history that was impacted by mass hysteria was the Red Scare. The Red Scare was an event in US history in which everyone was paranoid and scared of being called a communist. Being called communist during that time period was a terrible thing. Hysteria among the people caused there to be more fear and tension in the atmosphere. Many feared the House Un-American Activities Committee, HUAC, this fear spread throughout the country quickly. The fear promoted the people to lie and start accusing others of being communist. The same scenario can be seen in the Salem Witch Trials. In The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, hysteria plays a major role because the people of Salem are not thinking logically which leads to many people in being hung in Salem.

Both the play and the community events embody individuals who are unhappy and vulnerable, qualifying them as hysterical epidemics besmirches the reputation of otherwise innocent communities. Individuals who are hopeless in both The Crucible and Le Roy contribute to the hysteria. When Abigail confronts John Proctor about their affair, Abigail says, “I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now!” (Miller 22). This confrontation confirms that Abigail still has feelings for John Proctor, yet he does not feel the same way about her. This feeling of unrequited love and unhappiness is one of the main reasons for the start of the hysteria in Salem, since Abigail wanted revenge on the people in the town. This brings her to accuse innocent people of witchcraft and thus creates the epidemic, tarnishing Salem’s name and bringing ruin to the town. When Le Roy High School’s superintendent stood in front of a group of parents to answer questions, one parent in the audience began to shout, “’You need to prove to us it is safe for my daughter to be in this school…I’m done listening to you. You need to do something!” (Dominus 6). The helplessness in what this parent emphasizes that the parents of Le Roy have no idea how to deal with the hysteria occurring in the town. The hopelessness that is seen with her is displayed by all the parents of the town, since by the end of the article by Susan Dominus, the parents have tried every available solution with no

With multiple instances where hysteria is present, the world reacts to these instances in unthinkable ways. Hysteria is not defined without the people who react make it so. They exaggerate things or do something that causes others to freak out too, creating chaos. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller that illustrates what it’s like to change, conform, and become stronger with several characters; Reverend Hale, Mary Warren, and John Proctor.

"As an American, may I have the privilege of pulling the switch?" (Jordan) These were the finishing words of Julius Rosenberg the so-called John Proctor of his story he said this to make sure the country knew he was American. Over time it seems that history repeats itself. Parallels across time, Julius dare not have his title of an American tarnished as John's name as a proctor remains untarnished, both were willing to give their lives but not their titles. They are one in the same through time with multiple similarities for proof.