Hysteria In The Crucible Analysis

“Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak.”-Jose N. Harris. Arthur Miller the author of the play called The Crucible sets in the town of Salem, Massachusetts which was populated by the Puritans who hanged twenty innocent people in 1692. Miller wants to make the point that the theme of Lies and Deceits makes people lie to benefit themselves which could lead to Hysteria.

Over the course of history, the idea of righteousness has clouded people's thinking, leading to cruel and unnecessary forms of punishment. Arthur Miller's The Crucible significantly illustrates human cruelty in the name of righteousness. Inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, Miller's play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. Miller bases the play on the historical account of the Salem witch trials, a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. A modern day example that can be recognizably compared to the Salem witch trials is racial profiling that manifested in the 1700s. Racial profiling is the use of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or national origin by law enforcement agents as a factor in deciding whom to investigate, arrest, or detain with no evidence of a specific crime or criminal behavior. Throughout the play, there are numerous instances of human cruelty in the name of righteousness that outline the basis of the Salem witch trials and racial profiling in today's society.

Most people have seen a court trial being carried out, but imagine if you see one where there are multiple people being charged for crimes that could cost their lives, and they have little to no evidence towards them. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, this happens to the people of Salem. Miller writes the play to resemble what is going on in the world and politics at that time. In Act 3, there are many accusations and pleads made such as Martha Corey being related to witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse being innocent, and Mary Warren and the other girls lying.

Since the colonization of North America, injustice reigned throughout the land. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he explains the unjust actions that go on in Salem, MA through the Salem Witch Trials. The play represented an allegory towards the fear and accusations of potential communists in the 1950s. As a victim of communism during that time, Miller wrote the play with the knowledge of prejudice and injustice of certain people. The Crucible reflects the injustice of the modern court system through the Salem court system issues of Puritanism, sexism, and ageism.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a masterfully crafted allegory connecting the Salem witchcraft trials with the terror of the Second Red Scare. Even after the first wave of communism-induced hysteria, Americans were not immune to this large scale of fear prompted by the Cold War. The House Un-American Activities Committee only fanned the flames with its accusations, and the notorious Senator Joseph McCarthy soon followed suit with his “witch hunt.” Miller carefully connects the fear and hysteria of this era to an earlier point in history with the accusation of witches in Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692. The trials of several accused witches in the village shows a similar trend in society. Although there are minor changes in The Crucible,

The Crucible represents a broad array of actions that put Salem’s denizens under a test of faith and purity. As many were accused and killed, the theocratic control of the colony was diminished as the purity of some characters, such as Proctor were revealed. Miller shows how the interactions between the characters of the play affected the outcome of proceedings. The less-than-ideal circumstances that many were put in changed the course of history as the witchcraft hysteria spread and turned into new fears. A “crucible” is construed as a severe test or trial. The Crucible tells the story of the Salem witchcraft trials, a period in American history in which people who did not conform to the expectations and patterns of standard behavior in that

In 1692 colonial Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Trials were in full blast terrorizing the small, beachside town of salem along with other parts of Massachusetts. Hysteria overtook the nation, and everyone was considered guilty until proven innocent. This is seen in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, which takes place during the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the trials, the citizens are frantic and hundreds of people are being accused of a crime that they did not commit: witchcraft. One of the crucial questions that haunts everyone’s mind is whether to admit to the accusation, and receive a lesser punishment, or keep their honor, but ultimately be killed.

A countless number of elements will account for when analyzing someone 's behavior and thoughts. Hysteria, uncontrollable emotion among groups, 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 a storm of emotions. Everyone 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.

Hysteria, reputation, and fear. All words that sum up the plot of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials in 1692. Several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft, starting with Reverend Parris's daughter, Betty. The “afflicted” girls accuse people in the town of witchcraft, often choosing those who they or their families dislike. This leads to hysteria in the town and people being wrongly accused of witchcraft and being hung from it. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller wants to make the point that hysteria can lead to people caring more about their reputation than anything and that hysteria leads to people being wrongly accused.

Justice in the town of Salem has become a conspiracy. In The Crucible, many people are accused and punished for witchcraft. All these accusations come from manipulative individuals who are driven to destroy people they show prejudice to. In his play, Arthur Miller depicts the unstable foundation of Justice and gives the reader and insight on the Salem Witch Trials. The town of Salem's perception on justice is the driving factor for the deaths of countless innocents. In The Crucible, justice is based on personal objectives, theocracy, and social status.

Hysteria is an uncontrollable emotion, usually involving a group of people. In the play The Crucible, hysteria is shown throughout many ways. The small Massachusetts Bay Colony forwent many changes over the span of a year. In this religious town, innocent people were martyred, neighbors turned against neighbors, and even the minister became corrupt and turned away from God. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, irony helps to depict hysteria in the town of Salem through the Theocracy of the town, the false accusations and testimonies that are told, and through children's roles in this Puritan society.

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

During the Salem witch trials of the late seventeenth century, over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and around twenty were hanged consequently. This was likely due to the colonists’ fear and need for scapegoats to blame for the recent hardships that had struck Salem. “[T]hey suppos[ed] [the Devil] was the cause, operating through the agency of witches… They believed, also, that the Devil was about to establish an agency…and had actually commenced operations in Salem Village” (qtd. in Brooks, “History of the Salem Witch Trials”). After the confession of Tituba, an accused slave, the town was triggered to hunt for more witches, and the mass hysteria had begun. However, it was soon evident that the reasons behind the accusations were much more complicated. As noted in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, people often accused their enemies based off of personal grudges, political differences, religious feuds, and even property disputes. This collective hysteria became the perfect opportunity for people to eliminate their opponents; many have even gone as far as using evidence fabrication and false witnesses (Brooks, “History of

"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.

In a small village close to 300 years ago a group of girls were accused of performing witchcraft; one girl would change the town forever. Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible is a powerful portrait of what life was like during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. When hysteria takes over Salem, it creates chaos for in the minds of a conservative Puritan settlement as people believe witchcraft is poisoning the minds of their young. Hysteria is an exaggeration of an emotional response to a stressful situation. In May of 1693, over two-hundred innocent lives were accused of witchcraft. Hysteria continues to impact modern day society. Historic tragedies create hysteria causing people to have poor judgement and hurt fellow human beings.