Hysteria In The Crucible Essay

“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.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was a historical play written about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692-93. The Salem witch trials created mass hysteria throughout the entire village of Salem, which was also mainly inhabited by Puritans. Puritans had a set ideal of firm beliefs that managed how they lived. Essentially, they were living as an elect, which meant they (referring to the Puritans) had a place in heaven for the righteous acts they have done in the physical world. Meaning, any sinful acts could potentially hinder the chances of entering heaven as an elect. The Crucible, questioned everything the Puritans abided by. It questioned the basic morals of a pure lifestyle, adultery and

In the play, Mary Warren was one of the girls that was seen in the woods by Reverend Hale. When they go caught she told him that she was not participating she was just watching. In the book she felt guilt for the poppet, and it causing suspicion on Elizabeth. She was also scared of Abigail, because of the things that she did and she she wanted John Proctor to love her the way she loved him. ( Miller 2)

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.

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 is the vital aspect in the act “The Crucible” about witchcraft which spreads throughout the small town called Salem and involved having tragic events without any facts. Abigail Williams is a major character in the play “The Crucible” Arthur Miller, but she is portrayed as an great antagonist who drives the wheel in the play. She has an unnatural power to manipulate others and gain control over them. Abigail states "I want to open myself! . . . 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! (Miller 48). While confessing to witchcraft gets Tituba positive attention, and makes her a believable to accuse others, along with Betty she uses same technique to develop trust toward others. A major theme of the play is blame, revenge, and mistaken innocence. Abigail shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft. This furious act of selfishness soon becomes Abigail drive of power.

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.

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

Abigail and John had an affair until John's wife Elizabeth, caught them. When Elizabeth caught them John didn’t want anything to do with Abigail anymore, she took this the wrong way and immediately wanted revenge. Abigail didn’t take revenge on John though, she took vengeance on Elizabeth instead. Since Abigail and the girls started these lies, abigail went to the judges and accused Elizabeth of sending her “spirit” to stab her with a needle, the judges of course believed this and put her in jail. At this moment Abigail thought that she could win back John, but she just made it worse. John wasn't going to let this happen to his wife, so he was going to confess anything that could help him prove elizabeth innocent. John decided to confess about their affair and have mary confess the truth about what the girls were really

Fear, and Hysteria are two words that can describe the play The Crucible. hysteria and the fear in the play The Crucible. Hysteria is defined as exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people and in the play The Crucible, hysteria comes in when a group of girls decide to go with their leader being Abigail and dance in the woods naked. Arthur miller also used fear to control the people in the town. This fear and hysteria will lead to the death of several innocent people who wouldn't confess to doing something they didn't because they are stuck in there Puritan ways. The hysteria and the fear of the people will blow everything out of the water for those who confess and those who don't.

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.

only hiding the past affair, but how Abigail is trying to kill John’s wife so she can have him all to

She does not speak the truth immediately. Abigail threatens to kill her, and even though she knows lying is wrong, she remains mute. Mary represents those who are too fearful to do what is right. Not only does Abigail’s threat hang over her, but also the threat of death by hanging. Mary tries to tell the truth, but when she realizes that the court does not believe her, she saves herself by turning her back on the truth. She tells John Proctor, who tries to persuade her to keep telling the truth, “I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God” (Miller 226). Her true motivations for lying were to save herself and not die. She blames Proctor and joins the group of liars just to keep her now petty life. She is negatively affected by the hysteria, and does not stay true to her values due to her panic. Hysteria affects people in many different ways. For people like Mary Warren, it makes them fearful, and decide to go with everyone rather than for sticking up for what they believe. Miller chooses to include Mary in The Crucible in order to showcase how hysteria grows and more people are negatively affected when one turns their back on the truth. Because of Mary’s actions, Proctor is convicted and will die because of what she has done. Miller also included Mary in order to explain why people did not do what is right. In a circumstance that involves death, when the choice comes down to “me or you”, people like

After Elizabeth Proctor is arrested for witchcraft and magically wounding Abigail with a needle, Mary Warren guiltily attempts to tell the truth about the group of girls lying about the witchcraft; but Abigail’s manipulation and the hysteria of the village quickly consume her. John Proctor forcibly demands that Mary Warren tell the truth in order to free his wife, but Abigail and her dishonest squad of girls accuse Mary Warren and John Proctor of lying. The girls even claim to see Mary Warren’s evil spirit in the form of an invisible yellow bird! The story of witchcraft in Salem continues to propagate until the end of The Crucible’s plot because Mary Warren, succumbing to the hysteria, breaks and sides with the mischievous girls. She does not believe in the witchcraft accusations of the other girls, but she pretends as if she does in order to save herself from the girls’ accusations and the intense scrutiny of the witch hunting court. Lying to oneself and deluding one’s own mind is exactly what hysteria and the resulting fear do to susceptible and weak