Hysteria In The Crucible

“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.

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.

Pointing fingers at someone can do a lot of damage to someone's reputation. Sometimes we point fingers at innocent people in fear the unknown or what may hurt us.. Fearing something or fearing the unknown can cause an uprising or reaction throughout a society or community. Throughout the story “The Crucible” and during the time of McCarthyism many people feared of what may happen to them, as known hysteria. Hysteria is an outburst of fear that spreads through society leaving consequences for blameless people, although with hysteria no one would know what to fear or believe in the society.

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.

In The Crucible, many are tested with regards to their faith and put on trial for witchcraft. In this play, nineteen are hanged and one is pressed to death for the crime of being a witch, for that being John Proctor. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses McCarthyism to show how important mass hysteria is, mass hysteria involving Abigail, and the breaking of Mary Warren's will leads to mass hysteria.

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.

“Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion, and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it” (Elia Kazan). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about the story of the Salem witch trials and how people react to the situation during the 1690’s. Miller’s message concerning individual conscience in an atmosphere of fear and mass hysteria in The Crucible is that people can turn on others and suspect each other or tell lies or false accusations in order to save themselves or loved ones.

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,

NFL Players are protesting the injustices for people of color still face in America today. Taking a knee is not anti-American or anti-military. The players are not attempting to disrespect the country, national anthem, flag, and military by taking a knee. The players are directly protesting injustice against people of color, police brutality, and the criminal justice system. The national anthem is just the wheel for the protest. In the same way, hysteria is involved in the act by Arthur Miller epithet “The Crucible”. Hysteria is a exaggerated and uncontrollable emotion ,excitement and especially among certain group of people. The role of hysteria has been involved and impacted events, certain character and major factor in the many accusations of witchcraft that occurred throughout the play.

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.

In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, hysteria is being spread throughout the Puritan community of Salem. Abigail is the main reason for all of this, with her lies and her persuading her friends to follow along with the lies and blaming others. The historical setting, characters, and events have shown us hysteria throughout the play and how the people of Salem handle the feeling of being in constant fear. As we read the play it is easy to see that hysteria causes people to jump to conclusions.

“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.

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.

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.