The Supernatural Force And Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

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

Remember those Disney movies where the witch had a huge wart on her face? Well that idea came from the Salem Witch Trials. To prove that a person was a witch, people would check for big freckles or moles on their body. This was supposedly a place where evil spirits could stay. During the spring of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls were caught dancing in the woods, which was considered illegal in the Puritan times. When confronted about it, Abigail and Betty start to scream out the names of the witches in the village that made them commit the crime. This started up the accusations of the Salem Witch Trials. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is to blame for the mass hysteria in Salem because she wants to be with John Proctor, she tries to kill Elizabeth, and she tries to save her name.

Human nature is a word describing our reactions to events, our own inner struggles, and our interaction with others, a tendency that every human has in common. (Human Nature in The Crucible) In, The Crucible, several of the characters are constantly feuding, not only among themselves but with the entire community as well. Many citizens spread ridiculous lies and rumors accusing innocent people of being “under the influence” of the devil. The people of Salem fall victim to an eruption of delirium, caused by natural human tendencies. Arthur Miller illustrates blame, majority versus minority, ideology as being natural human tendencies and driving forces to the mass hysteria in the town of Salem.

Mass hysteria has afflicted a multitude of groups and has compelled them to do very exorbitant things. Some such groups are: the citizens of Salem in 1692-1693 who held the Salem Witch Trials where 20 people were executed, the townspeople of Halifax who claimed to be assailed by a man with a knife, which led many people to wound themselves for attention, and the 90+ students of an all-girls school in Tanzania who laughed uncontrollably for up to fifteen days. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller effectively uses the Salem Witch Trials to show: what can cause mass hysteria, what mass hysteria can lead to, and how mass hysteria can be manipulated for someone’s gain.

In “The Crucible”, there are words that have different meanings based on their context such as hysteria, evil and hope, which applies to the content of the play. Hysteria destroys the people of Salem, evil is within the Devil, and hope is when the characters confess.

Mob hysteria can strike at any given time. It has played a role in U.S. history from being as detrimental as lynching to as ridiculous as the fear of the 2012 apocalypse. The Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Era are another two examples in history that demonstrate just how influential the mob hysteria phenomenon can be. The accusations during the McCarthy Era and the events of The Salem Witch Trials made an impact on The Crucible by Arthur Miller, which portrays how mob hysteria can spread a sense of paranoia, demolish reputations, produce unfair trials, and create a bandwagon to stay out of trouble.

The hysteria behind the Salem Witch Trials seems to have come from nothing. There are multiple theories that go from a mental mass hysteria to a physical prejudice. Going through the timeline of the trials, theories become stronger and weaker and in the end, the answer is a matter of whichever theory you believe has the strongest evidence, an opinion. Albeit, the easiest way to explain the hysteria could be the easiest one to explain, which was that it was all subconsciously coincidental mental mass hysteria.

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.

During the Salem Witch Trials of 1962, nearly 20 people were sentenced to death, upon being accused as “hosts” of the devil and his evil ways of life. In the novel, The Crucible by Arthur Miller he depicts the mass hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. The Witch Trials were provoked by the strict religious beliefs of the Puritan community, in which the people believed that the devil was constantly trying to pervade their religious communities and their Christian beliefs. Within the Crucible, Abigail's accusations and other acts of self-preservation can be ascribed to remnants of her traumatizing past (with the brutality of her parents murder), her involvement in an adulterous relationship with John Proctor, and her desperation for survival

Mob Hysteria can be a possible cause from losing your moral rights; however, there are positive sides to this phenomenon. According to the Collins Dictionary, “mob hysteria is the heightened and extreme emotions that can be experienced by people in a large crowd”

The total hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts that quickly spread out of control in a rush of lies, witch accusations and death is known as The Salem Witch Trials. People in the 1600’s strongly believed in the existence of witchcraft, so much so that it led to mass hangings. The events are famous because of books and plays, like The Crucible, that are written about them. These books have led to more and more people becoming interested in the Trials More research is being done on why they happened and what kept them going. There have been many theories as to what actually afflicted the girls. People know from studying the history that religious turmoil and greed helped fuel the flame. The answer to what started the spark was actually a type of

Hysteria was a main theme in The Crucible. Hysteria, meaning an exaggeration of emotion, was happening amongst the townspeople, afraid to be claimed as a witch or because of jealousy townspeople began to accuse people they've known for years as a witch. Once this happens the town of Salem falls into a hysteria, community wide fear over rules the judgment of right and wrong and puts everyone in a position of "survival of the fittest," if you couldn't lie for yourself and broke under the pressure of accusation, you would die if you didn’t confess to being a witch, ruin your "good" name, and/or end up in jail. Reputation, how people perceive you, is also a recurring theme in The Crucible. In the time period the Witch Trials took place, if

Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible contains several themes, but none are as prominent as mass hysteria, which appears in the characters Abigail, Tituba, and Mary Warren, but in different ways. Tituba and Mary Warren both succumb to the mass hysteria flourishing throughout Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Abigail Williams is the propagator of the frenzy enveloping the small town.

To accuse one person of the horrible witch trails in The Crucible would be difficult as there is no argument on whether or not the whole town played one role or another in the accusations and or hangings of those innocent people. Mass hysteria radiated throughout the town. Without the influence of a certain few, the events, the story which serves as a model towards hysterias of all types, would have turned out much differently. Those certain characters that had that influence over these dark events were Betty Parris, the young reverend’s daughter, Reverend Parris who was supposed to serve as a model figure towards the town, as one of God’s chosen, and Abigail Williams the one who brought true Hell fire to Salem, Massachusetts. Betty Parris, Revend Parris’ only child, is suppose to serve as a model child for all those

In ‘The Crucible’, a number of finger pointing and accusations cause some difficulty within the town. The assumption of witchcraft and the increased tensions among the