Theme Of Hysteria In The Crucible

Hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of fear among a society. Throughout the story “The Crucible, hysteria spread by fear of others throughout the community in many ways. Abigail was one of the main characters in the story that showed great hysteria fearing others that mentioned her name. At the beginning of the story Abigail and some girls were found dancing in the woods. Fearing that she would be accused for witchcraft Abigail responded “Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you’d best go down and deny it yourself. The parlor’s packed with people, sir. I’ll sit with her” (Miller, 10). This is showing how Abigail was worried about her reputation in the community and how she wanted her uncle to go to the parlor to deny it to the people. This is also showing how over one night an uprising of fear spread throughout the town, fearing

If Abigail was not worried about the hysteria that will start because of the accusations she will later receive she would not have told herself and others to lie about it, showing that people will lie in face in hysteria.

Hysteria has been seen throughout history, but what dictates the outcome is how the community reacts. Hysteria can be defined as uncontrollable emotion among a group of people. It has been depicted throughout human history, which can be seen during the the Cold War, 9/11, and terrorist threats. The Crucible evidently shows how hysteria leads to the disunification of a community through the human obsession of reputation, the Puritan lack of respect for privacy, and human anger.

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.

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 Crucible has many components where the characters experience moments of hysteria. The play introduces the concept of witchcraft where in a Puritan society is strictly forbidden as it goes against all God-like practice. Hysteria is introduced with Abigail Williams, and the other girls, who concoct a lie to prevent themselves from punishment. Abigail lies, “I want to open myself! . .

Abigail has caused so much sensation in the town but yet no one suspects Abigail at first. Abigail was blamed for the events that took place in Salem. Abigail tried to blame so many innocent people for her mysterious ways. In Act I of The Crucible , Betty, Abigail’s cousin had falling in a strange coma. The coma stuns so many people in Salem that they said Betty was apart of witchcraft. The people in Salem wondered why Betty was in a coma but in reality it was Abigail’s fault. “ My, you seem improving. I talked to your papa and I told him everything. So there’s nothing to—“ (20). This made Betty worry and she faked a coma. It was Abigail 's fault because she made all the girls go in the woods and dance naked, drinking a charm so they could kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail also lied to cover up what she did in the woods by lying to Putman. “No, he’ll be comin’ up. Listen, now; if they be questioning us, tell them we danced - I told him as much already,” (19).

The root cause of the hysteria that overcame Salem in “The Crucible” was the town’s fear of the devil/evil. Hysteria consumed the community of Salem and it came to the point where it surmounted the voices of the few rational people in the town. The fear of evil is present throughout the entire play. It is first seen at the very beginning when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam will not wake up. Reverend Parris is sitting next to the bed his daughter is lying in, when his niece Abigail arrives back from the doctor’s house and gives the news, “Uncle, the rumor of witchcraft is all about; I think you’d best go down and deny it yourself.” When the town heard of the girl’s condition they immediately thought it must have been the work of the devil. The

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.

A plague floods over Salem, a sickening plague full of death and lies. Handfuls of people are being thrown on a chopping block, forced to play a sinister game of two truths and one lie. This witch hunt has helped us to learn from our mistakes and try our hardest to never repeat them. As a result the witch hunt, the whole town was driven into hysteria, which led to entire east coast to act without thinking and ruin the lives of many.

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.

When analyzing someone 's behavior and thoughts a countless number of elements can be accounted for. Hysteria 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 storms of emotion. Everyone is 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.

In the 18th century, Salem had witness one of the most appalling, unforgivable and unjust executions that would leave a forever lasting stain on the human history. The crucible, by Arthur Miller depicts how hysteria, political injustice and prejudice began the historical ‘witch hunt’ which resulted 19 innocents killed. Two centuries later hysteria, political injustice and prejudice have again affected the lives of three innocent teenagers, Damien Echols (18), Jessie Misskelly (17), and Jason Baldwin (16), who were wrongly accused, convicted and sentenced for the homicide of three 8-year-old boy; this case was dubbed the West Memphis Three (WM3). Within both historical events hysteria, political injustice/bias and prejudice has distorted

In The Crucible, Abigail Williams uses mass hysteria to exploit the people around her, in order to achieve her agenda to maintain her innocent and reputation. For instance, “ I saw Goody Hawkins with the devil. I saw Goody Booth with the devil” (Abigail, Act 1,Page 48). The names that abigail said are the people who got accused, and other girls said some of the names too. After the girls have seen Tituba “free herself” from the devil by falsely accusing others, they begin to follow abigail’s lead by naming woman who saw with the devil. This act will pull innocent women into hysteria and the pattern would be continue. Another example is about the reputation, “ My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (Abigail, Act 1, Page 12) Abigail was concerned about her reputation and her “name”. This is no doubt what motivates her, at least initially, to put the blame for the dancing in the woods on Tituba. If her name is “soiled,” Abigail could face harsh consequences in the Salem theocracy where women are already low on the totem pole – if it’s discovered that she, an unmarried orphan woman, slept with a married man, she would face huge consequences.