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

To further illustrate the appeal to a reader’s pathos Miller writes, “I have been near to murdered everyday because I done my duty pointing out the Devil's people-and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a-“ (108). When Abigail mentions she has suffered tremendously for her statements, even Mr. Danforth (a judge in the play) experiences sorrow for Abigail. Considering that a court official felt sympathetic towards Abigail, further elaborates on the fact that she uses her misleading appearance to exploit the hysterical town of Salem. With the assistance of her past experiences, and current ones, Abigail Williams is able to distress the other villagers and intensify their hysteric views.

Miller is saying that people should be aware of how much they can get swept up in hysteria. Fear causes people to do and say things completely out of character with whom they are. He is saying we can lose our heads when we are afraid of something. When people allow themselves to get swept up in this hysteria, bad things can happen. In the play, the people of Salem lose their heads because they are afraid for various reasons. One of which is they do not want to be accused of witchcraft, so they wrongly point the finger at others. Miller is warning us that when we are afraid we forget our better natures and turn on a convenient scapegoat.

The Puritan town of Salem is corrupt when it comes to accusing innocent people of witchcraft. The town fears their powerful God and assumes that the Devil is punishing those that sin. Miller writes this play during the Red Scare time period which is also a time of questioning others on beliefs. Miller brings attention that people are questioning others if they don’t understand something and this leads the decision to be made without any background knowledge or ideas. Even if Education is not presented to someone, they should do everything possible to educate themselves on the topic before making a

The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late

The Salem witch trials cause confusion among people, because it forces them to question their beliefs, which are the basis of their entire lifestyle in Salem. Reverend Hale, coming to Salem believes he is doing good, and helping to destroy the devil, but as the trials progress, we learn that he is doubtful of his faith. Arthur Miller masterfully shows the counterproductiveness of the trials. The purpose of the trials was to preserve the people of Salem, but it actually achieves to opposite by destroying people’s belief in their beliefs. During the trial scene, Arthur Miller also uses the character of Mary Warren to show confusion. Mary Warren knows the truth, but she manages to convince herself otherwise. In Act three, during the court scene, there are a few solid moments, where Mary Warren is unsure of her own beliefs, and of what she saw, or didn’t see. Another example of this is in Good Night and Good Luck by George Clooney when Edward R Murrow is unsure if he should continue his quest to end the Joseph McCarthy trials. His boss seems to be unhappy with his program on CBS, and he is unsure of what to do. Finally, an example of this confusion caused by the trials is illustrated in Elizabeth Proctor, when she differs from her beliefs to state that she doesn’t believe in witches. In Puritan society, witches were the ultimate evil. In some ways, they were a

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.

People have a way of seeing what they want to see, which plays a key role in creating the hysteria that exists in Salem in The Crucible and how people today react to false information. In his novel, Arthur Miller describes the Salem Witch Trials from a satirical point of view of McCarthy’s Second Red Scare, however, he does a brilliant job in portraying the thoughts of those afflicted in the time. Within any satire, connections can be made from the literature to current events. In the play, Reverend Parris invites Hale to Salem to investigate the condition of Ruth Putnam. Hale, a proclaimed witchcraft specialist, brings with him the very idea of witchcraft to the town, sparking the attention of the people. Convinced that witchcraft is among them, the court decides to take spectral evidence into account, allowing opportunities for corruption.

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,

The book“The Crucible”by Arthur Miller, describes the ultimate twist of the Salem Witch Trials, and origins, which happened between the colonial years of 1692-1693 in Massachusetts. The novel is filled with characters which are bad and good, they all have certain “issues”. The person who started the crazy in Salem is Abigail, she is Reverend Parris’s niece. The logical fallacies in the book played a big role in making bad decisions, this is the reason why the obnoxious accusations of witchcraft and prosecutions lasted so long. The most dangerous logical fallacy that happened  in the Crucible is the Bandwagon occurrence because people have no choice but to pick a side and makes people believe in that certain truth or story even though it may be wrong.

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.

One innocent man being crushed to death, 141 people being arrested, and 19 being hanged were some of the many gruesome events that took place during the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, some few unnatural events cause mass hysteria to sweep through a small town, placing dozens of innocent people in jail. When rumors sweep through Salem of an unconscious girl who will not wake up, people automatically point to witchcraft. Accusation after accusation, fear of being accused themselves causes people to suspect the worst about the people they associate with. In result, many people turn against themselves and others around them in fear of losing the normal life they have accustomed to. The three characters in the play that acted out of fear and caused an unnecessary hysteria against innocent people are Mary Warren, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams.

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.

“We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”(Miller,196).The Crucible,a play written by Arthur Miller, starts off in 1692, in the small Massachusetts village of Salem. In which a collection of girls fall ill causing them to undergo hallucinations and seizures. But really there is a true mastermind behind the downfall of Salem. Although others may not agree, in the novel The Crucible the one to blame for the outcome of the play is Abigail. Due to her desire to be with John Proctor thus leading her to threaten, frame, and attempt murder.

A countless number of elements can be accounted 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.