Clowns In The Crucible

Changing the Salem Hysteria Arthur Miller writes a play called The Crucible. In the play, there is a mass hysteria about witchcraft, all started by a group of girls lying about dancing in the woods. The people accused questioned and hanged if they did not confess. Two people that could have stopped the hysteria are Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor.

Arthur Miller was the author of the Crucible who wrote this in 1953 in response to the second red scare of communism in the United States. He used the Salem Witch Trials to compare the situation happening at home where many people were accusing others of being communists. In the play people are accused of witchcraft and given unfair trials much like what was happening in the 50’s. Because lying had more benefits than honesty, many people in the play decided to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to stay alive.

The witch trials in Salem in the year 1692 was a scowling time in American history. The New York Post explains about The Crucible play that “... at a time when America was convulsed by a new epidemic of witchhunting, The Crucible brilliantly explores the threshold between individual guilt and mass hysteria, personal spite and collective evil.” In The Crucible, John Proctor and his wife are hit with many situations which burdens their relationship. While this is going on, many people were being accused as witches for little incidents which they thought would add up to witchcraft. During this time period, the grudges and personal rivalries between people makes these witch trials immoral and unethical.

The two master of comedy, jester and clown, which one is truly the best? The jester, although easily confused for a clown, and the clown are very similar to each other, but the differences are remarkable. The clown, dressed with its polkadoted clothing, colorful wig, makeup, red nose, and big shoes, can be humorous at times. Both jester and clown dress similar, but jesters usually wear a mask instead of makeup.

The definition of “crucible” - in context to the theme of the play - reads, “a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.” In The Crucible, many people are tested in scenarios they would never have imagined would happen to them. Many different groups and families are drawn together, whether it’s to fight for one another, or against. As well as coming together, or being torn apart in a time of hysteria, every character’s morals are put to a severe test when truths and lies seep to the surface of their daily lives. There are many different variations of ways the great Crucible is able to live up to it’s proud and famous title.

The Witch Craze is best described as a product of the political and social tension taking place between about 1480 to 1700. This tension was mostly due to the clashing Protestant and Catholic Reformations. What the people once thought of as true, was now being contested, and therefore, the Witch Craze ensued, causing the deaths of about 100,000 innocent people. Due to the uneasiness and confusion the current events at the time caused, people were not sure what to believe, and therefore, these events took place. However, those thousands weren 't slaughtered haphazardly.

The Salem Witch trials took place in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693 where people were killed if they were thought to be witches. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller writes about the witch trials and what happened during that time. The Crucible has many themes throughout the play. One prominent theme is the theme of mass hysteria. Mass hysteria is shown in many cases throughout the play such as the scenes when the people of the village of Salem are accused, in the court room while the people state their case, and when the townsfolk are about to be hung after failing to call out other witches.

During The Crucible, the Witch Trials caused many court hearings. A good deal of the court hearings consisted of people over exaggerating outbursts of demons inside of them just to get somebody convicted. The Witch Trails also affected the church in many ways. Reverend Parris’ already had a wicked reputation as their minister, and the trials made it even worse. People wanted him out of the church.

There’s a town called Quahog and there have been reports of clown kidnappings. So the mayor (the main character) gets involved. Some weeks later the mayor goes home baffled after not being able to figure out the situation. One night he hears a baby crying in the basement, so he goes downstairs and the crying gets louder. He puts his ear to the wall and knows it 's in there.

Hysteria is a common theme found in The Crucible because many are set into a panic because of the small finding of witchcraft. The villagers in The Crucible are known as Puritans. Puritans are very strict

Likewise, the community in The Crucible, are blinded by the tradition of believing that anything that is not in the bible or thought of as religiously good, was automatically related to Satan. Because of the fear people had for Satan, they were easily tricked by the girls into believing anyone they picked on were associated with witchcraft, “ Oh, stop hurting me, Goody Osburn! Help me, Judge Danforth!” (35). It's easy for them to hang innocent people because the tradition is to hang witches.

A good book to represent mass hysteria is “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. The book is about the salem witch trials and what happened during them. From the book during scene one there is a part where one of the girls starts to fake being sick and pretends to be in a coma. *insert quote from scene with girl pretending to be in coma* this shows how during a moment of hysteria there can be people who fake illnesses and such to get away and evade possible accusation Mass hysteria also may have people turn on eachother and cast false blame to others, *quote of abigail accusing John* this quote shows how people can openly blame and step over others to avoid blame for something done wrong. Finally mass hysteria may have groups of people go against and work to go against others.

Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.

Anyone could accuse someone of witchcraft, and they would be taken seriously, people would often make up reasons for these accusations, and they were believed. The Crucible accurately portrays how the Salem Witch Trials changed Salem Massachusetts and the lives of its residents. A perfect example

More than 20 people were executed during the Salem Witch Trials between 1692 and 1693. The play The Crucibles written by Arthur Miller a historical fiction piece based on the Salem Witch Trials. The play shows the struggles of a small town with a big controversy with mob mentality and justice themes throughout the play. Mob Mentality or otherwise called Cult Mentality which is describing humans that have been influenced by their peers around them and move together as a whole or “herd”, they adopt such behaviors from the others apart of their group. Mob Mentality is shown in multiple parts of The Crucibles examples are when the girls are all dancing together in the woods taking part in the so called ritual which happens to be very much out