The definition of hysteria is exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement. The devil came to Salem in 1692, or did it? The Puritans believed that Salem had been conquered by witches. The girls began to name members of the surrounding community. They became hysterical. Confined by strict Protestant laws and poor education that lead to low interpersonal skills and illogical reasoning, the characters in The Crucible can't do more to end the hysteria in Salem. During Puritan times, people were restrained by the laws of Protestantism. The Puritan had extreme laws and strict early catholic values. According to the article, Puritan Laws and Character, by Henry William Elson, “The people as a whole were liberty-loving in the extreme, but the individual was restrained at every step by laws that no free people of today would tolerate for an hour.” This idea explains how extreme their laws are. People had no freedom. It was Paternalism. This fact led to people acting out irrationally. …show more content…
Harvard College was founded after an exodus began. There was a rare occurrence of teachers to educate the young. Soon later they would acquire schooling but only for a certain number of students. This could lead them to make poor decisions. The illogical decisions would lead them to do things, such as, feed a ‘witch cake’ to a dog and wait if they cry out. This would accuse them of being a witch. They would accuse people for being different. According to The Salem (and Other) Witch Hunts, by Mike Kubic, “ The sentencing of Bridget Bishop, the first victim of the witch trials, was typical of the Salem justice system. Bishop was accused of not living “a Puritan lifestyle” because she wore black clothing.” The people of Salem determined someone to be a witch or simply immoral because they were different. Thus, people could be making irrational decisions because of their poor
In The Crucible (1953), Arthur Miller illustrates how mass hysteria of “witches” blinds the truth of fake acts of sorcery destroying religious purpose with the government laws. Laws of religion were broken when a bunch of girls went into the forest and dances around preaching for their wishes to be true to a woman named Tituba. Tituba did “witchcraft” to these girls as Reverend Parris finds the girls dancing around. Reverend Parris took the girls home and tell to some people about their selfish acts in the woods. The girls acts were not correct as the girls state that they were bewitched by Tituba.
Keylian Ortiz-Tirado Mrs. Gardner English II Hnrs 24 February 2023 Mass Hysteria in The Crucible What is mass hysteria? Mass hysteria is defined as “an outbreak of unusual and uncharacteristic behaviors, thoughts and feelings, or health symptoms shared among a group of people” (Raypole). In the play there are multiple ways that mass hysteria is shown throughout the different acts. The events in The Crucible by Arthur Miller were deeply rooted in mass hysteria such as when Abigail was in the courtroom, when Betty woke up and started shouting names, and when there were poppets found in Proctor’s house.
Hysteria, in this context, refers to a general feeling of fear and panic that spreads throughout the community, causing people to act irrationally and accuse others of witchcraft. The spread of
Secondly, Mass Hysteria in salem was also spread by the will to fit in. As soon as people started accusing, others went along with it to fit into society. It was normal to fit into the hysteria if that's what everyone else is doing. People now days and back then have an undying urge to fit into society, they will do whatever that it
As community members charged one another with misdeeds involving witch craft, the situation escalated from a small charge into a form of hysteria, (Salem witch trials). Members of the Salem community were accusing one another of being witches to take the blame off themselves. More and more people were accused of being witches as the hysteria spread. " A scorching wind of fanatic madness blew on the little Puritan village, spreading fiction –through death, that is –dozens of innocent souls," (Raymond Rouleau among the Witches).
To begin, a major theme of The Crucible by Arthur Miller is Hysteria. This theme is developed throughout the play by demonstrating the community being scared of witchcraft and going on a craze with accusing people of witchcraft. In the play, Abigail Williams is caught dancing in the woods and blames Tituba. The play states, “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil!
Brooklynne Murray Mr. Bently B101 English III, The Crucible Jan 31, 2023 The Crazy Town In the Crucible, which took place in Salem, everyone believed in Witchcraft and that it was the devil’s work. In the Crucible everyone in the town was going through mass hysteria, which means a contagious dissociative phenomenon that takes place in Large groups of people or institutions under the condition of anxiety.
What is hysteria? Hysteria refers to a psychological condition characterized by a state of intense emotional distress, often including symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and uncontrollable outbursts of emotion. In the context of The Crucible, hysteria refers to the mass panic and fear that swept through Salem, leading to the persecution and execution of innocent people accused of witchcraft. Similarly to the mass panic and anxiety that swept through Salem during the witch trials, the 1950s in America was also marked by widespread fear and paranoia. This period was denoted with a deep-seated anxiety about the perceived threat of communist infiltration in the United States, which was fueled by Senator Joseph McCarthy and his supporters through
Hysteria is an overwhelming feeling that corrupts the human mind because a person’s actions begin to affect other people’s decisions. It prevents people from being able to make their own decisions because their minds are being manipulated to follow other people’s actions in order to fit in. These characteristics of hysteria can be used as an advantage because it can be used to take advantage of people who are feeling hysteric or for example, afraid. People can use other’s fears and manipulate what they are afraid of to convince them to act a certain way that would benefit the manipulator. Therefore, hysteria is abused by people because it can be used to control an audience into believing anything a person wants.
In Salem, Massachusetts, in the time of 1692, mass hysteria was created around witches and the idea of the devil being alive in Salem. Salem was a theocratic society meaning that its government is controlled by religious beliefs and practices. As a result of this government, and the era this story takes place, Men took a more commanding role in society. The men took care of the land, and their livestock, and were tasked by God to provide for their families. On the other hand, women in this age took a more quiet role in society.
In this world, it is not the gentle rain that people will listen to, but thunder and lightning. The storm is what catches people’s attention, and it is the storm that is used by individuals to make others look at them. In my opinion, hysteria is a man-made storm prevalent throughout all of human history. People will use this hysteria for two major reasons, to gain power in the world, or to create change in it.
Brook Mills Mrs. Brown English 10 11/03/15 Many individuals of Salem have to deal with everyday hysteria with many people accused of being a witch and being executed. Other than Abigail, three characters who are to blame for the hysteria in The Crucible are Judge Danforth, John Proctor, and Mary Warren. A character that contributed to the hysteria in The Crucible was Judge Danforth. He contributed to the hysteria because he sent men and women to be executed for no reason.
Due to this the town often forbade many acts, especially for women. So whenever someone would act differently they would be looked down upon and feared by some. This is what was ultimately the reason for the Salem witch trials which took place in real life and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Salem's Puritan beliefs influenced the hysteria of the witch trials because the town feared what the devil would do to the town. They feared what god would do to them if they let
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.
The Crucible written by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is a story based off of a lot of main characters and scenes. The story itself is based off the salem witch trials hence the story is in the town of salem. The three categories of this story was mass hysteria where people believe things and all join in. Group think is how people together make decisions based on ideas in the group.