Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

The hysteria reaches its peak when the accused are put on trial and forced to confess. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that the accusations are false, and the hysteria is nothing but a result of the characters' fear and paranoia. In conclusion, The Crucible is an excellent example of how hysteria can lead to the destruction of innocent lives. In Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible," hysteria is a prominent theme that drives the plot and motivates the characters. The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, during the 1692 witch trials, which were a real historical event that saw many people falsely accused of witchcraft and executed.

Abigail Williams is depicted as a seventeen year old trouble-maker in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. She is a manipulative, deceitful, and selfish character in many ways. She explains in the beginning of the play that she watched her own parents be murdered in front of her by Native Americans. She also felt the stinging rejection of a man who did not want her, after she had fallen in love with him. Her painful past experiences have molded her into the hate-filled character she was during the Salem Witch Trials.

Abigail was the whole reason any of the drama in Salem started, she was caught dancing in the forest, and accused of witchcraft soon later. With this accusation and the whole town of Salem focused in on the case Abigail had quite that platform that was willing to hear what she had to say, but instead of setting the record straight she danced around the truth and fled before anything bad could happen to her. “Thirty-one pound is gone. I am penniless. ”(Miller act IV para 74).

Have you ever been accused of something you certainly did not indulge in? In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the townspeople of Salem were subject to accusations of partaking in witchcraft, leading to the rise of mass hysteria. Mass hysteria is arguably the most dominant theme of the play, as the people of Salem are engulfed by worries related to witchcraft and accusations of people worshiping the devil. Mass hysteria is a condition that affects a group of people identified by anxiety, excitement, unreasonable actions or beliefs, or unexplainable symptoms of sickness. Arthur Miller explores mass hysteria through the lens of Salem and his characters by portraying vindictive and manipulative behavior within characters such as Abigail, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Hale.

Abigail Williams effectively displays power by manipulating and threatening others to keep them on her side so she can keep her reputation pure. Before the play started, Abigail and other girls go to the woods at night to dance and conjure spirits. When Parris leaves, Abigail threatens to kill the girls if they ever mention anything against her or what happened in the woods. Abigail threatens to kill the girls by saying, “Let either of you breathe a word… and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine” (Miller 19).

Abigail displays many times in the story that she is an evil, coniving, and a corrupt person. Abigail states, “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people --- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a ---” (Miller 115). Abigail was in a precarious situation in the beginning of the play when herself and a group of girls were thought to be practicing witchcraft, so she developed lies about many other people in the village to save herself and the other girls that took part. She did not care if her lies caused innocent people to be murdered, as long as she kept her significant amount of power, and kept her high position in the village and the court.

With today's ideology, this is morally incorrect because everyone has the right to a fair trial. This shows how the theme of hysteria is developed throughout the course of The Crucible. In addition, the theme of hysteria fits the purpose for writing The Crucible. Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to the era of McCarthyism. This was when people were called to hearings if it was mentioned that the person believed in communism.

Fear pushes people to do bad things, to better themselves, and to keep them safe. But sometimes this makes it worse for people around. Throughout history, there were many driving forces on what people had feared. This was through mass hysteria. In the story, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, he was able to show this fear and hysteria being his driving force.

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.

With John Proctor and possibly Elizabeth Proctor to be hanged, there isn’t much that anybody can do to save the accused. At the end of Act 3, Proctor has said “God is dead!”(Miller, 125), which naturally caused outrage in the townspeople, and Proctor was charged with conversing with the devil. Though he is given an offer to sign a confession during Act 4, he decides it would be better to save his name than to save his life, so he tears the confession to shreds. By doing this, Proctor redeems himself for some of the chaos he has caused, because when the townspeople see a good man hanged, they realize the pure insanity of the witch trials which have taken

After accused in the beginning of the play none of the girls spoke up and confessed to only dancing in the woods. Before the witchcraft theory was introduced, Abigail herself told her Uncle that they [were only dancing](Miller 140). If the girls admit to only dancing, the whole hysteria of witchcraft would not begin. The girls outnumber Abigail, it would have been one girl against a group of girls saying something different. In result of of no one speaking up about the truth, 19 faultless people were killed.

Miller addresses a similar hysteria throughout his play. In The Crucible, there are many characters that feed into or contribute to the rapid spread of witch hysteria in the small village of Salem. The two characters that could have ended the mass hysteria are Abigail Williams and Deputy Governor Danforth. Throughout the play Abigail proves to be a fundamental character in the preservation of the hysteria.

Abigail is extremely concerned with her well-being and reputation. In Act One, Reverend Parris confronts Abigail about dancing in the forest, and, instead of confessing, she begins denouncing others. This illustrates how she is willing to allow others to be harmed because of her extreme fear. One example of this is when Abigail states, “Not I sir—Tituba and Ruth” (Miller 15). The character of the residents of Salem is not exceptional.

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.

In the play Abigail only cares about herself and what she can do to protect herself. When the girls talk in Betty’s room and Mary shows weakness and wants to tell everyone about what they did in the forest, Abigail gets really angry. She threatens the girls and is not afraid to show what she is willing to do. “Now look you. All of you.