Public hysteria is a psychological phenomenon that affects a group of people, resulting in fear or irrational behavior. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, many innocents were wrongfully accused, causing many to be hanged without trial. Miller uses this public hysteria and fear to create social divisions, and to change the Puritan societal structure. The Puritans were often associated with being spiritual, purified, as well as being “sophisticated”. These were popular held beliefs that impacted the daily routines of the Salem citizens. These beliefs, however, were threatened when one was accused of being a witch. In the play, we can see the impact this threat has upon characters such as Reverend Hale, John Proctor, and many others. It began …show more content…
However, when the Puritan church began to collapse, their power began to diminish. After Abigail was accused of being a witch, many Salem citizens began to fear that their life was in danger, and their God was no longer protecting them. As a result, many began to break away from the church and developed their own sense of faith based on their personal morals. Parris explains to John Proctor, a key figure who has his own sense of faith, “It is not the children who are unmindful of their obligations towards the ministry” (473). John Proctor defies the church by forgetting the adultery commandment, a major sin that is punishable by death. This causes tension between him and Judge Danforth who believes Proctor is guilty of adultery because of his affair with Abigail Williams. Danforth begins to conceive that Salem citizens can not only carry out sins and break away from the church, but from the government as well. This is perceived as a personal fear, but it’s the actions Danforth carries out that makes the fear spread among the community. He questions those who are convicted, and punishes them without a proper trial. Anyone can be accused, and many can be hanged because someone had accused them of going against Puritan standards. Danforth is willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent to maintain power within the …show more content…
The term “crucible” refers to different elements interacting with one another, to create something new. Throughout the play, we can see each chain of events and how each character correlates to them. They created the community that focuses more on power than ideology. It symbolizes a message through an allegory that describes how something small, such as one’s own personal fear, can develop into something colossal. Every action matters and can change the outcome depending on how we perceive and respond to one’s actions. Modern-day America can relate to the characters in The Crucible due to the hysteria that is always forming. America as a nation responds differently to different terrorist groups opposed to terrorist attacks. In both instances, they threaten our way of life similarly to how the idea of witchcraft had threatened the religious aspect of a Puritan’s life. For a terrorist group, negative images and emotions are received since it gives America the lack of security notion. This is opposed to a terrorist attack that will give American constituents a sense of nationalism and will come together with a stronger bond than before. Perception is a key role in how fear is handled. With The Crucible, the fear was handled negatively so the Salem community faced negative results. Innocent people were
In both events, The Crucible and al Qaeda terrorist attacks, the hysteria was an outburst of fear. The people involved were afraid for their lives, for their well being, and for their sanity. The irrationality that characterized these instances as hysteria were the attacks to kill people based on their beliefs in the attacks of al Qaeda and the accusations of witchcraft resulting in hangings in The Crucible. Undoubtedly, these two topics could be characterized by one thing; that one thing is
Human is a species that live in group, and conformity is one of the distinct characteristic of human nature. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller investigates various natures in community throughout Act 1 and 2. The play took place at Salem, a town that primarily based on puritanism, the major plot of this play is about witchcraft and witch hunt. Miller conveys a essential message of people always search for conformity from society as a form to prove their identity, further, any rebellion would consider as outcast from majority. The author explores the theme by the use of conflict, this literary element best demonstrates changes of characterizations and complication between others and internal struggle.
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 Crucible by Arthur Miller and Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are two stories that are based on mass hysteria and public shaming. Both stories and their topics are what helped to shape America’s early identity. In The Crucible, the townsfolk accept and become active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious piety but also because it gives them a chance to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held grudges”. This shows that there is mass hysteria in the story based on the quotation and its explain why people have mass hysteria or why they do it. A group of teenage girls is discovered dancing naked in the woods by the town minister.
He believes strongly in his ability to judge the character of the informants. This comes into play when others question his judgement of Abigail and the girls from the woods. Danforth has a great deal of authority over the verdict of the accused, he has the power to judge them as not guilty. Danforth being the primary judge means he could have admitted to his foolishness and told the community that the accused people were not witches, and it would have made the townspeople believe that there was no witch problem in Salem at all. Danforth is too concerned with his reputation to admit that his judgement, at first, was clouded.
When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.
The Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.
Certain crimes such as: Adultery, Murder and Theft, during the Puritan era were always diagnosed as inhumane and ruined a person's reputation, despite any attempt of redemption. Proctor’s crime of adultery is a key element in the starting of the salem witch trials and the devastating end. Proctors situation alternates throughout the novel consistently by other villagers and even Proctor himself. His crime at first is tried to be subdued by himself then it is later used as evidence in a trial and finally it is used as a confession however it ultimately is not believed. To begin Proctor first tries to hide is crime from the other villagers however Abigail seems to want to expose their relationship.
Abigail Williams: The First True Witch of Salem, Massachusetts “Controlled hysteria is what’s required. To exist constantly in a state of controlled hysteria. It’s agony. But everyone has agony. The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing” (Arthur Miller, AZ Quotes).
Based on the tragic events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, The Crucible is a hard-hitting tale that reflects upon the subjectivity of goodness and virtue, sparking the reflection of the importance of moral behavior during times of hardship and crisis. In an unyielding and restricted Puritan community like Salem village, a bad reputation could result in social exclusion and scorning from the community. As a result, many members of the community would go to extremes to avoid tarnishing their reputations. The Crucible asserts that those who are concerned only with protecting their standings are dangerous to a society, as they are willing to blame and hurt other people in order to protect themselves.
It had reached everyone in the town from the townsfolk who were accused, to the teen girls who started the whole ordeal, the men of power such as Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne and even the men of the church like Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris. The reader can see that throughout the play there was hysteria 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. By the end of the Salem witch trials over 20 people had been wrongly murdered because of the mass hysteria
Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” this is extremely apparent in the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller that depicts the events that took place during the salem witch trials. These events in American history had countless similarities that led to the persecution of many innocent individuals. Arthur Miller effectively demonstrates this concept in his play The Crucible by drawing parallels between the witch trials of the 1690’s and the “The Great Fear” of the 1950’s. The Salem Witch Trials and the “The Great Fear” were both the product of fear, hysteria, and false accusations.
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.
In the Crucible, fear, hysteria, and revenge are the most important elements where fear spreads around the whole village. Hysteria involving witchcraft would end up with many innocent people killed. With many false accusations of a long held grudge with another villager would kill others they would have problems with. Revenge would later involve the slaughter of another bad blood of another villager. “God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat.
Hysteria can be defined as the exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This definition proves true and exists throughout the course of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In The Crucible, a group of girls go dancing in a forest around a cauldron, some even naked, and along with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris, the local minister, then catches the girls in the act. As a result, Betty, one of the girls and Parris’s daughter, goes into what it seems like a coma.