...Mass hysteria can lead to confusion and the altering of morals. During a time of large-scale panic, many aspects of society are affected and changed. In Arthur Miller’s drama, The Crucible, the court becomes flawed and operates under faulty logic by accepting flimsy evidence, performing unfair tests, and taking automatic proof of guilt. During the time period of The Crucible, religion played a major part in society. When religion is not strictly followed, the court automatically assumes guilt. When Proctor was asked if he was Christian, Parris chimed in by saying “ Such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month” (90). Certainly in a time of mass hysteria and trials the church searched for anyone who did not strictly...
Words: 445 - Pages: 2
...possibility of witches in their village brings mass hysteria to the people. While some would say the theme of The Crucible is corruption can happen anywhere, the theme of The Crucible as displayed through the author is that hysteria can rip apart a community, this is expressed through language, symbolism and characterization. First, language in The Crucible displays the theme by showing aggressive and passionate tones. Shouting from the accused at trials shows how bad the hysteria was. Also, the girls screaming at the sights of pretend spirits shows that the language in the play fuels the theme of mass hysteria ripping apart the town. Elizabeth and John Proctor confessing their...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...The term mass hysteria is defined as a situation in which many people are affected by similar hysterical symptoms. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller a situation of mass hysteria is perfectly portrayed. The play takes place during the Salem witch trials, at the peak of the witch hysteria. The hysteria, which sent the village into a frenzy was set into motion by the niece of Reverend Samuel Parris. His niece, Abigail Williams, is portrayed as a person who lies to get out of her own punishments, or to avoid trouble. The point is Abigail Williams and Reverend Samuel Parris could have stopped the hysteria in Salem. Abigail Williams could have stopped the hysteria by admitting to dancing and charming in the woods, instead of lying. At the beginning of the play, Reverend Parris confronts his niece for seeing her and a group of girls dancing in the woods, which includes his daughter who lies motionless and unresponsive. His daughter is the reason witchcraft is considered. Then goes on to confront her about conjuring spirits. Abigail could have just admitted to trying to charm with the group, which the punishment for that is a whipping. So, if she would have admitted that, witchcraft would have no longer been considered. As Abigail says...
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...there are many reasons for mass hysteria. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, the mass hysteria was that many girls were accused of being witches because they were "dancing in the forest". An entire town went balistic when they heard the word witch. In the twenty-first century, people panic and become frightened over terrorist attacks and bombings. Numerous attacks and bombings have occured in the United States and an infinite amount of people become terrified that something worse might happen. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, the people of the town go insane when they heard that a number of girls were bewitched. Once the people heard, their only reaction was to run and see if it was the truth. Reasons why a diverse amount of people become frightened is because people are going to get hurt or killed and also are worried about themselves because they can also be accused. Humans cause problems as a result of not having a satisfying childhood and want to make others lives miserable....
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
...At the Edge of Unjustified Suspicion Mass hysteria is a plague that has been around for many decades and is still around in today’s society. Mass hysteria is a condition in which many or certain groups of people are afflicted by the belief that something is not real or that is a fable. A prime example of mass hysteria occurred in Spring of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, known as The Salem Witch Trials. The mass hysteria which caused the Salem Witch Trials was unjustified. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1688 when the Goodwin children all started behaving in a bizarre manner. Then, four years later, in 1692 two young girls (Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris) started to twitch, choke, and twist their bodies in many different horrifying...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...exceed all human limitations. In Salem, Massachusetts around 1692, the suspicion of witchcraft arises throughout the town, creating problems and chaos. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the effect of hysteria led to disorder and complete mayhem in Salem from the sudden spread of witchcraft, exemplified by Abigail Williams, Tituba and Danforth. Once the accusations and stories arose in the plot, it was almost impossible to restore order and peace in Salem. The beginning of the hysteria influence in Salem began with Abigail Williams and her attempt of witchcraft. Abigail worked as...
Words: 865 - Pages: 4
...In Act 3 of The Crucible, we see that hysteria has taken over this town and the way that they think, act, and talk. The court makes judgments based on hysteria, that determines who is innocent and who is a witch. We see that in the way that the court treats Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and Martha Corey. In act 3, we also see that the court is making decisions blindly. They believe almost anything the girls say, without any proof to back it up. I think that this irrational decision making, is coming from the amount hysteria in the town. The court is so set on finding an answer, they don’t care what is truth or not. We see in act 3, that hysteria is making people believe things that are clearly fake. On page 1205, Abigail is in the courtroom,...
Words: 784 - Pages: 4
...Crucible Essay Suspicion can destroy because it causes hysteria and there are consequences for that. Rod Sterling’s quote and The Crucible are very similar in the way that suspicion ruined many lives and reputations in each story. The Cold War was a war of words, a war of suspicion, of hatred and power. Arthur Miller and Rod Serling both connect to the war in the 1950s in an allegorical way. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller expresses similar views about suspicion through the characterization of his characters. Abigail Williams represents the idea that words can destroy and cause suspicion. “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba! (42)” Abigail is denying calling the Devil with the girls in the woods and accusing Tituba of doing so. Abigail accusing Tituba makes the other girls start to...
Words: 678 - Pages: 3
...1. The nature of hysteria presents itself in the novel in a distinct way. The people of Salem become paranoid as word of “the Devil’s presence” spreads through the town. This paranoia unfortunately results in many innocent towns’ people being unjustly accused of witch craft by the group of young girls lead by Abigail Williams. Soon enough, the fear of the Devil takes over the lives of the people of Salem and slowly tears the town apart. While Goody Proctor keeps to her home on the farm, she is informed by Mary Warren that there were “fourteen people in jail” soon after the trials began (Miller 50). Abigail uses her influence and “innocence” in order to convince the court that so many people had been toiling with the Devil. Her manipulative...
Words: 525 - Pages: 3
...In the small Town of Salem, author Arthur Miller shows how hysteria works in a crowd of people in the play, The Crucible The mass hysteria presented in the play is the witch trials and the Red Scare. The score could have been stopped in the Salem village if Abigail Williams and Betty Parris would have told the truth and not accuse the girls of connecting with the devil and practicing witchcraft and served their punishment. Abigail would have been able to stop this if she had not spread the rumor of witchcraft around the village and, also by not making accusations about Tituba being a witch. Because of her blaming Tituba, they know there is more than just one as Tituba says which, makes a panic for Parris. Abigail tells Mrs. Putnam about it when she blames Tituba. Abigail shouts to Parris, “She...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller it tells of witchcraft which causes mass hysteria throughout the towns people. Instaces like "The Crucible" have happened through the 20th and 21th century, but one in paticular would be "War of Worlds". "War of Worlds" by Orson Welles was a radio story about aliens invading earth that caused a panic to those who listened due to people believeing the story as if an actual outbreak. In "The Crucible" the epidemic was a result miscommunication and bad decision making. The belief of witchcraft had made the town peoples accuse all who looked sucipious and the result being not hurt feelings but, rather death sentences. Similar to "The Crucible" the "War of Worlds" was mistakenly processed as an actual emergency of a national level rather than for entertainment. This caused an outbreak of misinformed individuals and this resulted in unpleasant events....
Words: 322 - Pages: 2
...Mass hysteria is the phenomenon in which a group of people experience similar symptoms of anxiety, fear, or other physical symptoms. A well-known case of mass hysteria in history was the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. This incident was portrayed by the Arthur Miller play The Crucible, in which a group of girls starting falsely accusing multiple women in their town of witchcraft, starting a wave of hysterical fear throughout the village. Neighbors would accuse others of witchcraft over land disputes, petty squabbles or simply because they did not like them (Miller). A more recent case, and on a much greater scale, was the Pokémon Panic of 1997, when an episode of Pokémon in Japan sent hundreds of children to the hospital with seizure-like symptoms....
Words: 928 - Pages: 4
...inferior to men. Taking a look at basic world history and it's sociology, there's a consistent pattern that appears against women. For instance, "Female Hysteria" used to be a medical term for women who showed any type of abnormal behavior. In fact, the word "Hysteria" is greek, meaning "Uterus". This is due to the fact that women are viewed as the weaker gender. The play, "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is about a mistress name Abigail Williams what wants John Proctor to be her lover for life, but Mr. Proctor would not leave his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, for her. So, Abigail seeks vengeance...
Words: 953 - Pages: 4
...seeking loose spirits.” The theme that the tragedy fiction play, The Crucible, displays is hysteria and desire leads to unconscious consequences. As conveyed throughout the play, hysteria is most clearly observed in the villagers' illogical acceptance of the girls’ claims of witchcraft. Specifically, Act III depicts the idea of mass hysteria devastating the community when the afflicted girls led by Abigail, accuse Mary Warren of witchcraft for testifying against them. Furthermore, several people including Mary Warren have indicated that the witchcraft accusations are false yet the court refuses to be persuaded. Arthur Miller’s play the Crucible was an exaggeration of the Salem witch...
Words: 727 - Pages: 3
...The Crucible and The Salem Witch Trials both contain mass hysteria and elements of McCarthyism. Mass hysteria is defined as, “a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.” McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of treason without proper regard for evidence. During the McCarthy era many Americans were accused of being communist and became investigated and questioned before government agencies. This time period of fear and accusations caused mass hysteria within the country. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are similar because they both caused mass hysteria in which people accused each other of things that were not true....
Words: 405 - Pages: 2
