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Theme Of Hysteria In The Crucible

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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, …show more content…
I know not what a witch is.” / Hathorne: “How do you know then, if you are not a witch?” / Martha Corey: “If I were, I would know it.” / Hathorne: “Why do you hurt these children?” / Martha Corey: “I do not hurt them! I scorn it!” I think that Hawthorne is doing this, just because he is desperate to find an answer. Hysteria is taking over the way he thinks. It would be stressful to be in the court, and to have everyone looking to you for the answers. He is pushing people that he shouldn’t, just because he wants to find an answer. We also see this in other situations in the courtroom. Parris is hysterical enough, to not believe Mary when she says that she has been faking this whole time. On page 1191, we see him pushing her. Parris: “Prove us how you pretend in the court so many times” / Mary: “I cannot faint now, sir” After this, Parris and the other court members continue pushing Mary to faint, even though she has told them that they had faked it. The judges in this part of the story are wrapped up in hysteria, that they won’t believe Mary, even when she is the only one telling the truth. Hysteria has taken over their judgement, and now they cannot tell truth from a lie. Act 3 of The Crucible, is based on people mixing their judgment with the hysteria in the town. This affects the court, and the decisions they make, the way people are treated, and the lies that are being told. I’m not sure how this story is going to end, but I do know, that if they keep living and making decisions with the excessive amount of hysteria that they have now, they won’t get

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