Hysteria In The Crucible

707 Words2 Pages

Arthur Miller's, The Crucible , is the role that hysteria and how it can use its deathly blade to slowly destroy a community or even a country. In The Crucible, Act I and II the audience begins to witness the extremist in religion, rebellion and hysteria of the Puritans. This act reveals how isolation, religious extremist and the abuse of power transformed men and women into demons and those accused and sentenced into victims while introducing the themes of deception, greed, possession, and not the hunt for witches but the hunt or quest for power. Miller reminds the readers about the Puritan community during the period in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. This community believed that physical labor and work and the rigid following of the religious doctrine was a sign of each person’s faithfulness and loyalty to God in addition to their integrity as a person. Any deviation from these principles could lead into one being accused of as unrighteous and any sickness or illness that enabled a person to carry …show more content…

Abigail resulted to practicing witchcraft to hide her love affair with Proctor and to carry out her devious plans to kill Elizabeth and when caught by proctor created more smokin mirrors to hide these acts as she knew it would be punishable by death. Another form of deception arises in those who fall ill without explanation like Betty and Ruth and how the declaration of illness by witchcraft could give one power. Abigail quickly figured this out and used this to her advantage. She quickly was able to change the perception of others that her strange behavior in the woods was so that she could communicate with the “devil” and declare witchcraft. All of this was not only a great form of deception for her but it lead to the power which would allow her (in her mind) to rid of

Show More
Related

  • Character Change In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is about mass hysteria of witches being in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. An educated man named Revered Hale arrived in the town with his exclusive knowledge of witches to help the town eliminate the presence of the Devil. He became a member of the court and aided in putting innocent people in jail or hung. As Hale started to see the consequences of his actions, he struggled with fixing his mistakes. The change in his perspective of the witch trials caused his overall personality and attitude to change as well. Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man motivated by good intentions; furthermore, his mission to help Salem destroyed evil in the beginning and his attempts

    Read More

  • Who Is Abigail Williams Angry In The Crucible

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.

    Read More

  • What Is The Hysteria In The Crucible

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion, and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it.” – Elia Kazan. In the crucible, Arthur Miller describes the witch trials and the hysteria that was caused by it. The fear of the devil overwhelms reason and makes the town of Salem even more afraid. In the story, Marry Warren falls under hysteria and through her, Arthur Miller explains that fear causes people to leave behind all their logic and reason.

    Read More

  • Hysteria in The Crucible by Arthur Miller and in the Red Scare

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is hysteria? By definition, hysteria is a state of intense agitation, anxiety, or excitement, especially as manifested by large groups or segments of society. In a broader sense however, hysteria is a killer, the delitescent devil. Hysteria was the main cause of nineteen deaths in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Years later, hysteria was responsible for countless ruined reputations and lives during the era of Senetor Joe McCarthy. Hysteria does not just appear out of nowhere though. There are driving forces such as revenge and abuse of power that bring about the irrational fear that can take over society. These are the issues expressed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

    Read More

  • Hysteria Changes People

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hysteria is a mental disorder marked by excitability, anxiety, or imaginary disorders. It can play an important role in people’s lives. Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they have always considered highly respectable, do things they would never expect them of doing. In “The Crucible”, hysteria causes people to believe their friends are committing deplorable acts. 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 seek reparations from grudges. Hysteria suspends the rules of daily life and allows the acting out of every dark desire and hateful urge under the charade of righteousness. In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the hysteria due to the paranoia of witchcraft causes Abigail to lie in order to save herself, Danforth to ruin the community, and Proctor to be convicted of witchery.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Hysteria In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1998 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Crucible, the members of the Salem community accept the lies that their neighbors are taking apart of witchcraft as the truth. The lies and deceit in the community help attribute to the play’s overall theme of hysteria. The theme of hysteria is prevalent throughout the play, as the belief that witchcraft is occurring in the town enables members of the community to believe that their neighbors have committed devilish acts. As the town descends into a hysterical climate, members of the community take advantage of the situation to act upon any long-held grudges or repressed sentiment. Characters, such as Abigail, use both lies and hysteria to seek revenge and gain power. This reveals that the lies and deceit told throughout the play drive

    Read More

  • How Does The Crucible Show The Nature Of Power And Authority

    2327 Words  | 5 Pages

    Explore Miller’s dramatic presentation and development of the theme of power and authority. Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court

    Read More

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    The crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is about the Salem witch trials and how people react to hysteria created from the fear of witches. In the play, after hysteria breaks out, the Salem government starts persecute and hang people it believes are witches. This prompts people to start to accusing people of witchcraft. Some people who accuse others of committing witchcraft are Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam. They do not accuse people of witchcraft to stop witchcraft, but for personal gain or to hurt others. Thomas Putnam, one of the many characters who takes advantage of the witch trials, is able to use the fear of witches to bend the court to his will. Hysteria causes people to believe claims that are clearly false. This allows Putnam to persecute his enemies. He and many other are able to get away with this because hysteria driven persecutions are not run like regular courts and the fact that witchcraft is an invisible crime allows evidence to be made up. The theme of The Crucible is when any persecution is driven by fear and people can and will manipulate the system so they can gain and hurt another.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each week in the news, there’s a new tragedy, political crisis, or groundbreaking story. People form opinions on these, and especially controversial stories can lead to mass hysteria and panic. This same cycle can be seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. His depiction of the Salem Witch Trials excellently illustrates how the people of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 were swept up in a case of mass hysteria which resulted in the death of 19 innocent people. One may look at this case, see the lessons from it and think it would be impossible in today’s society, when in fact the opposite is true. It happens every day, and in a much greater volume than ever possible in colonial America. Arthur Miller had the insight to see how the trials related to

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Authority In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Crucible, a play set in the late 1600s, fired shots at the lot more recent Second-Red Scare in the 1950s. The play offers ideas about the religion in the judicial system, capital punishment, and moral values of those in authority. All of which were great issues to the Red Scare. In the story, Abigail, a young girl is faced to be held accountable for infidelity and her cross actions, yet she involves more people in her town, ultimately igniting the Salem Witch Trials. Miller’s story gives discomfort and suspicion to the readers of his time. Furthermore, Author Miller’s play allows readers to question and take notice how authority handles its power. In the play, the characters who had the most authority were also the ones who made the most reckless decisions, resulting in the death of many people. He also allows this story to make humans think about what it means to be humane.

    Read More

  • Conflicts In The Crucible

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Millions of people have had conflicts and terrible danger in their respective lives. Additionally, other people have had these same conflicts about religion and the government. The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Everyone in town was conflicted about a horrifying issue, witchcraft. Witchcraft was a religious practice of dark sorcery and magic, which lead to anguish and conflicts. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller witchcraft is the man theme and is feared widespread and make all the town afraid. The towns people strongly believe in god, and the devil creates conflicts and issue in the town. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, conflicts occur between many different souls, breaking up and inviting anguish throughout

    Read More

  • Public Hysteria In The Crucible

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout history, public hysteria has been conducted and exploited as a means to obtain power and control. People often fall prey to public hysteria and all that it entails. Oftentimes it’s something that starts off as a little white lie and spirals out of proportion. Moreover, public hysteria is used to turn citizens against one another and push them into the hands of a new leader; one they often feel can protect and restore society. Public hysteria fogs judgement and cultivates suspicion in the minds of many.

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.

    Read More

  • Mass Hysteria In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Can you imagine being placed into a society where because of a few insignificant events there is widespread chaos and disorder that consumes everyday life? This is what happens when Mass Hysteria is experienced within a society or group. According to Dictionary.com, Mass Hysteria can be defined as “a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.” The concept of Mass Hysteria is a unique dynamic of a group of people who share the same beliefs and this is shown in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Mass Hysteria is an important aspect that should be thoroughly explained, because of this it is important to answer the question: to what extent

    Read More

  • The Crucible Critical Review

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.

    Read More

More about Hysteria In The Crucible

Open Document