Mass Hysteria In The Crucible Essay

Human nature is a fascinating concept that is exhibited through many kinds of situations. One situation might concern someone being absolutely certain that they are correct and genuinely wanting to spread their ideas with others. Another situation might involve someone’s natural tendency to demand and crave more of whatever they desire. Additionally, a situation might call for the need to pursue a specific objective in order to maintain self preservation. These situations may lead into an assortment of other paths, but one distinct path from all three is the ascension of mass hysteria. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the confidence, greediness, and persistence of certain characters such as Reverend John Hale, Thomas Putnam, and Abigail

Williams all contribute to the rise of mass hysteria throughout the play.
Reverend John Hale sparks the delirium in Salem through his beliefs and his position. Hale is an “expert” on witchcraft, having dealt with it various times in his life. His ultimate goal is to rid the town of the Devil, which is exemplified when he says, “Have no fear now—we shall find [the Devil] out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!” (Miller, 39) From the moment Hale arrives in Salem, he exudes an aura of confidence showing that he knows how to help cleanse the town. His implications about the Devil’s presence in Salem exhibit to the town that witches are truly acting under the Devil’s commands. While Hale’s intentions are true and good, his beliefs essentially validify the town’s beliefs of witchcraft, therefore heightening the mass hysteria even further.
Thomas Putnam is influential to the inflation of mass hysteria because of his manipulative demeanor. Putnam uses the Salem Witch Trials to benefit himself. Once someone is accused, their property is forfeited to the government, and Putnam is able to buy it at a low cost. Giles Corey reveals that Putnam uses his daughter, Ruth, to “cry witchery upon George Jacobs that is now in jail.” (Miller, 96) Corey concludes that “[Putnam] is killing his neighbors for their land!” (Miller, 96) Putnam is motivated by his own greed and does not care how he obtains his goal (even if it means causing mass hysteria by accusing people of witchcraft), as long as he gets his desired end result.
The deceitfulness and deviousness of Abigail Williams play a major role in the upsurge of mass hysteria throughout the play.

In Act I, Abigail blames Tituba for calling on the Devil, mentioning that Tituba “comes to me every night to go and drink blood!... [is] always making me dream corruptions!... [sings] her Barbados songs and [tempts] me with-” (Miller, 44) Tituba is an easy scapegoat for Abigail because she is merely a slave and a convenient option to place blame. At the end of the first Act, Abigail practically condemns the whole town, from Sarah Good to Goody Osburn. Abigail sees Tituba’s redemption once confessing to her sins, so Abigail frantically calls out name after name in order to avoid more trouble for her actions. Beyond that, Abigail perseveres in her attempt to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, setting up for Mary Warren to give Elizabeth a poppet with a needle stuck in it to prove that Elizabeth was conjuring voodoo magic to harm Abigail. Earlier that evening, Abigail fell to the floor and “stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, [Reverend Parris] drew a needle out.” (Miller, 74) Furthermore, Abigail diverts attention away from herself in the courtroom and claims to see Mary Warren’s spirit attacking her in a form of a bird, crying out, “My face? My face?... you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary… Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape.” (Miller, 114-115) Abigail accuses numerous people of witchcraft throughout the play as a means of self preservation and to gain control, thus elevating the madness of the

townspeople.
All in all, Reverend John Hale’s initial confidence, Thomas Putnam’s greediness, and Abigail Williams’ persistence all strengthen the climb of mass delirium in Salem, Massachusetts. Hale’s determination to rid Salem of the Devil confirms the townspeople’s wariness about witchcraft and leads them to actually believe that the Devil is in Salem. Putnam’s selfishness drives him to accuse more people in town, adding on to the madness, just so he can buy up their land from the government. Abigail’s plentiful incriminations cause the town to believe her accusations throughout the play. Three very different characteristics simultaneously cause the rise of mass hysteria in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Hysteria is often spawned as a defense mechanism, full of determination and acquisitiveness. The fact of the matter is that hysteria is publicized as a universal phenomenon, and will always recur as a result of basic human nature.