Mass Hysteria In The Crucible Post 9/11

Caleb Henry

Mrs.Mariani

English III

28 October 2014

Mass Hysteria in "The Crucible" and Post 9/11

For millions of years people have had the tendency to overreact whenever something tragic takes place. It is an emotional response and is 100% natural. However, there are always victims of people's reactions. In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," people begin to "freak out" with the accusations that the devil is among them. In the same way, after the horrific events of September 11th, 2001; many innocent people began to be accused of terrorism by their colleagues and neighbors. In both incidents innocent lives were altered dramatically, some even to the point of death.

Post- 9/11 society was understandably chaotic. There was no certainty that

the people around them were true Americans or had potential ties to Al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. Because of this, thousands of innocent people were arrested for terrorism on unstable evidence. The Associated Press reported that “The AP used freedom of information queries, law enforcement data and hundreds of interviews to identify…2,568 convictions in the United States, which led the war on terror - eight times more than in the decade before.” One such case was that of Naciye Tokova who was “convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison under anti-terror laws” because she “held up a sign at a protest last year” (Mendoza). Because of the mass hysteria of post 9/11, many innocent people have had their lives ripped from them by the injustice of the society after the tragic events of 9/11.
In “The Crucible,” people were accused for many strange things such as; infanticide, pig killings, and most of all, witchcraft.

Even the most innocent of them, such as Rebecca Nurse who is described as being the “brick and mortar of the church.” was accused for the “marvelous and supernatural killing of Goody Putnam’s babies” (2.264). Everyone was being accused of something, for example, Cheever, the clerk of court, was “given sixteen warrants”(2.320) in a single night. Neighbors turned on each other for their land. The biggest player was Thomas Putnam who “Prompted his daughter to cry witchery on George Jacobs… who if he hangs forfeit up his property… there is none but Putnam with the; coin to buy so great a piece”(4.190). Establishing the fact that there was economic benefit from accusations and the fact that everyone became enthralled in the idea that their friends may be witches, we can safely assume that there were innocent lives taken in this mishap.

It has been confirmed that both “The Crucible” and American post 9/11 reactions were not only explosive, but harmful to many innocent people. Project Salam reported that “hundreds of innocent Muslims have been targeted, prosecuted, and convicted in the hysteria and fear following 9/11” (Jackson, Callan). Meanwhile, it is known know that “More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil's magic—and 20 were executed” (Blumberg). Both events resulted in unjust situations for a lot of people. The

evidence suggests that under great times of stress, peoples reactions affect the course of history.
Cataclysmic events will continue to take place in our world.

It’s clear that both “The Crucible” and American post 9/11 society were so intent on ridding themselves of evil that they sacrificed the lives of the innocent. It is the way in which society reacts to situations that will not only set current decisions into motion, but will also establish this generations legacy for future generations.

Works Cited

Blumberg, Jess. "A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials." Smithsonian. Smithsonian, 23 Oct. 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of- the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/?no-ist>.

Jackson, Lynne, and Cathy Callan. "Project SALAMSupport and Legal Advocacy for Muslims." Project Islaam. Project Salaam, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.projectsalam.org/ events/05-12-13-12.html>.

Mendoza, Martha. "Rightly or Wrongly, Thousands convicted of Terrorism Post- 9/11." 04 09

2011: n. page. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44389156/ns/us_news- 9_11_ten_years_later/t/rightly-or-wrongly-thousands-convicted-terrorism-post-/

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. United States: 1953. 1-154. Web. <http://gnauss.hrsbteache

s.ednet.ns.ca/sites/gnauss.hrsbteachers.ednet.ns.ca/files/documents/The Crucible full text.pdf>.

United States. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Religion-Based Charges. 2013.

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