“When the hysteria of a witch-hunt is granted supremacy over the logic, values and spirit of the law, justice can only become a warped, alien concept in that society.” Stewart Stafford. Although Stafford, the well respected author, is literally speaking about a witch-hunt, this concept can be taken in a multitude of ways as well. There is an abundance of things in this world that have caused people to go mad. Things in modern history such as COVID and terrorism all created mass hysteria. I feel, as well as many others, that hysteria is an awful thing in society. Hysteria causes everyone to worry, leads to society being dishonest, and can even lead to death. Hysteria causes mass anxiety in society. Everyone starts talking and making conclusions about whatever the subject is. This …show more content…
In this situation it was indeed an actual witch-hunt. A few people talk of witchcraft and now the whole town has gone wild and the courts have gotten even worse. This is truly a perfect example of hysteria causing mass anxiety because of how crazy everyone went when they heard of witchcraft in their town. Everybody saw their peers go haywire and decided they wanted to join in. Hysteria also leads to the general public being dishonest. When something crazy happens, people tend to make up rumors or gossip about whatever the main topic is. When people gossip, certain individuals may take it very seriously. This of course causes people to lie and tell others what they heard. Then it all turns into a huge, fraudulent, untruthful situation that everyone gets stuck in. In Act One, Miller writes that Governor Danforth says, “Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery? Answer my question. Is your husband a lecher!” Elizabeth then faintly states, “No sir.” Elizabeth is known to have never told a lie. Due to the lies and misinformation being spread throughout the town, she figured the only way she could save her family is by
John Proctor and Reverend Hale are similar as they have both detected the corruption beneath the witchcraft accusations and attempt to prevent false testimonies and innocent people being hanged. John Proctor easily realizes the truth of the witchcraft trials because of his affair with Abigail Williams, one of the leading culprits of the hysteria in Salem. Abby exclaims that “Elizabeth hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman” (Miller 12). Abigail feels this way, not because Elizabeth has mistreated her, but instead because Elizabeth is Proctor’s wife, a nuisance to Abigail and Proctor’s relationship. Additionally, after Elizabeth found out about the affair, she fired Abigail, thus ridding Abigail
Hysteria has no place in a society because it is wrong. It causes chaos and confusion and in these cases death.
Not only was Elizabeth John Proctor's wife, but she also fired Abigail after learning of Abigail’s affair with her husband. Abigail was unapologetic about having an affair with a married man and it’s clear why she would be resentful of Elizabeth, as she was a barrier between Abigail and John’s relationship. Abigail desired to get revenge on Elizabeth due to her jealousy of her. In addition, Elizabeth had been going around town making comments on how Abigail was repulsive. At one point we can assume that Abigail was going to break and want Elizabeth dead. To support this claim, Elizabeth was speaking to her husband and said the following “I am no Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half-witted. She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John.”Abigail used her manipulation skills in hopes of bringing on Elizabeth’s demise by framing her for witchcraft. She plotted a poppet and needle, from a young girl who was involved in the witchcraft as well, into the Proctor's house after she poked herself with a needle and claimed Elizabeth’s spirits told her to do so. Danforth had questioned Abigail and Mary and said “ A poppet were discovered in Mr. Proctor's home, stabbed by a needle. Mary Warren claims that you sat beside her in the court when she made it, and that you saw her make it,
Elizabeth and John start to feel the tension when Elizabeth tries to convince John about going to court and persecuting Abigail but he refuses. When he disputes with his wife he argues, “you will judge me no more Elizabeth I have good reason to charge fraud on Abigail and I will think on it” (193). Proctor is not completely satisfied about throwing Abigail under the bus because he doesn’t want to initially hurt her and he would lose his respect in the town if he did. So he isn’t convinced about the fact that his wife is trying to get him to charge fraud at this point of the play. Soon afterward Mary the proctor’s servant comes home with news that Elizabeth has been convicted of witchcraft as well and was arrested by the sheriff in town to be brought to the trials.
When asked by Reverend Hale, why John thinks it's a scam, John simply said " And why not, if they must hang for denyin' it? there are them that will swear to anything before they'll hang; have you never thought of that?"(Miller. 1173. John Proctor.) this statement was a turning point on the outlook of witchcraft in Salem. Not long after this statement was said, other men began to question the idea of witchcraft when their wives where convicted for witchcraft. As the accusations went on, many men believed that the accusations were a way to get to other peoples’ land from neighbors by simply accusing them to get them hung. It's amazing how a simple statement can become the turning point of an entire town. Not only is the statement incredible but also the person who asked the question. Why, you ask, because it means that John Proctor is using his mind to think of what caused the sudden outburst of witchcraft. John also you one of the girls close to Abigail Williams to learn that the girls are simply pretending to have seen the devil, to help Abigail Williams get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. When John Proctor hear of this plan his mind immediately went into protection mode for his wife, thus making him want to do anything in the world to save his wife from the gallows. Even if it means getting himself into
The Crucible is one of the most bizarre accounts of a historical event to date. The naïveté of the townspeople leads them down a road of madness and confusion, led by a shameless Puritan girl. Abigail Williams was a ruthless girl who showed no mercy upon accusing her victims of witchcraft. Knowing the entire town of Salem would believe her and the other girls, she would not hesitate at charging anyone she wished with the crime of the Devil’s work. However, a challenge arose to Abigail when she decided to accuse Elizabeth Proctor, and eventually her husband John, of witchcraft. The Proctor marriage was not just any simple marriage; it had its times of cold shoulders, heartfelt truth, and undying love.
Elizabeth Proctor is used in The Crucible to illustrate the powerful strength of what manipulation has over any living mortal. Typically an honest person under their religious faith would believe in telling the truth, but not while having an evil thoughts being whispered in your ear disguised as manipulation. Already knowledgeable of her husband’s previous affair with Abigail Williams, Elizabeth fears of ruining the Proctor name in the town of Salem, Massachusetts due to John’s affair and since John is a high authority figure in the church, it would ruining his name and people would not respect him as a preacher anymore. So in the process of saving the Proctor name, regardless of John admitting the truth by making the court aware of the recent affair he had with Abigail, Elizabeth denies those allegations because she fears that John will be upset to the utmost point, so she sacrifices herself to protect the Proctor name, even though she fears that she hopes that she made the right decision, as shown when she tried to clarify all statements be...
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.
Hysteria is characterized as an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality. Wherever hysteria takes place, it seems to condone distortion of the truth, unfathomable actions, and illogical accusations causing communities to rip apart. Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they grown to trust, do things that one would normally find anomalous. People who died in the haste of fear and uncertainty were often unnecessary because fear clouds the judgment and perception of a person.
It was easier for them to blame the devil for the problems of society than fix the problems of their own strict way of life. So the girls involved with Abigail, like Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, named many people in the town as witches. These people were put in jail and would be hanged if they did not confess to the crime of devil worship or witchcraft. Another part of the developing plot is that John Proctor knows Abigail and her friends are lying, but he is afraid to say anything because eight months before he had an affair with Abigail and did not want to be seen by the town as a lecher, which means wife cheater. So, Mr. Proctor has to fight with himself to come out and tell the truth, or his wife might die because of Abigail saying she was a witch.
Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem-vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! (p73, The Crucible)
Hysteria is an uncontrolled fear complemented with excessive emotion that leads to poor decisions and actions done with complete lack of forethought. The hysteria that existed in the town of Salem was largely caused by the people’s extreme devotion to religion, as well as their refusal to delve into other possibilities to explain the predicament of the time. These circumstances still exist today, and it is quite possible, as well as frightening, that a similar event could recur today. One would like to think that one would never lose control of their opinions and thought, but hysteria is a powerful force and can bring even the most intellectual of people to lose sense of what is occurring. More modern examples of hysteria such as the McCarthy trials and the ostracizing of people infected with AIDS show that learning to properly evaluate a situation for it’s reasonability and integrity prove to still be a valuable lesson for today.
Evaluate the role of gender in early modern witch-hunting. During the early modern period Europe experienced a phase of vicious prosecution of the people accused of the crime of ‘Witchcraft.’ There has been an estimated death toll of up to 50,000 people during these Witch-hunt crazes, although the exact figures are unknown. What is known is that overall 75-80% of those accused were women, although this varies in different states.
The mass hysteria between today’s society and the Salem witch hunt can be compared through Freedom , Religion ,and the killing of innocent victims. Mass hysteria has caused a lot of destruction in society throughout the years. It has brought about a lot of chaos in both Salem as well as the present society. Mass hysteria has brought out a lot of fear in people in both Salem and present society.
Each year there is 44 million abortions in the world. Abortion first happened in the 1800s in Western Europe, it has been around in every corner of the world for the past years. Abortion became a “thing” to prevent suffering of the mother and her future child. After the 1800’s that 's when many people began to think of abortion as cruel and inhumane. After making abortion legal in the United States it became one of the most controversial issues ever. Due to abortion being one of the most controversial topics ever it has caused disagreements with the pro-life and pro-choice supporters. Pro Life means that you are against abortion while pro choice means that you agree with abortion. Abortion is the terminating of a pregnancy by removing a fetus