Power Of Fear In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The Power of Fear
Imagine living in a world without fear. Would people be more carefree? Would it be a world without terror or with even more? Fear is no doubt one of the strongest emotions any person could experience. From government officials to ordinary citizens, it holds the ability to cloud anyone’s proper judgement, blur their own morals, and lead to irrational actions. Looking back at any of the world’s tragic events, fear has always played a major role. The power of fear over individuals contributes to delirium and usually results in calamity after being displayed in both literature and world history.
The accusations of witchcraft in Salem revealed in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible prove that fear of irrational beliefs can lead to hysteria and tragedy. Once the rumors of witchcraft spread across the town, people would suspect witchcraft among any …show more content…

After World War I, the state of Germany was in chaos. This helped Hitler’s campaign to be built on propaganda and fear. In this case, his exploitations of fear were directed towards the Jewish population and other minorities in Germany. Almost all who rallied behind Hitler centered the blame towards the Jewish; again, using them as a scapegoat for the poor condition that Germany was left in. However it wasn’t just the people he absolutely abhorred who lived in fear, people who fit Hitler’s specific criteria were described as, “ Also living in constant fear of doing or saying anything wrong...” (MacKenzie). Anyone who spoke against anything Hitler believed was instantly painted a target, also any connection with the groups he was opposed to was not taken lightly. So not only did Hitler evolve fear into total paranoia, but into a complete psychological control system over the whole nation. Consequently, this power lead to the demise of millions of innocent

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