The Crucible Research Paper

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Argumentative Essay In Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” the depiction of the Salem witch trials offers a compelling parallel to the hysteria and paranoia fueled by the Communist Red Scare of the 1950s. During the Red Scare, Americans feared that communism would damage the United States government and aim towards the fall of the government. Both historical contexts reveal that people will go into panic if accusations start spreading, even if they are false accusations. Fear leads to mass hysteria because horror can cause stress and anxiety, which can then lead to hysteria since it is caused by emotional distress. Through this analogy, Miller prompts audiences to reflect on the power of hysteria and the fact that it can affect a large number of people. The difference between fear and phobia, fear is our emotional reactions to something that seems dangerous. Phobia is when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object. In the context of “The Crucible," the most capable character of putting an end to mass hysteria would be John Proctor, as evidenced by the adultery he committed, also by not speaking the truth about his affair from the beginning, behaving poorly, and leading Abigail on. Initially, John Proctor had an entanglement with Abigail …show more content…

When Elizabeth was taken away, John grabbed her by the neck and started pressuring her to go to the court and say Elizabeth was innocent. He yelled at her, saying she must do the right thing. Mary was scared and felt threatened by Proctor. This backfired because she ended up being on Abby’s side saying John is doing the “devil’s work” according to the movie. If he had asked Mary to admit all the accusations were false in a nice manner, to the point where he made her feel safe, it wouldn’t have backfired and the truth would have been revealed. Many of the accused would have been saved if they had been

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