Hysteria And Groupthink In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”(Roosevelt). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical fiction about how hysteria and groupthink can have drastic consequences. It follows the Salem witch trials and the events that led to 19 people being convicted of witchcraft and subsequently killed. The most important subject in The Crucible is how fear can affect decisions. Betty’s fear of punishment was the first domino to fall. Betty was among the girls that were dancing in the forest, and she was scared of being punished for it. Rather than get a whipping, she pretended to be bewitched. While Parris and Abby are talking about what happened in the woods, she was lying still on the bed, apparently bewitched. But when Abby says that she’s already told everything and that they won’t get into any more trouble, she is suddenly awake and exclaims “You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!”(Miller 19). That she knew what their conversation was, shows that she was actually awake the whole time, and just pretending to be

When Reverend Hale is questioning her he is yelling and she is threatened with death. Only after the suggestion of hanging her does she confess to dealing with the devil. “I don’t compact with no Devil!”, but then one of the onlookers says “This woman must be hanged!”. After that, she changes her tune asking Hale to “Tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir.”(Miller 44). In saying that she doesn’t want to work for him anymore she is confirming that she is working with him now. This confession of witchcraft is what eventually led to the hangings, but it was only made out of fear. After this confession the aggressive questioning continues, and she is asked if any others were consorting with the Devil. She does tell him of others that were supposedly witches but it is only because she knows that if she doesn’t throw someone else to the lions it will be her neck in the noose. (finish