Effects Of Hysteria In The Crucible

Man has endured hysterias in the past. Many times, they caused damage to the social structure and even led to the destruction of it. The audience finds hysteria in the play “The Crucible”. The town of Salem follows the same process that crumbles social order. The role of human nature is present and factors to the downfall of man. Arthur Miller illustrates how hysteria leads to the destruction of society. Hysteria leads people to turn against each other. Abigail Williams turns against her house slave, Tituba, to save herself. As she was called out, Abigail exclaimed “[Tituba] made me do it. She made Betty do it!”(Act 1). Blaming Tituba began the hunt for witches. She acts quickly to self-preserve herself. A similar event occurs with Mary Warren, who took safety by calling out John Proctor. Once it was time for her to speak, Mary Warren took out at Proctor calling him the “devil’s man” (Act 4). The events created tension between each citizen of Salem. The timing was right and allowed whoever to turn against each other.

As a majority of Salem experienced a form of tension, Thomas Putnam and Reverend Parris utilized the incident to gain leverage. The two men discussed about how the incident could be advantageous; “Let you strike out against the Devil, and the village will bless you for it!” (Act 1) The men were able to rid of their obstacles. Putnam also took advantage of the hysteria to gain land he desired. The idea was found when he discovered that “if Jacob hangs for a witch he forfeits up his property…” (Act something). Putnam knows the hysteria has left the citizens too preoccupied with the witch hunt. The men desires the power that was at hand. This further allows the community to consume itself. Each time they took advantage of the hysteria, they removed many prominent figures in the