Keylian Ortiz-Tirado
Mrs. Gardner
English II Hnrs
24 February 2023
Mass Hysteria in The Crucible
What is mass hysteria? Mass hysteria is defined as “an outbreak of unusual and uncharacteristic behaviors, thoughts and feelings, or health symptoms shared among a group of people” (Raypole). In the play there are multiple ways that mass hysteria is shown throughout the different acts. The events in The Crucible by Arthur Miller were deeply rooted in mass hysteria such as when Abigail was in the courtroom, when Betty woke up and started shouting names, and when there were poppets found in Proctor’s house.
In Act Three, pages 108 to 109 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, mass hysteria is shown when Abigail was in the courtroom. Abigail
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Cheever found Mary Warren’s poppet in the Proctor’s house. Even when Marry Warren admitted that that poppet was hers, Abigail charged murder on Elizabeth. It is stated that, that night Abigail was stabbed and that there was a needle in the belly of the poppet. The reason why Abigail charged Elizabeth and not Warren is because Abigail does not like Elizabeth as she is Proctor’s wife. In Act Three, pages 103 to 104, in The Crucible, Judge Danforth brought up the topic of the poppet found in the Proctor’s house. Mary Warren stated that she was making the poppet beside Abigail and put the needle in the poppet for safe keeping. Abigail said, “It is a lie, sir.” Then she proceeded to state that she always saw poppets in the Proctor’s house when no one else saw them. While trying to bring out the truth there is a lot of anger and frustration with each other, which causes Proctor to bring out that Abigail and the other girls were dancing in the woods naked. This created mass hysteria because throughout this act Abigail has been telling lies and others are trying to bring out the truth. When bringing out the truth, more confessions came up because they want the judge to forget what the others supposedly