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Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

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The Crucible, could the hysteria that played out in this intense and nerve racking story have been stopped by anyone? The truth is yes, the hysteria in Salem could have no doubt been stopped by two people in particular, Abigail Williams, and Judge Danforth. Here’s how these two individuals could have stopped the hysteria in Salem. Throughout the story it is seen that Danforth has a bit of an ego due to the reputation he has as a successful judge. This does not help calm things down in Salem at all. Danforth believes he has the best judgment of the case and that there is no room for error in the decision he makes. “Why? Do you mean to deny this confession when you are free?”(Miller act IV para 285). It is shown in this line that Danforth likes …show more content…

Abigail was the whole reason any of the drama in Salem started, she was caught dancing in the forest, and accused of witchcraft soon later. With this accusation and the whole town of Salem focused in on the case Abigail had quite that platform that was willing to hear what she had to say, but instead of setting the record straight she danced around the truth and fled before anything bad could happen to her. “Thirty-one pound is gone. I am penniless.”(Miller act IV para 74). This statement by reverend Parris shows that Abigail robbed him and ran away to save her own skin, this selfish act only makes the chaos that is ensuing worse, and puts people who were innocent in danger just because Abigail was fearful of something that may never have even happened. If she would have stayed and told the truth then there would have been less panic because the people of Salem would have a clear understanding of what's going on as well as some would not be in fear of dying especially for something that could've been cleared up by the words of one girl. This is why Abigail could've ended the hysteria in Salem as

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503 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the crucible we meet many static characters, many of which are found in the court. Their beliefs cannot be changed, nor their views on witchcraft. Judge Danforth is a prime example of that; He will stop at nothing to prosecute the guilty. Not once is he swayed that their is not a witch in salem.

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501 Words | 3 Pages

Instead of interrogating Abigail, he is silenced by her which most likely shows that he has accepted her demand of not being judged. At this point, there is a flip in power dynamics at the witchcraft trials, Abigail has overpowered Danforth in courtroom. Judge Danforth an honorable Judge of the supreme court has easily been dominated by a seventeen-year-old Abigail, proving that he is gullible to her lies. Lastly, right after the Andover witchcraft trial revolt, Abigail runs away and also steals Reverend Parris’s money (The crucible). The sheer act of fleeing away shows a sign of guilt and fear of punishment along with her act of stealing Reverend Parris’s money clearly speaks a lot about the criminal character of Abigail Williams.

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510 Words | 3 Pages

The power that Abigail held over the town was so great that she almost turned Salem into a town of paranoia, suspicion and mistrust. In the end, Abigail’s power was her downfall. She feared being exposed and was forced to leave

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916 Words | 4 Pages

Stopping the trial means that he would have to admit that he is wrong, and he doesn’t want to be proven wrong because so many people have already died. In the cases of both Judge Danforth and Abigail Williams, the reader can see how the actions of many individuals, motivated in one way or another by pride, combine and precipitate the catastrophe known as the Salem Witch Trials. Judge Danforth’s pride, as a majestic Deputy Governor, finally causes much innocents to death and the downfall of

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533 Words | 3 Pages

Hale acknowledges human’s mortality more so than Danforth who believes his word is the final say. Furthermore, Judge Danforth appears to only be concerned with having those who were jailed, confess to being witches whether they were or not. All those who do not confess to conspiring with the devil in his eyes are evil and those “who weep for [them, therefore] weep for corruption” (134). In contrast, Hale is desperate to save the innocent from their inevitable doom because he believes “life is God’s most precious gift” and “no principle [] may justify taking it” (122). He even encourages Elizabeth Proctor to “prevail upon [her] husband to confess” because “God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride” (122).

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450 Words | 2 Pages

Some may say that Abigail could not have stopped the mass hysteria because it had already gotten out of hand. They may also claim that she was only a child and no one would have listened, but the children had a lot of power over the adults. They were listening to her lies so they would have listened to the truth as well. If she would have told the truth, then the other girls would not have felt obligated to play along with the lies. Abigail was the leader of the young girls because she was the bossy type.

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail is vengeful, selfish, manipulative, and overall a magnificent liar. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible American play from the 1990s reveals how hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe false claims. In The Crucible mass hysteria is shown to allow the people of Salem to believe that their neighbors who they considered outstanding people are now committing absurd and unbelievable acts. I believe that Abigail Williams could have ended the mass hysteria in Salem by coming forward and telling the truth about what happened in the woods with the other girls, not accusing innocent people of witchcraft, and admitting to pretending she was bewitched.

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539 Words | 3 Pages

The amount of hysteria that Aruther Miller expresses through his characters in the crucible is more than relevant to what was going on at the time. Aruther Miller shows hysteria through many characters throughout the story. The characters I choose to focus on are Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor. The ways that he includes hysteria helped show the public how they were treating people at that given time. One of the characters Miller chooses to cause hysteria is Abigail Williams.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

who's to blame for the hysteria in salem ? In The crucible(1953), Arthur Miller expresses that mass hysteria is the product of several people and can cloud one’s judgement. A Group of girls were found dancing in the woods, which is illegal due to their religious belief. One of the younger girls was diagnosed with the symptoms of being a “witches”.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

This quotation is significant because it represents Socrates’ ideas about death. He believes that fearing the unknown is unreasonable because we don’t know what happens after death. Socrates also believes that “being dead is one of two things” (Socrates 58); either you feel nothing at all or it is a “journey from here to another place” (Socrates 59). Fearing something we don’t now is not going to get us anywhere except limit our potential. Although, death is a frightful concept, it might also be a good thing.

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788 Words | 4 Pages

Brook Mills Mrs. Brown English 10 11/03/15 Many individuals of Salem have to deal with everyday hysteria with many people accused of being a witch and being executed. Other than Abigail, three characters who are to blame for the hysteria in The Crucible are Judge Danforth, John Proctor, and Mary Warren. A character that contributed to the hysteria in The Crucible was Judge Danforth. He contributed to the hysteria because he sent men and women to be executed for no reason.

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

Unquestionably, Danforth with his power in Salem village thanks to his position as Deputy Governor and judge throughout the trials, could have done more to attempt the end of the hysteria plaguing Salem. There are a series of actions he could have done, but there is one which comes to mind the most. First and foremost, the most obvious action Danforth could have taken to end the hysteria was making the decision of postponing the executions of those charged. If Danforth would have swallowed his pride and listened to the advice of Reverend Parris and postponed the executions for some time, everyone else would have questioned the legitimacy of the executions and taken more initiative to prevent others from hanging. Danforth was incredibly prideful and only cared about losing his power in Salem village.

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1451 Words | 6 Pages

Do you understand my meaning?”. This is showing the the judge had complete trust in them and when John had pointed out that the things that the women were doing were kinda suspicious he questions it and realizes that the girls are faking all of it. Sadly he does nothing, still knowing what all the women are doing is suspicious he doesn 't stop the hangings and imprisonments. Judge Danforth may have not started the Hysteria started in the town but he fed into it by believing Abigail and not stopping her from lying when he found out she was lying to the court and the people in the town of Salem. You could say that Judge did not know that Abigail was lieing out of nativity and all his actions were lead by his dense nature because of his faith, blinding him from what was in front of him because he needed something to justify the reason for killing and imprisoning these women.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Many ask for his mercy towards the accused and he denies it to them to keep his reputation, “... Postponement now speaks floundering on my part...” (Miller 667). This shows that Danforth could have ended the hysteria in Salem by admitting that he does not believe that any of the accused are guilty and claiming the accused not

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741 Words | 3 Pages

Danforth: Judge, Jury, and Executioner Judge Danforth’s position in the crucible is the Judge assigned to the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. Instead of treating this immense responsibility with the respect and restraint that is needed, Danforth abused his power by betraying the people of Salem and the Law. He did not listen to the people of Salem defending themselves before inevitably being sent to death; and he cared more about his reputation and the law than he did about peoples’ lives. Danforth was a ruthless power over the people of Salem he demanded respect for himself and the court; and nothing was more important than that.

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