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Fear: The Effect Of Social Norms In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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According to The South End Press Collective (1998), Much of what threatens our well-being is a product of dominating structures. History has shown us the effect of social norms in society and the political implications related to fear and the misuse of power. It is important to understand the historical role that fear plays in society. The basis of fear can be used as a means of manipulation, with those in power playing on people's deepest fears to maintain their position (Miller, Lisa L 2015). Fear applies not only to those being controlled but also to the controllers themselves. Moreover, the loss of power creates an aspect of fear that can have long lasting effects on moral laws.

The Crucible, for example, is set in a theocratic society …show more content…

Miller wrote it as his own belief system during that time period. It shows how the government plays on people's deepest fears, creating a climate in which any form of dissent is seen as a threat to the state. The government is included by using fear to rule over the population, preventing any form of change or dissent.The basis of fear can also be used as a means of manipulation. Miller (2015) stated, Those in power can play on people's deepest fears, using fear to manipulate them into acting in a certain way. For example, during the Cold War, fear of communism was used as a means of manipulating the population.The government played on people's fear of communism, using it as a justification for increased surveillance and other policies that eroded civil liberties (Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin Classics, …show more content…

Racism is a white issue as much as it is a black one.” The South End Press Collective, (1998). The aspects of this quote can be found in both “The Crucible” and “When They See Us”. Fear is a powerful tool that can be used to maintain power. Those in power can leverage fear to create a climate in which people are afraid to speak out against injustice, using fear to manipulate and control those they seek to control. The basis of fear can be used as a means of manipulation, with those in power playing on people's deepest fears to maintain their position. It is important to recognize the dangers of fear and to work towards creating a more just and equitable society that is not driven by fear (Miller, Lisa L

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I am exploring the question of are we are motivated by fear, human nature, and just how far we will go for our reputations. All three of theses are major themes in the Cucubile by Arthur Miller. And each theme plays a major part in how the Crucible was rounded while also showing a very strong perspective on how the author wanted the reader to perceive the crucible. The reason I think that we continue to read, study, and perform the Crucible to this day is because it was a major part in history where many innocent people were killed due to fear and false accusations. The Crucible was written about a time period that Arthur Miller acknowledges as a time where fear and reputation totally took over.

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Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.

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How can fear alter the choices people make? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a town called Salem is thought to be filled with witches. The suspicion started when a group of girls were caught dancing in the woods, and a few mysteriously became sick. After the townsfolk became hysterical and accused each other of performing witchcraft, which was punishable by death if they did not confess. Fear and self-interest caused characters to betray fellow citizens in order to preserve their own lives.

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Fear is a common theme in Act 2 of The Crucible, where everyone fears each other because of wild accusations and punishment. Two people in particular deal with their fears in very different ways. John and Elizabeth Proctor are a couple that experienced issues after John slept with one of their servants, Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams and another group of girls who "fell ill" were accusing people in their town of performing witchcraft on them. When Elizabeth finds out that Abigail is one of the most prominent victims, she fears for her life and her relationship because she knows that Abigail wishes her dead.

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The Role of Fear in The Crucible Fear plays an important role in the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Fear motivated the accusers and the accused such as the character Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and John Proctor. Fear motivated Abigail in many ways, first was when her and the other girls were in the woods and they were dancing and Abigail drank chicken blood.

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What is fear? Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief of someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or threat. In my own words fear is a feeling people get when someone is going to kill them. But not all fear is bad because some people feel fear differently How is fear used in “The Crucible” ?

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Think for one moment, you’re in a situation where you need to make a decision that you have no idea of what the future is going to bring you. Most people tend to have fear when it comes to situations like this. A better understanding is that fear can be inflicted into the mind of individuals and severely affect them and manipulate them . This might seem unusual but, this reason states otherwise. In the play “The Crucible” the author, Arthur Miller, implies that fear can have a dramatic effect on society.

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The Crucible: How Fear Changes People During his first Inaugural Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt once announced, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Fear manipulates a persons rationality resulting in them behaving in ways they normally would not, especially in the story The Crucible written by Arthur Miller. The characters in The Crucible allow fear to manipulate their beliefs and actions. They all know what is right, but fear alters their mindset causing them to act differently.

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Correspondingly, The Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays all morals and responsibilities are lost when fear and hysteria control the town because well-respected personnel

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Imagine a society where the power and status you have determines your fate. The play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, presents the influence of social hierarchy during the Salem Witch Trials that take place in the town. Social hierarchy plays a crucial role in shaping and affecting the events and characters of the story, by highlighting how different characters had the desire for gaining and retaining power as well as how certain powerful individuals had a great impact on the less powerful. Various characters throughout the play display a strong desire for gaining power or simply retaining the power they already held in the town.

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In a study done by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the authors found that, "Across a range of different stimuli and dependent variables, perceivers showed a consistent and strong bias to perceive young Black men as larger and more capable of harm than young White men (at least among non-Black participants).” This study shows that there is a tendency in American society to view black men as more threatening than white men of equal or slightly larger size. This misperceived threat can create unnecessary fear and panic in the general public that escalates over time as the idea that black men are dangerous is reinforced with every arrest, no matter any other evidence. The perceived danger makes it easier for police officers to justify the use of physical force against black men, often

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In the 1984 society , people are purposely left to feel alone to make them fear getting caught by the Party. Although many people commit thoughtcrime, they will remain silent because they know the consequences of engaging in rebellion. This constant source of fear holds the community together and manipulates people’s thought processes. The government often leaves the people

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To begin, the foundation of every government’s power has always been fear. Governments depend on public fear to secure societal position. Tracing back to thousands of years ago, governments relied primarily on conquests. The research author Robert Higgs argues, “Losers who were not slain in the conquest itself had to endure the consequent rape and pillage and in the long term to acquiesce in the continuing payment of tribute to the insistent rulers.” In other words, Higgs’s point emphasizes that the government violently conquested lands and hence attacked people living there in the old times.

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“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - Franklin D Roosevelt. Fear plays a major role for the tragic ending of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, because fear is upon the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, it leads to unanticipated accusations, power, and hatred. This feeling, has occurred in everyone’s life at some point, which is more overpowering than some might think. Once hysteria arose about the girls dancing in the woods, due to all the fear it leads to unanticipated accusations, being a slave, Tituba was accused by Abigail to avoid any punishment.

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