ipl-logo

How Does Arthur Miller Present Hysteria In The Crucible

687 Words3 Pages

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a very famous play written in the early 1950’s. The play is about the period in American history known as the Salem witch trials. During this time period many people wanted to get rid of witch craft and it was strongly believed that witch craft was possible. People who were accused of witchcraft would have to go to court, stand in front of a authority who was high in power, be intimidated, interrogated, and frequently coerced in betraying others in order to save their own life. The community of Salem, Massachusetts is torn apart by hysteria, ignorance, and hate. Some say the play was Miller’s attempt to come to terms with and understand modern social dynamics. The Crucible portrays Hysteria that took …show more content…

Young girls are caught dancing in the moonlight which causes the hysteria to start affecting the whole town of Salem. The girls refuse to confess, and due to not confessing the town of Salem started to go downhill. Anyone in the community acting strange would get accused of witch craft. Hysteria allows people to act on their grudges by accusing people of crazy accusations. As the hysteria spread it caused many innocent people to be accused of witchcraft and then being hanged for it. Miller’s play may be fiction, but the play shows how paranoid and fear can escalate. The Crucible can be analyzed using many different criticisms. Brooke Akinson said, “For "The Crucible," despite its current implications, is a self-contained play about a terrible period in American history. Silly accusations of witchcraft by some mischievous girls in Puritan dress gradually take possession of Salem. Before the play is over good people of pious nature and responsible temper are condemning other good people to the gallows.” Analyzing the book from different perspectives can offer new thoughts on the story. The time period during which the book takes place was a society mainly dominated by men. Men had all the power while

Show More
Related

How Does Arthur Miller Show Craziness In The Crucible

353 Words | 2 Pages

Arthur Miller's play The Crucible demonstrates the craziness that occurred in Salem in 1692. Althoughthe play is fiction, Miller based the plot of his play on verifiable occasions and his characters demonstrate how suspicion and dread can raise. Various characters utilized this dread to profit and they showedselfishness and wrongdoing. The two most wretched characters in the play were Rev. Parris and JudgeDanforth. From the earliest starting point of the play, Rev. Parris showed self-centeredness.

Read More

Comparing Hysteria In The Crucible And Terrorism

1743 Words | 7 Pages

The Hysteria in The Crucible and Terrorism Hysteria can bring people to do the unthinkable; for example, taking someone's life. The hysteria in societies throughout history has resulted in endless problems and many deaths of innocent people. Though during extremely different times, the hysteria in the play The Crucible and the hysteria that has resulted from acts of terror by the group al Qaeda can be closely related to one another. The time periods in which the events happened resulted in some differences between the two, but the result is the same, mass hysteria. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and the al Qaeda terrorist attacks have many similarities and differences.

Read More

Hysteria In The Crucible By Author Miller

279 Words | 2 Pages

The Crucible The Crucible, a play written by Author Miller portrays the hysteria that happened in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The play is fiction, however the plot of the play is based on the Salem With Trials which did occur in history. During the play, the citizens of Salem portray very exaggerated and uncontrollable emotion as the fear of witches, witchcraft, and the Devil fill the town. Judge Danforth also displays hysteria.

Read More

Examples Of Human Weakness In The Crucible

756 Words | 4 Pages

In 1692 hundreds of people were sitting in jail for being witches, but none of them were really witches. An author named Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible based of the true events of the Salem witch trials. In the play some girls get in trouble for dancing in the woods. They claim the witches were making them do these bad things. The girls accused a lot of people and got a lot of people of hang for being witches.

Read More

Who Is To Blame In The Crucible

811 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.

Read More

Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

222 Words | 1 Pages

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller. One of the major themes of “The Crucible” is hysteria because people are exaggerating things like they saw people dancing in fires and the girls pretending that they are being attacked by a demon or a an evil spirit. In act III Abigail is pretending that she sees a bird in the beam. Abigail said “ Why--? Why do you come yellow bird?”

Read More

Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

385 Words | 2 Pages

Hysteria is defined as an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, usually among a group of people. The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller is a prime example of hysteria, portrayed in the town of Salem through a series of witchcraft trials. The witchcraft trial caused disorder within the town of Salem and resulted in many unreasonable deaths. Throughout the course of the trial, many characters play a role in expanding chaos in Salem such as Abigail Williams and Reverend Parris. Specific characters that considerably aggravated this dilemma could have theoretically also ended the hysteria in Salem such as Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams, and Betty Parris.

Read More

Abigail's Motivation In The Crucible

837 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in which multiple people were being convicted of witchcraft without evidence or proof. The Crucible, fear is operating in the witchcraft accusations and the tension between the Salem residents. Abigail’s motivation in the witchcraft testimonies. Today, the well documented horrors of the Salem Witch Trials provide a detailed history for descendants of the many victims,judges,juries,witnesses,and accusers. Some 24 people had died for their supposed involvement during the Salem Witch Trials.

Read More

The Crucible John Proctor Tragic Hero Essay

918 Words | 4 Pages

“The Crucible” is a play written by Arthur Miller that takes place in the town of Salem in between 1692 and 1693 where the delusion of witches was rampant in what was known as the Salem witch trials. In Miller’s dramatization of the events, characters go through changes, they evolve as individuals, but one of them, that of John Proctor changes the most. John Proctor is a tragic hero because as the play continues the audience sees a goodness in him, but as it ends his own overwhelming pride replaces reason, which leads to his demise. In the beginning of the play John proctor can be seen talking to Abigail alone; in a conversation of what to do about their relationship, John tells Abigail of his feelings for her by saying “Abby I may think of

Read More

Do Witches Exist In The Crucible

784 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible by Author Miller is based on the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and shows the true horror behind the hysteria. Many character such as Abigail, The Putnam’s, and Reverend Parris use witchery as an excuse for egocentricity. Lust, revenge, and power partake an essential role in the Salem witch

Read More

The Crucible Conscience Analysis

1099 Words | 5 Pages

The Crucible is a plot about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials written by playwrighter Arthur Miller in 1953. The play greatly demonstrates the importance of the individual conscience and is well known for its historically accurate, yet fictionalized content. It takes place in 1692, colonial Massachusetts. The Crucible depicts many issues that the citizens in Salem had to face. Every character had a motivation to accuse one another of witchcraft.

Read More

Essay On The Crucible

828 Words | 4 Pages

Critique of a Author's Craft: Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” “The Crucible”, a play written by Aurther miller, has many layers of meaning and the play is set in the Salem witch trials of 1692, but was written in the early 1950s as a Red Scare and the “witch hunt” atmosphere of the time. Miller wrote the play for the anti communist hearings and the play was also intended to be about the dangers of government overreach, mass hysteria and suppression of individual rights. It was intended to raise awareness about these issues. The point in the play is to show how easily a community can be whipped into fear and paranoia, leading to mistreatment of innocent people. He also shows how individuals are willing to sacrifice others for their own gain, and how fear and false accusations can be used to manipulate those in power.

Read More

The Crucible By Arthur Miller

175 Words | 1 Pages

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play based on true events following a fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials in the late 1600’s. The play first begins in Reverend Parris’ house with his daughter, Betty, unconscious in the upstairs bed. Parris had also spotted his daughter along with other girls from the village including his niece, Abigail, and his slave, Tituba, dancing in the forest at midnight before his daughter fell unconscious. This caused escalating fear and tensions among the village as word of witchcraft began to spread. Parris, in fear of losing his position as town preacher, first begins to question his niece Abigail on what he had seen that night.

Read More

What Is The Cause Of Hysteria In The Crucible

1451 Words | 6 Pages

Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.

Read More

How Does Arthur Miller Present Hysteria In The Crucible

707 Words | 3 Pages

Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.

Read More

More about How Does Arthur Miller Present Hysteria In The Crucible

Related Topics

Open Document