Hysteria And Violence In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

To create a wildfire something has to light a spark. The tragic truth is that people are that spark when it comes to creating a wildfire of chaos. I believe that hysteria doesn't strike and grow on its own, something has to fuel it. People incite violence and hysteria with their desire for power and self-preservation. Hysteria and Violence can be fed by people’s desire to gain power. This is shown by Danforth in the Crucible and a man named McCarthy. During the Salem Witch Trials, Danforth the judge of the town was quick to blame others for being a witch if that meant it granted him more power. Without sufficient proof, Danforth jailed and hanged people. Even towards the end when Parris the minister and Reverend Hale told Danforth to stop

In the Crucible Abigail and her friends wanted to save themselves from the judgment of others. Abigail and the girls were caught dancing in the woods and meeting with the devil. To save themselves from being charged with participating in witchcraft they pointed the figure at everyone else but themselves. They began to accuse others of being witches and acting as if they were possessed by people to frame them of partaking in witchcraft. These girls were one of the reasons so many were wrongly accused of being witches because they wanted to save themselves and their reputation. A group of girls was willing to go extreme lengths so they wouldn’t be incriminated, causing chaos to fall upon the people in Salem. Chaos and hysteria have to be ignited by something. The people in the crucible fighting for self-preservation did just that. The claim that the girls made created hostility between the people, which lead to hysteria. Another cause for self-preservation is Human nature. Human nature is what drives people to save themselves. As humans when we get scared there is either a flight or fight response. When a community of people has either a flight or fight response all at once it can be mad chaos. An example of this is when an epidemic of physiological sickness breaks out. People become scared when they don’t understand why someone is sick. This causes paranoia in the people to rise. Then all of a