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Hysteria And Violence In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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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 …show more content…

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

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People have been accused for things they haven't done many times in history. In the 1600s, in Salem Massachusetts; nineteen people got killed for something they had no part in. In many cases hysteria can lead to injustice and harm to the innocent because people are often motivated by fear and suspicion to make bad or dangerous decisions. Which is illustrated in Abigail when she blamed other people for being witches so she doesn't get in trouble for what she did. In my studies, in the Ethel Rosenberg trial (“the Red Scare”)is also a more madern example of hysteria.

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If The Witch Don’t Fit, You Must Acquit In “The Crucible” 1953 written by Arthur Miller, wrote that hysteria in any place can ruin lives. The year is 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem at the time it was a modest town brimming with Puritans. In the town of Salem, little secrets, jealousy and massive hysteria spread around the town.

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During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.

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People were being hanged in front of the town, and as those accused did not want to meet the same fate, they confessed because they were in fear. This was very effective in the Crucible as it was able to create tension among the town of Salem. It caused people to fear, and turn against each other and create mass tension. Fear was a very important type of propaganda in the Crucible, but there is one more very important

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Hysteria can be defined as the exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This definition proves true and exists throughout the course of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In The Crucible, a group of girls go dancing in a forest around a cauldron, some even naked, and along with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris, the local minister, then catches the girls in the act. As a result, Betty, one of the girls and Parris’s daughter, goes into what it seems like a coma.

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Fear is a positive influence on people because it motivates them to promote change and helps people unite. People are influenced to unite in times when fear is present. “We pledge to do all we can to help you heal the injured, to rebuild this city and to bring to justice those who did this evil.” (Bill Clinton). Tragic events such as The Oklahoma City Bombing struck fear in many people, these tragic events “are the dark forces that threaten our common peace.”

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Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.

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This conflict is that Danforth had to have a paper signed by John Proctor, but after Proctor signed the paper he did not want to give the paper to Danforth. Danforth just can’t say he confessed and call it good, it doesn’t work that way. Proctor says “You have all witnessed it-it is enough.” (Miller 211) Danforth says, “You will sign your name or it is no confession, Mister!”

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Abigail Williams: The First True Witch of Salem, Massachusetts “Controlled hysteria is what’s required. To exist constantly in a state of controlled hysteria. It’s agony. But everyone has agony. The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing” (Arthur Miller, AZ Quotes).

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The Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.

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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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Mass hysteria has plagued society for centuries, whether through religious, cultural or medical reasoning. Even society today goes through phases of fear of the unknown. Throughout history, mass hysteria has taken root at specific points in civilization and is usually caused by a tragedy or some form of cultural acceptance. Usually this fear is mandated by the leader of a particular group, and the majority of the group volunteers to isolate the minorities of the group. This is used in order to make themselves believe that they have solved the issue, while in reality all they’ve done is found a scapegoat.

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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.

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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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