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The crucible hysteria
Hysteria in millers crucible
Hysteria in the crucible essay
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During the late 1600’s, numerous accusations of witchcraft were spreading throughout the New England colonies, primarily focusing in Salem Village, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, paints a very descriptive image of the several different facets of guile and deception that were instituted in “The Crucible.” In contrast, Miller focuses on one utmost theme, hysteria. Clinical mass hysteria describes the spread of a psychologically-manifested illness.
Mass Hysteria Humans have a tendency to want to fit in and belong, causing numerous problems in society. Throughout history, there have been various cases of mass hysteria within groups of individuals. For example, randomly meowing nuns in France and an entire town believing that at night a monkey man watched them. Several specialists believe the behavior has come about due to mass hysteria. Mass hysteria is delusional thoughts, rumors, and fears that spread quickly through a group of people.
In “The Crucible,” rumors spread across Salem and the result is mass hysteria in Salem during the witch trials; this makes us wonder what characters should have done to stop this chaos. Some characters could have stopped this, and I believe a character who could have stopped this is John Proctor. He's a good example because he is honest and respected in his community. In the story, in Act III, John Proctor could have made a big difference.
Twenty innocent people were falsely executed in Salem, Massachusetts, 1693. Everyone in the town was caught in the crossfire of accusations and allegations. Arthur Miller captures this mass hysteria perfectly through the tragic character John Proctor in his play, The Crucible. Throughout the play, this collective hysteria eclipses the morality and desire for truth involved in decision-making, ultimately leading to the death of the protagonist, John Proctor.
“The Crucible” In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the play reflected the “Red Scar” in early 1953 to 1950s which it dedicated the play as against liberalism and socialism. John Proctor and Abigail Williams could potentially end the hysteria by standing against the trial. Americans also became afraid of immigrants during the Red Scar, which created fear. They could have also avoided the affair and admitted their sins during the trial. I also believe they both admitted that the accusations were made about innocent people.
Throughout history, there have been multiple periods of mass hysteria or extreme actions and reactions due to extreme emotions. Mass hysteria is harmful because it forces others to admit to crimes they did not commit, and it allows people to take advantage of the situation at hand to rise to power. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great example of this and it is an allegory for McCarthyism, or the false accusations and investigations made against someone. The Crucible is based on the real events of the late 17th century that the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts had to deal with. They were paranoid of the supernatural, and because of their strict religious beliefs and the vengeance that plagued the town, mass hysteria spread quickly.
Elia Kazan a Greek-American director once said, “Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion and secrecy” In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the town of Salem gets warped into a loop of lies and false accusations. A group of girls claim to be able to see spirits to avoid being called witches, and accuse others of being witches, starting a chain reaction. Now others accuse people of being witches in order to get rid of those they don‘t like, and so they be hanged. Hysteria and conformity cause an uproar of lies that kill innocent people in Salem.
The definition of “crucible” - in context to the theme of the play - reads, “a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.” In The Crucible, many people are tested in scenarios they would never have imagined would happen to them. Many different groups and families are drawn together, whether it’s to fight for one another, or against. As well as coming together, or being torn apart in a time of hysteria, every character’s morals are put to a severe test when truths and lies seep to the surface of their daily lives. There are many different variations of ways the great Crucible is able to live up to it’s proud and famous title.
In the late 1700s, there was mass hysteria over witchcraft that caused the hanging of many innocent people. In the Salem Witch Trials, the first to be convicted of witchcraft was Bridget Bishop and after 200 more people were convicted of this “witchcraft”, twenty were hung("Salem Witch Trials"). In the play The Crucible there is a group of girls that caused all of the hysteria. The girls are the ones who accused the townspeople of being witches and caused many of them to be hung.
In the dramatic play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, townspeople experience the drastic effects of the endemic belief of witches. Many use the accusation of witches for their own prosperity. Miller uses Tituba as the initiator of the trials, Abigail as the opportunist, and Mary Warren as a possible threat to the situation in order to demonstrate how false fear can kindle the inferno of hysteria. Tituba ignites the flame of hysteria by accusing others of working with witchcraft.
These were the times when many people faced trials, lost their reputation due to unwarranted accusations or were condemned to death, just as was the case in the seventeenth-century Salem. Miller explained that persecution of witchcraft was a manifestation of fear and panic which emerged when the balance of power in Salem was violated. The increasing tension caused by colonists and church authorities being at variance brought about hysteria, because the established order in which the Puritan society lived, had been disrupted (par,
In the Crucible, fear, hysteria, and revenge are the most important elements where fear spreads around the whole village. Hysteria involving witchcraft would end up with many innocent people killed. With many false accusations of a long held grudge with another villager would kill others they would have problems with. Revenge would later involve the slaughter of another bad blood of another villager. “God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat.
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.
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.
6. POLYESTERAMIDES Introduction: -Structure of Polyesteramides- Polyesteramides are group of biodegradable polymer that covers both specialties in the biomedical field and commodity applications. These polymers have amide and ester groups on their chemical structure which give good thermal and mechanical properties.