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Why did arthur miller use hysteria in the crucible
Critical analysis of ' the crucible
Critical analysis of ' the crucible
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The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, was published on January 22, 1953. This play was based on the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. He used the 1692 Salem Witch Trials as an allegory to show the similarities between the 1692 Trials and the 1950’s Red Scare and how hysteria tears apart a community. In The Crucible, the mass hysteria, imaginary fear/anxiety, of witchcraft uncontrollably spread into the Salem community leading to many innocent deaths. This draws a clear parallel to the 1950’s Red Scare where the scare for communists spread through the United States of America.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ”(Roosevelt). The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical fiction about how hysteria and groupthink can have drastic consequences. It follows the Salem witch trials and the events that led to 19 people being convicted of witchcraft and subsequently killed. The most important subject in The Crucible is how fear can affect decisions.
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.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a fictionalized play that portrays Massachusetts Salem witch trials in 1962. The Crucible play is about a hand full of girls, including Abigail Williams, accused whom they despised of witchcraft. Throughout the entire play, Abigail William was the most corrupted because she was a compulsive liar, accused people of witchcraft, and committed adultery John Proctor. Abigail is a compulsive liar throughout the play.
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.
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.
Is the death of seven children justification enough to take part in the murders of more than a dozen innocent people? When Ann Putnam, one of the main antagonists in The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, accuses Rebecca Nurse of practicing witchcraft, is this an act of pure insanity or calculated revenge fueled by jealousy? Throughout the play, it is evident that Ann Putnam, who has mysteriously lost seven children, is in denial about her babies’ death and desperate to hold anyone accountable other than herself. She cannot handle the death of her several children being a case of god's will, and so has to something to fill the void. Therefore, she turns to Rebecca Nurse because she helped birth all of Mrs. Putmans babies, who all but one,
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, and Tituba, a slave, are instrumental in spreading the hysteria that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout the play, Miller based the plot of his play on historical events and his characters show how paranoia and fear can escalate. Abigail Williams has a good sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them. All these things add up to make her an awesome antagonist. She accuses Tituba for conjuring spirits which causes mass hysteria that blinded the people of Salem from the truth which is disregarded through the domino effect of accusations, the destruction of Salem, and death as the result.
In The Crucible -a play based on the catastrophic Salem Witch Trials in 1962- Arthur Miller, a famous playwright, uses a sarcastic tone to vilify hysteria to mock McCarthyism. When Miller went to Massachusetts, he believed that “there was something of the… whole village… whose imagination was captured by a vision of something that wasn’t there.” (Miller 1) People during the Red Scare started to see things that was not there because of hysteria and started accusing others that they were communists. The same things happened during the witch trials: “Why do you come here bird? Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape.”
In the Crucible, grudges and personal problems play a key role in creating the witch trial hysteria. The very first event in the play was spurred on by a grudge. Abigail, wanting to be with John, slips out into the woods with her friends and drinks a charm to kill his wife. After being nearly caught, she accuses Tituba of doing witchcraft to save herself. Tituba then accuses two other women to save herself as well.
In “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, there are many themes. One major theme would be that buying too much into your own beliefs can be dangerous and that it’s important to listen to your gut and if you don’t it can lead to mass hysteria. Reverend Parris said “There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that” (Miller act 1). Parris is fearful of losing his position and his power that he lets his extreme beliefs and actions start mass hysteria in the Salem community causing the death of many innocent people.
Throughout the town of Salem, Massachusetts fear has spread. It has affected everyone in the town and has brought nothing but chaos. The people of Salem are becoming more scared and determined to hunt down every witch they can find. In The Crucible, fear is appeared as a negative trait since it makes the people act differently during this period of time. Abigail showed fear when she said that Tituba was a witch and was performing witchcraft.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. It takes place during the Salem witch trials. Salem is an isolated town in the Boston area that is set up perfectly for witchcraft accusations. Abigail is being accused of witchcraft and she is a manipulative girl. Abigail has been accused of committing witchcraft in the woods and she plans to bring other people down with her.
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way.
“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.
