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Hysteria The Crucible

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historic play but more importantly is a social and psychological drama that takes place in a small puritan town in Salem Massachusetts. Many different themes find their way through this play but the most important theme is the danger of Hysteria, reputation, and Intolerance can destroy a town no matter the strength of the people in the town. As this play was written during the red scare during the cold war this play shows many aspects as McCarthyism which had similar event that the Salem witch trials had but with the red scare. Hysteria was a major factor in the many accusations of witchcraft that occurred throu out the play “The crucible”, the first example is when the young girls of the community of Salem, …show more content…

An example of this is salem is a puritan town this means that the church and the state are one, if you break a law in the church then you are also breaking a law in the state, also In Salem, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the devil; anything that is unlawful, is associated with satanic activity. An example of this is when ,Danforth says in Act III, “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it.” which means that intolerance is playing a big part, because if you're not with them then you are a witch then you must be related with …show more content…

when all the girls start calling out people who they accused of being witches, they started using reputation on their side. When all the girls in the town hall start screaming at the same thing then they must not be lying because all those girls reputations are good and accurate and why would they be lying about it an example of this is when the girls started to accuse people of being a witch because they didn't have the best reputations throughout the town. An example of this is when someone accused rebecca nurse of being a witch because of goody putnam's had several of her babies die in the protection of rebecca nurse, so she was accused of being a witch because people thought that she had killed goody putnam's

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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.

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In response to the second Red Scare, prompted by the accusations of Senator Joe McCarthy, Arthur Miller felt it necessary to express his political feelings through an author’s medium. Similarities are shown between McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials in the way Senator McCarthy gained power and control by inducing fear and hatred of communists in America, comparable to the fear and hatred of witches in the late 1600s. Miller shares that themes of paranoia and vengeance continue on even as society progresses, and presents The Crucible as an example to shed light on issues inherent with using accusations to gain power. With its ability to relate to a number of political situations in many countries, even as far as 50 years past its creation,

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In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote the famous play The Crucible, in response to a fear of Communism The “Red Scare”, was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was afraid of communist takeover. The Crucible a play in which Arthur Miller changes some events of the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the problems that were happening in his own society. In this essay we’ll see the ties between The Crucible, McCarthyism , The witch trials and Puritans. Arthur Miller, was born in Harlem, New York City, NY on October 17, 1915 to parents of Polish and Jewish descent. His father was successful coat manufacture.

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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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The Crucible was a 4-act play written in 1953 by the author Arthur Miller. The Crucible is an intriguing play based around the Salem Witch Trials, which was a time period where many were convicted and prosecuted for being “witches”. Accusations were taken with no mercy and many contributed to the mass hysteria to fall upon Salem. Additionally, this story is an allegory for the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). There were many characters introduced in this story but Abigail Williams and her friends were the most culpable for the hysteria and loss of life during the Salem Witch trials because they are a direct representation of manipulation, vindictiveness and aggressiveness.

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The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is a play that depicts the Salem witch trials of 1692. The play is a commentary on the McCarthy era, during which Miller himself was accused of communist sympathies. The play uses propaganda to depict how the Salem witch trials were fueled by fear, hysteria, and the desire for power. This essay will explore the different types of propaganda used in The Crucible and how they serve to further the play's themes and messages.

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First, in The Crucible it displays hysteria in many different ways, and was a major factor in the numerous accusations of witchcraft. Hysteria’s role in The Crucible was tearing the community apart, and causing neighbors to turn on each other and stab each other in the back. In the beginning not every character falls into mass hysteria , but it ended up spreading throughout the whole community. It first started when Betty was in a coma.

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In the background of the Salem witch trials, Arthur Miller's timeless masterpiece "The Crucible" explores the themes of hysteria, power, and truth. The play, which is a metaphor for the McCarthy era of the 1950s and is set in the puritanical culture of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, was written by Arthur Miller. " The Crucible" investigates how fear may proliferate like wildfire and result in devastating conduct, especially toward helpless people. Miller makes a statement in his writing on the perils of groupthink and the necessity of maintaining personal integrity in the face of peer pressure. The characters are captivated by their fear of the devil and the presence of evil throughout the entire play.

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At the beginning of Act 1, Abby, Betty, Mary, Ruth, and other girls go into the forest and dance. Later in the Act, Betty and Ruth are both sick, everyone tells Parris and the Putnam’s to turn to witchcraft for a diagnosis, which is when the hunt starts. While speaking to Abby about being afraid that people might think everyone who was in the forest that night are witches, Mary hysterically states, “I just come from the farm, the whole country‘s talking witchcraft! They‘ll be callin‘ us witches, Abby! Abby, we‘ve got to tell.

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For example, Hale goes against the court and says, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (Miller 120). Hale experiences a person v. society type of conflict because he alone is going against the court system to defend his beliefs. This supports the theme because all the actions taken by the residents of Salem fueled by fear are causing conflict for people like Reverend Hale; one of the few people who haven’t let the rumors of witchcraft overrun him. An early Puritan leader, John Winthrop, once described Salem as a city upon a hill, a sermon.

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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.

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In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.

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