How many times has one action by one person influenced crowds of people to follow? This is known as “mob mentality”: when a group of people is influenced by a person’s actions to change their behavior and think as a group. In both The Crucible by Arthur Miller and “Half-Hanged Mary” by Margaret Atwood, groups of people who share the same beliefs can conform to a certain idea, whether it is correct or not. No matter how one views the story, it is evident that both communities in the play and poem were determined to band together and to bring these “witches” to extinction. The reasons for having the accused executed seemed unlawful, and it is presumed that with the acceptance of the community, unjustifiable actions become acceptable. This is …show more content…
I saw Goody Howe with the devil! Parris: She speaks! He rushes to embrace Betty. She speaks! Hale: Glory to God! It is broken, they are free!” (Miller 45) Now, one may notice that the men are blindly following the girls’ accusations as they seize power. The girls, or Abigail more specifically, now have decision-making power in the town, they possess the power to convince the townspeople that they are bewitched and that witches do exist. Due to the circumstances, it is likely that the girls will be influencing a hysterical breakdown so that these “witches” put will be on trial. Abigail is exploiting the power of Puritan Christian beliefs to gain credibility for her accusations, causing the community to gather in a panic in a form of mob mentality. In “Half-Hanged Mary”, the community accuses Mary Webster of witchcraft and hangs her in an act of vigilantism. Mary is victimized, as she is different in the face of a mob of people who were taught to believe that she is not normal. According to some, Mary’s behavior was deemed unpleasant, and she was examined for any evidence of her doing witchcraft or bewitching by the Northampton court (Marshall). “In a gathering like this