Hysteria, By The Crucible

Thomas Putnam is a wealthy and influential citizen of Salem who commonly holds grudges over land boundaries. He and his wife hold a grudge especially against Rebecca Nurse because she has a lot of children and the Putnams have only one child. “Mrs. Putnam. (with a growing edge of sarcasm). But I must! You think it God's work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I bury all but one? There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires! Putnam. (to Parris). When Reverend Hale comes, you should proceed to look for signs of witchcraft here” (Miller 29). Mrs. Putnam wants justice for the difference in the amount of children that she and Goody Nurse have and sees supernatural causes as the only reason she loses so many.

Hysteria is defined as an exaggerated or irrepressible emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. In Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, hysteria rocked a small Puritan community. Over the span of four short months, nineteen people were hanged to death and another was pressed to death by stones. Puritans in the community accused one another of witchcraft—a crime punishable by death—and so hysteria swept the village. The causes of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 remain a mystery to this day; however, religious, economical, and social reasons were undoubtedly to blame.

Although hysteria plays a major role in many moments of The Crucible there are specific examples, "I--I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I--It were only sport in the beginning sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I--I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not." (Miller, 100). Here Tituba, a slave to one of the main characters, starts naming people who might be witches and is praised for it. Tituba began naming people in the town who had never participated in witchcraft before because she was in fear for life. In The Count of Monte Cristo hysteria is not as noticeable, but it is still in a very important scene in the novel. "When one thinks," said Caderousse, letting his hand drop on the paper, "there is here wherewithal to kill a man more sure than if we waited at the corner of a wood to assassinate him! I have always had more dread of a pen, a bottle of ink, and a sheet of paper, than of a sword or pistol." (Dumas, 23). In this moment of the novel hysteria has begun to spread in the group of men who wish to get rid of Dantès. All four men fell such an overwhelming feeling of hatred and jealousy towards Dantès that they act based on their feelings, and not their minds. Hysteria began the downfall of Dantès in The

Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This can lead to lie being spread that people will believe due to hysteria. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, Arthur use the red scare of post war america as his inspiration for his novel. During the red scare people were accusing any person of being a communist and people believed because due to hysteria. Arthur miller uses hysteria to show that it leads to Damaged reputations,lies ,and hurting people's lives.

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies and injustice of the 1692 witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. The restrictive Puritan society of Salem in the 17th century was based upon religious intolerance, where faith was demonstrated through physical labour and by strict adherence to religious doctrine. Material, physical and sexual desires were considered the Devil’s work and a threat to the very fabric of society. In summary, it is said that Puritanism discouraged individualism on all levels. The literal way in which the Bible was interpreted by the Puritans, provides a paradox within the play. This is because although the Bible says “thou shalt not kill,” the people of Salem are willing to sentence innocent

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, explains the marvels of witchcraft and the world of “magic”, which unravels a set of confusing disasters in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. While confronted between a choice of life and death, situations hastily get out of hand, and soon become uncontrollable. These events are based on true happenings that led to the writing of this play, which contains the themes mass hysteria, groupthink, and abuse of power. The vast world of witchcraft may not have seemed too intimidating, but it is proven that it’s more dangerous than one can truly imagine.

     Hysteria was a very obvious theme shown throughout the play, The Crucible. It was all started by a few young girls in Salem, Massachusetts. They were all dancing in the woods one night and were caught by Paris, the reverend in that small town. The next day two of the young girls were sick and would not move, talk, nor eat . The town began to start talk of witch craft

Abigail Williams, the main antagonist in the play The Crucible, had successfully manipulated the three most important people during this hysteria; The judge (jury), the witnesses, and the one who knows the most about witchcraft and can give the most definitive knowledge to the court, John Hale. The Puritan’s idea of religion and superstition blinded them to reason and logic which could have saved the lives of 19 people and very possibly the lives of the hundreds of people that were jailed. The Crucible is a prime example of how easily people can be manipulated and how simple it can be to become blind to the evil intentions of others. I challenge you to strive to understand others. Understand their character and their values before condemning them

When Giles’ wife is accused of witchcraft because of him saying that she likes to read books, he automatically gets someone to say that they know what the Putnams are up to. This doesn’t help him because he won’t say the name, and so the court can only assume that he is making it up to get them in trouble. Mr. Putnam uses his daughter’s illness to accuse people of witchcraft. He is being too selfish to see that something is really going on and he won’t accept the fact that people can see what he is up to. What he won’t even begin to notice is the fact that there is something truly wrong with his daughter and he just wants to use her to make sure that he can get Giles’ land.

“The Crucible” displays hysteria in many ways throughout the play, but the main act of hysteria was that it wrecked the people of Salem. Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion, which is mainly demonstrated by divisions of society. Hysteria takes a main part of the play because it caused the people of Salem to do such unreasonable acts. One hysterical act in “The Crucible” was during the Salem Witch Trials, one hundred fifth people were accused for practicing

One of the themes that a character portrays very well in The Crucible is hysteria that is shown by Mary Warren. Mary Warren´s personality is revealed well in through this theme by her not believing that there is witchcraft and later being accused of doing witchcraft. She is also one of the main people that shows hysteria very well in important events such as the trial. The Crucible was written during “The Red Scare,” also known as “McCarthyism” which was “when government initiated propaganda against Communism was at its zenith.” Hysteria is “exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people.”

By 1693, over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts. Arthur Miller’s historical fiction play, The Crucible, documents this dark period of American history and exposes the hysteria that poisons Salem. Although the entire town participates in creating this gratuitous hysteria, several characters significantly further it. Abigail Williams encourages mass hysteria by accusing innocent people, much of which is caused by her unwillingness to tolerate those who disobey her. Similarly, Reverend Parris is intolerant of those who are accused of not conforming with the church, allowing no opportunity for the accused to successfully deny engaging in witchcraft. Likewise, Judge Danforth’s intolerance of having a tarnished reputation

Hysteria an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear “An old dream with a shiny new veneer. It's fascinating, you know, how an obsolete madness is sometimes adopted and stylized in an attempt to ghoulishly preserve it. These are the days of second-hand fantasies and antiquated hysteria” (Thomas Ligotti, The Nightmare Factory). Mass hysteria, through superstitions and false accusations, creates uncontrollable fear and animosity in a close community. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, discusses the events that transpire in Salem, Massachusetts during the chaotic times. Mass hysteria plays an important role in the play The Crucible because the nature of hysteria causes chaos and mask the truth.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is about the people of 17th century.Salem, Massachusetts situated in a dangerous and dynamic period. The Puritans of Salem joined the bandwagon of the witch hysteria that was first caused by girls falsely accusing others. The inhabitants of Salem feared for their lives as the people who were accused were subjected to death. However, the accused have a chance to save themselves by admitting to a crime they did not commit. Many took the opportunity for self-preservation because it is a human instinct of survival. However, there others who chose to uphold their ideals, name, and reputation. Self-preservation is the motivates the characters to behave and act when they are situated in a compromising situation about the involvement of witchcraft, but there are also times when it is abandoned.

On the contrary in the play “The Crucible” is a different story that was told. When Paris asked his niece, Abigail about the rumors about her innocence, all she said was “She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling, and I will not work for such a woman!” (Miller.43) She portrayed her former employer, Elizabeth as a cruel person in the reality she is the one who is evil, having an affair with her husband. A community where supposedly they have faith in their God and not blasphemy others. Like how Mrs. Putman determine Betty’s situation and called it, “I’d not call it sick; the Devil touch, is heavier than the sick. It’s death, y’know, it’s death drivin’ into them, forked and hoofed.” (62) Her statement highlights the points in which their community don’t believe in each other, where there is no reliances on one another. Then people jumps to conclusion that seems absurd like being paranoid about witches. Causing so many to lose their lives due to ignorance and insanity however they somehow still manage to move on from a tragic event.