Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

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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 cumulative hysteria found in The Crucible leads to the loss of morality in the decision making of its characters. In the play there is a group of girls who have allegedly been victimized by witches, “folks are brought before them and if [the girls] scream and howl and fall to the floor-

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