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-
The last, but not least example of why mass hysteria takes over this town is when at the end of act two John Proctor said, “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” this quote shows that most of the things that are happening are because of vengeance, people are accusing people that no one likes in town in order to become powerful in the town, or to get rid of that people. Mass hysteria conducts people to believe that all people that is being accused are witches without even proving it or listening to what they say in their defense. for this reason hysteria caused the death of many innocent people, just because they were unfairly accused
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible during a time of mass hysteria in the 1950's. During the 50's, a great fear of communism was very real within the United States. He connects this time with another period of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials, by using ideas such as: fear is always based around a grain of truth, groups begin to form in search of the accused, and the best option for survival is to confess and accuse someone else. During the witch trials, it was a near fact in society that witches walked among us.
A crucible is a metal container with a high temperature known to melt substances, but it is also defined as a severe test or trial. The Salem witch trials took place between 1692 and 1693, during this time a tremendous amount of people had been accused, executed, and prosecuted. The reason for these prosecutions was witchcraft. Many had been convicted of practicing the Devil’s magic. Young girls had been screaming, barking like animals, and dancing in the woods.
Brook Mills Mrs. Brown English 10 11/03/15 Many individuals of Salem have to deal with everyday hysteria with many people accused of being a witch and being executed. Other than Abigail, three characters who are to blame for the hysteria in The Crucible are Judge Danforth, John Proctor, and Mary Warren. A character that contributed to the hysteria in The Crucible was Judge Danforth. He contributed to the hysteria because he sent men and women to be executed for no reason.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. The play was written in 1952 after the Red Scare in America that caused much hysteria, like the Salem witch trials. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Each of the characters of Proctor, Hale, and Elizabeth changed from the beginning of the play to the end of the story. Proctor becomes more honest; Hale becomes more skeptical, and Elizabeth becomes more forgiving.
Through the Salem witch trials, twenty-four innocent people lost their lives due to betrayal. They were hung because they were accused and found to be guilty of witchcraft. In reality, everyone that was accused and had died were innocent, but used as targets by others to save their own lives. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, out of fear, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, Mercy Lewis, and Reverend Hale betrayed their morals to save themselves. As a result of betrayal, lives were taken, relationships were ruined, and trusts were broken.
The Spread of Hysteria in Salem In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, multiple factors fueled the hysteria leading up to the Salem witch trials, such as Abigail’s deceiving plots, Reverend Hale not establishing the truth, and citizens’ mindless accusations. Abigail is the most guilty of causing outbreaks of panic starting with dancing in the woods with other girls, then moving to framing Mary Warren with a doll, and fake acting out seeing otherworldly entities. One example of Abigail’s manipulation is when she stabbed herself with a needle to frame Mary Warren: “Stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out” (176). Abigail also has a habit of accusing falsely and gets to girls to gang up during hearings, but everyone believes
Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.
“He have his goodness now. God forbid i take it from him!” (63), schrieks Elizabeth Proctor as she watches her husband get executed right in front of her. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, tells a story about the Puritan civilization taking place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, becoming corrupted by the lies of witchcraft. Some in the town believe this witch hunt is made-up, not believing in the accusations handed to them.
How would you react to hysteria? Would you join or stay far away from it? In the 1960s people were accused of being communists. Arthur Miller publicly stated he was a communist. He was inspired by what had happened in the 1960s and personal experiences.
Arthur Miller’s inspiration for his play The Crucible resulted from his observation of the repetition of “witch trials" throughout history. All of these witch-hunts, especially the one that occurred in Salem, were bred from the political and social repression present in the communities. This communal repression influenced a hypocritical mindset, which then prompted some individuals to manipulate others’ fear in order to gain a breath of personal freedom. Through comparing the Red Scare to the trials of Salem and analyzing the repetitive nature of these horrific acts, Miller emphasizes the idea that it is human nature for people to turn to the manipulation of fear in order to liberate themselves from their present reality.
John Proctor, a well-respected farmer, has to make many difficult decisions that affect himself, his family, and the community of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The tragedy of Salem trials begins with John Proctor. He is a middle aged man, a farmer, a husband, and a father who also committed a truculent sin. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible demonstrates the effects of hidden sin on John Proctor's character, on his family, and on his community.
Elia Kazan a Greek-American director once said, “Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion and secrecy” In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the town of Salem gets warped into a loop of lies and false accusations. A group of girls claim to be able to see spirits to avoid being called witches, and accuse others of being witches, starting a chain reaction. Now others accuse people of being witches in order to get rid of those they don‘t like, and so they be hanged. Hysteria and conformity cause an uproar of lies that kill innocent people in Salem.
People have a tendency to fight for themselves and for what they believe in no matter what the cost. This is shown in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible when people in a village, named Salem, try kill their neighbors by blaming them for witchcraft. With characters such as John Proctor, he tries to bring justice to the town of Salem with all the false accusations with Reverend Hale. However with Judge Hawthorne, Abigail, Parris, Putnam, and the townspeople standing in their way, Proctor and Hale must fight through to bring justice. However in the end, 20 innocent people died because of people’s vengeance, hatred, and greed.
One of the major themes in The Crucible is hysteria and how it allows the people of the town to give up reason and morality. In order to understand why so many of the towns people are afraid, the community of Salem begins to believe that this fear has justifiable origins. The people of Salem are so concerned with their reputations that they are willing to let others be harmed, fuelling hysteria in the process, just to protect themselves (Florman and Kestler). Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible shows how hysteria, powered by religious zeal, replaces logic, leading to chaotic situations that ultimately tear apart the community. Much of the hysteria brought onto the community is powered largely by the strict Puritans’ religious zeal.