Examples Of Intolerance In The Crucible '

After a close reading and synthesis of The Crucible it has come to my attention the similarities in how themes present in the play affect our seemingly modern society. Themes like hysteria and intolerance are prevalent in many current situations the same way they were in The Crucible, in a way blurring the line between past and present. “Bodies, and the subconscious, have their own language, rooted in the patients’ individual life experiences. Bodies can express things when words fail.”(Bynum 2). Our minds, although sometimes we choose not to accept it, have a lot of control over our bodies and how they react to situations. Written in an article regarding the immigration ban, “Some of the people affected by the...order are facing...the possibility of death...”(Muscavage 1). Intolerance affects people in many ways, whether it be banning entry to a safer country or hanging people on the credibility of a rumour. Both hysteria and intolerance, themes seen in The Crucible, can be shown the same way now as they were in the play.

Bynum goes into great detail about, “Physical symptoms that mask emotional distress.”(Bynum 1) and the levels of hysteria that come along with them. It is said that while some may think they have a serious ailment, it may just be in their head. One’s mind can play elaborate tricks on their body given the situation at hand, and the outcome can lead hysteria to wreak havoc on their sense of reality. This is seen in The Crucible when Betty Parris and Ruth Putnam fall “ill” after a night dancing in the woods. Their comatose states are the product of fearing punishment for what they did that night. This can also be seen in people suffering from mental illness, where a person may feel physically ill due to emotional distress. The symptoms shown by both Betty and Ruth spark mass hysteria in Salem, just as these psychosomatic illnesses do to our minds