Examples Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

In the face of death, people will do anything to get out of it. In The Crucible, the author, Arther Miller, demonstrates the story of the Salem witch trials in the 1890’s through a play. Of which the readers find that the trials originated from those who sought revenge upon others. As the people in Salem had fulfilled their hateful desires with an organized cry of witchcraft in court. Similarly, to when people accused others of communism, by naming names of those they didn’t like in the 1950’s. And in both these time periods, people were falling victim to mass hysteria. Whether it be before the court trial or in the aftermath of the trial, when they’ve been proven guilty. Miller relates the court’s mass hysteria to his experience with McCarthyism.

Cheever Ezekiel, a clerk within the court of Salem, is driven by mass hysteria and claims that Elizabeth is guilty of witchcraft because of a needle found in her poppet. Cheever says this because a few hours prior, he recalls what happened to Abigail Williams, “She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house tonight, and without word nor warnin’ she falls to the floor. ... And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin’ of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wife’s farmiliar spirit pushed it in” (Miller 1132). Cheever firmly believes that this an act of witchcraft, done by Goody Proctor, as he found a needle in a poppet she had beside her. He won’t change his accusation as he doesn’t believe that a

Even though Tituba is not a real witch, the accusations and terrifying consequences she’d potentially face, force her into a fake admission. With this admission, Tituba gets thrown into jail where she begins to lose her sanity, stating, “Devil, him be pleasureman in Barbados, him be singin’ and dancin’ in Barbados. It’s you folks– you riles him up ‘round here; it be too cold ‘round here for that Old Boy” (Miller 1154). Tituba, in her isolated and scared mindset, begins to see the Devil as her savior. As she’s been accused of working with him by everyone around her to the point where she believes and accepts it. With this, Tituba puts all her hope and trust into the Devil, as she’s convinced he’ll save her. She pleads with him, “I goin’ home! Take me home, Devil! Take me home!” (Miller 1155). Malnourished and mistreated, Tituba turns to the Devil for help to get out of her imprisonment, signifying how far gone her mind is. Due to the mass hysteria of those around her she truly believes that the Devil will take her home, showing that the result of the mass hysteria in the town caused her a broken mind. Even when admitting to something she didn’t do, Tituba still couldn’t escape consequences. Miller symbolizes this with McCarthyism, demonstrating that even if someone were to name names it’d still negatively affect