The Growth Of Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
The growth of hysteria in America exemplifies people’s tendency to abuse newly-gained power and is supported by Americans’ intolerance of unpopular ideologies. During times of hysteria, one often show his or her true natures. Therefore, human nature can be most easily observed in such times.
During times of hysteria, people exploited fear among the public to gain more power, which they abused. In Act II of The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor told her husband that “Abigail [Williams] brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel” (Miller 50). Prior to the Salem Witch Trials, Abigail and her cohorts had very little influence in the society due to their being young women. However, due to their
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In The Crucible, Reverend Hale tells Proctor that “a rumor…troubles me. It’s said you hold no belief that there may even be witches in the world” (Miller 66). The reason Hale was troubled was that not believing in witches means having a lack of faith. In Puritanical times, one not being a devout Christian means that he or she is an associate of the Devil. John Proctor’s telling the court that the witch trials have no basis on solid evidence was dangerous because challenging the court resulted in prosecution. As he immediately condemned all arguments against the trial as heresy without considering their truth, Deputy Governor Danforth did not realize his mistakes in sentencing more than a hundred people for crimes they did not commit, and continued to persecute more innocent people, which contributed to the further spread of hysteria. Similarly, after writing The Crucible, Arthur Miller was “cited for contempt of Congress, and received a fine and prison sentence” (Bigsby xxiii). Miller was punished simply for writing a play that alludes to McCarthyism, even though he was not involved in any Communist activity. To people at the time, any and all criticism of McCarthyism is considered a sign that the critic was a communist. Such a belief made many afraid to speak against McCarthy’s actions, which allowed McCarthyism to grow due to a lack of opposition. Edward R. Murrow criticized such a belief in Good
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542 Words | 3 PagesThe definition of hysteria is exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement. The devil came to Salem in 1692, or did it? The Puritans believed that Salem had been conquered by witches. The girls began to name members of the surrounding community. They became hysterical.
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692 Words | 3 PagesEven with the play’s puritan disguise Miller was still sent on trial for suspicion of communism. If “The Crucible” had been written at another time it probably would not have gained much interest and there would not have been something to bring people to the realization that McCarthy’s accusations and methods were really somewhat uncalled for. Both the Salem Trials and McCarthyism were cause by the spread of something that created fear and paranoia and allowed chaos and revenge to take
How Does Arthur Miller Create Mass Hysteria In The Crucible
345 Words | 2 PagesIn the overture of The Crucible, Arthur Miller characterizes the Puritans as hardworking, yet emphasizes their many negative traits to analyze the type of environment necessary to produce mass hysteria. While no one truly knew what the lives of the Puritans were like, the Puritans were feared greatly because their society was seen as "a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics..." Everyone viewed the Puritans as fanatics because they often minded other people 's business. This, consequently, created suspicion, eventually leading to the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials took place during a period of utter fear and chaos, where many were afraid that individuality was on the rise.
Personal Integrity In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
669 Words | 3 PagesThe Crucible Throughout Miller’s play, The Crucible, the characters are faced with many different trials when the suspicion of witchcraft enters their town. These trials have forced the characters to change their opinions and develop their own sense of personal integrity. The impact of pressure on people has forced some of the characters to further from their own morals. Reverend Hale, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor already had strong opinions on witchcraft before it became such a major issue in their society. When Reverend Hale was first asked to come investigate Salem he was determined to discover witchcraft.
How Does Arthur Miller Present Hysteria In The Crucible
707 Words | 3 PagesHysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
Role Of Hysteria In The Crucible
788 Words | 4 PagesBrook 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 Crucible: Theme Of Hysteria In Everyday Life And Society
481 Words | 2 PagesThe Crucible Essay The theme of hysteria is evident throughout Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in everyday life and society. Driven by self-preservation, hysteria influences many characters’ actions and leads to the devastating witch trials in Salem. For instance, many characters in The Crucible are driven to execute drastic actions to sustain their reputation and protect themselves.
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947 Words | 4 PagesAccording to the Freudian model of the psyche, psychoanalysis is a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of the conscious mind and the unconscious mind by examining psychological process such as impulses, anxieties and internal conflicts. This model consists of three subcategories; the id, the ego, and the super-ego, all of which are evident in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. The id focuses on a person’s desires without any correlation to the conscience, much like that of Abigail William’s lust for John Proctor. The ego identifies the part of a person’s personality responsible for dealing with reality, such as John coming to the realization that he must remain an upright and honest man. The super-ego represents a repository of socially
What Is The Cause Of Hysteria In The Crucible
1451 Words | 6 PagesFear 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.
Injustice In The Crucible Essay
660 Words | 3 PagesAlthough, many people that were condemned weren’t actually apart of the Communist Party, (under McCarthyism around 1950-1954) they got blacklisted or lost their jobs. This social injustice is also portrayed in The Crucible as its characters face the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as his own reaction to the injustice of McCarthyism. Miller’s purpose was to show how people accused each other with false denunciations because of their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another under McCarthyism.
Who Is To Blame For The Hysteria In The Crucible
1608 Words | 7 PagesHysteria can be defined as the exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This definition proves true and exists throughout the course of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In The Crucible, a group of girls go dancing in a forest around a cauldron, some even naked, and along with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris, the local minister, then catches the girls in the act. As a result, Betty, one of the girls and Parris’s daughter, goes into what it seems like a coma.
John Proctor And Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller
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Examples Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible
852 Words | 4 PagesThe Crucible written by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is a story based off of a lot of main characters and scenes. The story itself is based off the salem witch trials hence the story is in the town of salem. The three categories of this story was mass hysteria where people believe things and all join in. Group think is how people together make decisions based on ideas in the group.
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719 Words | 3 PagesArthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Miller wrote his drama during the brief reign of the American senator Joseph McCarthy whose bitter criticized anti- communism sparkled the need for the United States to be a dramatic anti- communist society during the early tense years of the cold war. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. Convict communists were ordered to confess their crime and name others to avoid the retribution.
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