...The Crucible and Mass Hysteria Mass hysteria has been displayed many times throughout history. From The Dancing plague of the 1500’s to the more modern LeRoy High School tourette incident of 2012, mass hysteria is rare but perplexing when it is seen. Though it is fairly easy to find differences between mass hysteria and other problems in modern times, it is harder to distinguish older supposed cases of mass hysteria due to their limited evidence and the legends which have become a part of the story. This is displayed greatly in the events of the Salem witch trial. It is very hard to distinguish if the events of the trials were caused by mass hysteria or some other catalyst which caused the destruction of so many lives. Even so it is safe to say that is is very unlikely that this tragedy was caused by mass hysteria, rather some other illness. Before a claim is made there must be a...
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...Mass hysteria is a social phenomenon wherein people valve something worthwhile, to such an extreme level, that it leaves to them doing horrible things to maintain it. The Crucible and Swing Kids share many commonalities that make them examples of mass hysteria. The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials and they show a number of teenage and preteen girls feeling (or at least claiming they feel) as though they are being cursed by witches, so they seek to root them out. In Swing Kids, we follow a group of boys who like to dance to swing music, something outlawed by the Nazis; two of the boys join Hitler’s Youth and start to believe Nazi propaganda, at least to a degree; by the end of the movie, one of these boys ends up so firmly against the Nazis that he gets sent to a prison camp, while the other...
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...world, there are many reasons for mass hysteria. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, the mass hysteria was that many girls were accused of being witches because they were "dancing in the forest". An entire town went balistic when they heard the word witch. In the twenty-first century, people panic and become frightened over terrorist attacks and bombings. Numerous attacks and bombings have occured in the United States and an infinite amount of people become terrified that something worse might happen. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, the people of the town go insane when they heard that a number of girls were bewitched. Once the people heard, their only reaction was to run and see if it was the truth. Reasons why a diverse amount of people become frightened is because people are going to get hurt or killed and also are worried about themselves because they can also be accused. Humans cause problems as a result of not having a satisfying childhood and want to make others lives miserable....
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...The Crucible and The Salem Witch Trials both contain mass hysteria and elements of McCarthyism. Mass hysteria is defined as, “a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.” McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of treason without proper regard for evidence. During the McCarthy era many Americans were accused of being communist and became investigated and questioned before government agencies. This time period of fear and accusations caused mass hysteria within the country. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are similar because they both caused mass hysteria in which people accused each other of things that were not true....
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...jennifer lux 12/8/15 The Crucible analysis “We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterday”- Persius. There have been moments in history where people were too consumed in fear that they broke many of their morals and due to powerful situations people behaved differently than their normal self. A play called the Crucible was written in 1953 by Author Miller to portray the unfairness at that time due to people being accused of witches with little to no evidence and then hanged. This event was called the Salem witch trials, which took place in the province of Massachusetts Bay. This play is an allegory to the McCarthy Hearings that took place from 1950 to 1956. The McCarthy hearings occurred in 1947; President Truman ordered background checks of every civilian in service to the government due to a fear of people within the United States being a communist spy. The fear of communism intensified when a high ranked official Alger Hiss was convicted of being a communist spy. Senator Joseph McCarthy stepped in and convinced/alarm people within the U.S that there were Communist and Communist sympathizers that would try to overthrow the government. As a result, he formed a special Congressional committee to investigate Americans who were suspected of Communist activities and this movement was named McCarthyism. The Crucible is a play that is universal and enduring because it uses allegory and archetypes to teach readers...
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...Mass Hysteria Mass hysteria is known as uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear. The idea of mass hysteria has occurred various times throughout the history of the United States. The United States has some major examples of mass hysteria, the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 and the tragic events of 9/11 in 2001. These two incidents left the people in chaos and complete panic, nobody trusted anyone, people were afraid of transit such as planes, trains and busses, ultimately this led to fear across the world. In 2014 the Ebola epidemic had everyone in a panic although very few people were actually contaminated with this deadly disease and most cases were overseas in other countries around Africa. One case was when a woman near the Pentagon fell ill and had vomited in a parking lot, she was quickly isolated and quarantined for multiple hours. This case showed the panic and extreme precautions the government will take when a potential outbreak could occur even though nobody could confirm the lady was truly infected with Ebola. Ebola had the United States in havoc although it was not spreading at all, only a few scandalous cases had occurred leaving the people in complete terror...
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...The Crucible and the Detroit riots have a lot in common, whether it be from comparing the mass hysteria, or people being falsely accused of terrible acts, the similarities are unmistakable. A small rumor can have giant effects and push people beyond a breaking point. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a very good example of how people react when they don’t know how to respond and they see violence as the only resolution, such as the residents in Detroit did during July of 1967. The two events are very similar if you consider the mass hysteria and several other factors. The Detroit riot of 1967 was a series of violent clashes between the city’s residents and the police department (Emeka). It remains of one the most violent uprisings in the...
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...An unknown author once stated that a cautious statement to live by is “If you do right nobody remembers, but if you do wrong nobody forgets” (SayQuotable). Clearing your own name after something traumatic happens is next to impossible. One small mistake is the difference from being hated and living normally. The Crucible by Arthur Miller paints a bright picture in our heads on what doing wrong may do to you in life and the chaos it shall bring. Arthur Miller also works in great literary devices. Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible is great literature because it has descriptive characterization, colorful imagery, powerful themes, and flowing figurative language. To begin, Arthur Miller’s characterization is detailed. Characterization...
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...At the Edge of Unjustified Suspicion Mass hysteria is a plague that has been around for many decades and is still around in today’s society. Mass hysteria is a condition in which many or certain groups of people are afflicted by the belief that something is not real or that is a fable. A prime example of mass hysteria occurred in Spring of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, known as The Salem Witch Trials. The mass hysteria which caused the Salem Witch Trials was unjustified. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1688 when the Goodwin children all started behaving in a bizarre manner. Then, four years later, in 1692 two young girls (Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris) started to twitch, choke, and twist their bodies in many different horrifying...
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..."Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven" (1156 Crucible). Mass hysteria has been an issue all throughout history. The root cause of this is usually just misinformation or straight up lies. Although sometimes you cannot blame the people who regard the hysteria as truth. Threatening someone's livelihood, family, and well being causes them to think irrationally. Mass hysteria in a time or crisis can result in an overreaction and loss of critical thinking. Examples of this throughout history are the Salem Witch Trials, The Red Scare, and the 2012 Mayan Calendar scare. Within the Salem Witch Trials, was a vast amount of hysteria that cost the lives of many people. Religion and “the devil” played a key role in the cause of the trials and even does today “The Christian belief in the existence of the Devil is widely accepted in modern-America” (Kenneth). The use of unknown evils as well as spectral evidence to instill fear into the commoners propelled the hysteria “witchcraft is... an invisible crime, is it not? Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it?” (Miller). Leaders of the court realize that witchcraft is something with no real evidence to it other than he said she said. Evidence during this time was allowed to be completely circumstantial, which in turn made claims by people get too much traction too quickly. Even the more level headed characters in the crucible could succumb to the nonsense. One of...
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...In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the tone of irony boats from every corner you look, this story casts a mirror onto McCarthyism and reflects the outcomes of this ironic process. The Crucible depicts the reality of the Salem Witch Trials in a time of hysteria and fear. Miller uses a past event to emphasize the effects of unnecessary fear imposed by McCarthyism, indirectly relating to the Salem Witch Trials. Miller’s, The Crucible, is one of irony in which it obliquely equates to the consequences of fear and blaming others by relating the Salem Witch Trials to McCarthyism. Abigail’s intentions regarding John Proctor are nothing if not ironic, you can see this perfectly in which Abigail acted out in a complete façade so that she could be...
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...Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” is about the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. The conflict arose after many young girls went around accusing people of witchcraft. As fingers were pointed and accusations were made, many people were put on trial and hanged to death. One of the characters in the play who is put on trial is John Proctor. Proctor is a highly respected individual who is proud of his good name. As the story of the play develops, secrets of John's past are leaked and threaten to ruin his reputation. However, Proctor refuses to lose his integrity. To combat the accusations made against him, Proctor displays characteristics of honesty, bravery, and dignity....
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...In Arthur Millers, The Crucible, the Salem witch trails occurred. In Salem, while the Salem witch trials were occurring, the citizens tell many lies. This is one thing that led to the mass hysteria that defined the Salem witch trials. It also led to many conflicts between the characters in this book. This is because in the eyes of the puritans anyone who was involved in “witchcraft” was against the church and thought to be communicating with Satan and deserved death. One of the conflicts that occurred in The Crucible was between John Proctor and himself. Because lying is a sin and in turn causes negative effects, John Proctor is forced to face the reality and the consequences of his deceitfulness. In the play The Crucible, John Proctor, the main character, endures multiple inner conflicts. He believes his affair with Abigail Williams, another citizen of Salem, has permanently damaged him and his worthiness in the eyes of God. After scolding Elizabeth Proctor, his wife, for continuing to be suspicious of his actions with Abigail and not giving him forgiveness, Elizabeth expresses that she does not judge him, but that it is, “The magistrate sitting in [his] heart that judges [him].” Lying is a recurring theme in The Crucible and Proctor’s actions with the affair is an example of this....
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...Authors and playwrights write their works intending for the audience to acknowledge a problem in their society. For example, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to express the conditions the United States is in. Fear quickly spread throughout the country due to citizens accusing each other of being a communist. Similar to the Red Scare, the citizens of Salem began accusing each other of witchcraft due to their own fears. On the other, Jodi Picoult’s purpose of Salem Falls is to entertain the audience. Picoult adjusts the story to adapt to the twenty-first century. Unlike the ending of Miller’s play, the film had a true ending. In both versions, the audience learns that religion corrupts the justice system; nevertheless, the film’s ending exemplifies that a society can overcome such conflict. Religious beliefs may be the cause of biased outcomes in the justice system. For instance, John Proctor, the main protagonist in Miller’s play, argues with Hale, “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never...
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...Holocaust were catastrophic events that happened in our history. Many things happened in these two “extreme, tragic events.” (Alex, paragraph 1) The Salem Witch Trials are “great examples of innocent people getting scapegoated for things they were not responsible for.” (wikiAnswers Community, slide 6) In the “Crucible”, these women and men were accused of witchery when they were completely innocent. In the Holocaust, Jews, Gypsies,...
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