The word hysteria was established to describe a health condition that originates from a minor emotional crisis, then converting itself into a physical problem. Arthur Miller portrays this idea within his play The Crucible, a drama based around the idea of displaying the traumatic notions of the Salem Witch Trials and further exemplifying the mistakes behind McCarthyism in the face of the Red Scare. The Crucible follows the story of a group of girls who provoke the fear of witchcraft within Salem
In Arthur Miller's, the Crucible, superstition of witches existed in 1692. Anybody who acted oddly was automatically accused of witchcraft and their faith was diminished by their actions. A group of young girls act as if they are “bewitched” to save themselves to get out of trouble. They began to blame many innocent people to save themselves from imprisonment and even death. Hysteria plays a very significant part of ruining the community of Salem by grievance, resentment, and dissatisfaction. This
is according to the site titled History. The mentality of rioting mobs correlates strongly with mob hysteria. Particularly this phenomenon played a substantial role in the catastrophe of the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy era. A book named The Crucible written by Arthur Miller was staunchly influenced by both events. The McCarthy era and The Crucible are both prime examples of mob hysteria which makes people think unclearly, abandons their morals, ethics, and shows blatant corruption.
Mass hysteria is a problem that has been occurring throughout the world for centuries. Mass hysteria is the common term used to describe a situation in which various people all suffer from similar hysterical symptoms. Whether it is from a phantom illness or an inexplicable event. This occurred before the colonies were created during the Salem Witch Trials, explained through the story The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Other time periods, such as in the late 1950’s during the Second Red Scare
a court of members biased by sexism and the new-blooming mass hysteria, in an attempt to appease the population.
The Crucible and Today Timeless pieces of literature are mostly hard to come by; however, The Crucible proves to be timeless in its themes. For themes to be timeless, these themes must be relatable and common in the current day in age. The Crucible contains several timeless themes that are in fact relatable and common in today’s society, two of which are the human reaction of hysteria and the prevalence of intolerance. The Crucible proves to be timeless in its portrayal of hysteria. Through the
one to give them a sense of purpose and direction. There are several themes that appear in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, including guilt, revenge, pride, intolerance, authority, reputation, and integrity. As a result, the play takes on a better meaning because it encourages readers to study and interpret these themes. A very evident theme that keeps reoccurring in The Crucible is reputation and integrity. Reputation is the way that others see or perceive
etc., whether the threat is real or not; the feeling or condition of being afraid. But fear is an emotion that really affects people, makes them behave without thinking and doubt about everything. This strong emotion takes an important role in The Crucible: At the end of the 17th century the people of Salem only had a few things to be afraid of: Ruling authority punishments, that their name was brought into shame and the pain and suffering of being bothered from supernatural forces. The girls from
English 3 26 September 2015 The Crucible: Religion and Politics The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, was written in the early 1950s during a period after World War II where the American government became paranoid of the spread of communism from the Soviet Union. These political ties can be seen within The Crucible, where the community of Salem became paranoid of the spread of witchery and the effect that had on their community. Due to these hysterias the American government began to
Though Arthur Miller was writing about historical events in the 1690s, it was impossible for him to write the play without the influence of his own time period: the 1950s. His reasoning behind writing The Crucible was to represent how much the Red Scare and McCarthyism was like a witch-hunt. The Salem Witch Trials were probably one of the most recognizable witch hunts in our history, which helped Miller in his goal to show just how horrible the events in the 1940s and 50s actually were. Though witch-hunts