Does Abigail Williams Present Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

During the era of accused witchcraft in Salem during the 1690’s, the Puritan society revolved heavily on the words and the will of God, bestowed upon it by the reverends and other church officials. Within The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Reverend Parris is arguably the most liable individual for the grave turn of events in Salem. Parris, the newly appointed reverend of the town, allowed his pride, ego, and greed to cloud his judgement and decision making throughout the duration of the witchcraft accusals. The weak reverend’s inability to speak up for those he knew were falsely accused, in lieu of losing his coveted position, was the true catalyst for the grave events that took place. In Act I, Parris understands that the witchcraft has originated not

In the story/play mass hysteria plays an important role in Salem in the late 1600s. For instance Abigail Williams one of the girls in the crucible that uses mass hysteria to exploit the people of Salem around her. Mass hysteria means a group of people who over exaggerate something and becomes a fear. According to a quote from Abigail Williams says ”She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold sniveling woman! And you bend to her! Let her turn you like a-” which means she only accuses people because she wants

Fear, panic, and obsession can drive a person to commit terrible acts. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many people are accused of witchcraft by a group of girls claiming to be afflicted by the “witches” in their town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Because there was no way to prove that someone was really a witch, those who did not confess were sentenced to hang for their crimes, which ranged from conjuring up the dead to sending their spirit out on others. Terror soon spread throughout the village and people began to point fingers at each other. Although many townspeople contributed in getting the situation out of hand, one person was responsible for starting the whole ordeal: seventeen-year-old Abigail Williams, ringleader of the troubled girls. Her reason for crying witchcraft and spreading panic was due to her obsession with a man named John Proctor.

The year is 1692. Throughout the small, Puritan, seaside community of Salem, rumors and accusations fly like gusts of ocean wind. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and even the most holy church-goers are accused of being the devil’s servants. The Crucible details this real-life tragedy of the Salem witch trials, in which nineteen members of the Salem community were hanged for alleged witchcraft. Abigail Williams, a seemingly innocent girl, accuses dozens of Salem’s citizens of witchcraft through the support of her mob of girls and the complicity of the court officials. The title of this play gives significant insight into the experiences of several of these Salem citizens. Although a crucible is often used in chemistry for heating up substances, the title of the play carries a much greater weight. In his famous play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the title of “crucible” to signify the severe and unrelenting tests of faith and character that many of the community members endure throughout the Salem witch trials, which he achieves through the use of figurative language and fallacies of relevance and insufficiency.

In 1692 mass hysteria struck Salem, Massachusetts. The hysteria was caused by accusations against others for performing witchcraft, and since no one knew the truth, the accused often were put to death. Witchcraft was seen as an act of the Devil, and though this play may seem like it is simply about witchcraft, it actually is not. It is about using the accusations of witchcraft to manipulate others and to establish power. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller wonderfully and dramatically displays these events, and subtly shows how people can be manipulated through jealousy, abuse of authority, and even by using the church’s influence to further their own ends.

More than 200 people were accused of being witches in the 1600’s Salem Witch Trials. Even though many people were assumed witches, only 20 people denied the false claims and were, therefore, hung (Blumberg). The integrity of those who denied any accusations and refused to give into the claims is shown through Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Written during the time of McCarthyism, Arthur Miller attempts to warn people of the dangers of blame and giving into fear through his play. In the 1690s, fear of witches and the Devil riddled the town of Salem, causing them to act hysterically, jump to conclusions and point fingers at others to save themselves. Although most everybody in the town was taken over by this fear and hysteria, there were a selective few who stayed mentally strong throughout the experience. Among these few were John and Elizabeth Proctor, Martha and Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse. These characters are among the few that are respected in the town of Salem and, for the most part, seen as noble people with righteous intentions. One reason these people are so high in this town is because of their ability to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the motif of integrity to show people’s bravery to stand up against the powerful; thus, Miller emphasizes that one who stands true to their beliefs in the face of conformity remains on the highest ground of morality.

Between the years 1692 and 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Twenty of those people were executed for defending themselves against those ludacris claims. This small part of US. history was all caused by one boy-crazed teen - Abigail Williams. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play addressing the mass hysteria that swept Salem during that time. Miller writes about 17 year old Abigail Williams who has an affair with 30 year old John Proctor. After Proctor’s wife fires her, Abigail goes crazy, reverting to “witchcraft” trying to get rid of her. This was the start of what we know as the Salem Witch Trials, a period of mass hysteria and delusion. This play was used to display the

Could you imagine a large group of people going against their morals just to survive and keep their name pure? That’s exactly what happened in The Crucible and the McCarthy Era. Both events used fear tactics to scare a large portion of the population if not everyone. This tactic is called mass hysteria and has been proven to effective.

In the stories and information provided by Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible the witch trials can easily be viewed as a renewal of the modern legal system. The play conveys unsupported affirmations and ideas which form evidence that is not backed up with factual proof. Many people were accused of being witches in fact over 170 people were arrested and accused of being witches. Things like religious beliefs, the town’s economy and social disputes, and immature girls lacking attention were all factors that stood in the middle of the witch trials.

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the characterization of Abigail Williams, Thomas Putnam, and Governor Danforth, to show how people protect themselves during times of hysteria, which helps to continue the chaos that broke throughout Salem. Miller shows the importance of maintaining values and principles in order help end the chaos. Miller connects The Crucible with the events of the witch hunts from the 1690s where citizens were accused of using witchcraft, and the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. It leads to the significance of hysteria of manipulation, power, and personal gains in which leads to a downfall in the society in Salem.

Beginning in 1245 in France and peaking in the late 1670s, witch trials become one method by which to subdue and control social deviance--beggars, drunkards, outspoken women, and even the mad. Control was placed in the hands of the church, which began to wane the Enlightenment took hold. Yet, twenty years after the “zenith” of these trials, in 1692, witch trials found new life within a small Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts (Cockerham 2014: 10-11). Scholars have returned again and again to this event, demanding that “Salem must be about something other than witches, demons, superstitious clergy, and hysterical children. Otherwise it simply does not make sense” (Rivett 2008: 495). So how do we begin to make sense of what seems to be a bizarre example of mass hysteria? Did these people simply go mad? I believe Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, holds the answers. In order to fully grasp the trials, first we must look to the broader social context of Salem. Using popular scholars of the time and the works of Weber and Durkheim, I will expose the social causes behind the deaths of these people, illustrated by Miller’s text. Then I will briefly explore the social context within which Miller himself was writing, exposing a pattern of paranoia and anxiety evolving out of isolation and individualism, a pattern which did not end in 1692.

American author Arthur Miller has produced numerous plays all revolving around the value of social responsibility and the human flaw of ethical corruption that culminates from betrayal. One of Miller’s many plays, The Crucible conveys the story of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. A group of girls from a Puritan village claimed to be plagued by witchcraft after they were caught dancing in the woods. Promptly after they were discovered, the girls begin telling lies and accusing others of witchcraft, often people who they or their families dislike in their desperate attempt to seek revenge. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses characterization of Abigail, Reverend Parris, and Putnam in order to explore the opportunistic nature of humans  which can lead to the exploitation of others

In Arthur Miller’s historical fiction play The Crucible (1953), witchcraft surfaces in the town of Salem leaving everyone to fend for themselves. Generally, people will do whatever they can to save their lives. In The Crucible, a group of girls are found dancing in the woods and are caught by Reverend Parris, minister of the Salem church and uncle to Abigail Williams. One of the girls, Betty, faints and draws many to visit and try to find the source of her illness. Reverend Parris has Reverend Hale, a minister well versed in affairs of the devil, to come and cure Betty. Many people accuse Betty’s symptoms of witchcraft, including Hale. This witchcraft conviction starts the “witch trials”. Abigail and the girls are

Social prejudice is an occurring phenomenon that is designed to estrange some members of society and condemn those who hold different lifestyle, beliefs and practices. In today’s warfare, ISIS and their extensive murder hunt of everyone that does not hold Muslims views and practices is an example of a modern witch-hunt. Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible” is a dramatic story about the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the small town of Salem, a group of girls became ill and began experiencing hallucinations and seizures. The extremely religious Puritan society was convinced that these frightening occurrences were often attributed to consorting with the Devil. This “unknown sickness” provoked fears of witchcraft, causing the residents of Salem to accuse the other townspeople of practicing magic and associating with the Devil. The pressures of social conformity push Reverend Parris, Abigail Williams, and Reverend Hale into becoming victims of their reputation, fear, and pride.

Between the years of 1692 and 1693, Salem, Massachusetts had a huge political conflict over religion. Spring of 1692, was the when witchcraft became the center cause of the Salem Witch Trials, thereafter spreading fear throughout the citizens by questioning their ways of life. Hysteria tortured the people located in Salem for the next year by means of having twenty-three people hung, pressed, or drowned. This essay is the understanding of how witchcraft attempted to create political order in Salem Town and Salem village and a way of achieving the knowledge of the main residents in Salem was by Arthur Miller’s famous playwright The Crucible. The first scene in the playwright is Reverend Samuel Parris calling the doctor to examine his daughter Betty and niece Abigail who claim to have been possessed by the devil from the use of witchcraft. From that moment on witchcraft was the number one subject of hysteria.