Hysteria In The Crucible

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People are important in shaping their community, but once a traumatic event occurs, it could change the point of view of everyone and everything around them. When this happens, people start believing what they hear going around, and everyone plays along with it. This is known as hysteria.
In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, hysteria plays a major role in shaping the Puritan community. All of the people in the town of Salem began to suspect sudden occurrences of witchcraft. A group of girls were exhibiting strange behavior. Betty Parris, Reverend Parris’s daughter, appeared nearly inanimate the very next day after being in the woods with the rest of the girls. She suddenly wakes up and screams, “I want my mama! Let me fly!” (Miller 13), and she begins to add “...You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (Miller 13). At this point shock and fear is boiling up in the room and it’s all chaos.
Everyone started yelling, and Abigail was getting herself into trouble. So, knowing that she is manipulative and good at lying, she used …show more content…
Mary Warren tries to sway the judges into thinking she did not have anything to do with witchcraft. She pleads: “That were pretense sir” (Miller 47), and that she “never saw no spirits” (Miller 47). Then, as Abigail was once again questioned by Judge Danforth, she finds herself in a deep hole and tries to escape from it. She end up putting Mary into a tough situation when she yells “I-I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come. [her eyes fall on Mary warren]” (Miller 48). The same thing happens when Abigail pretends to see Mary Warren in the form of a “yellow bird” (Miler 50). This causes the people in the court to become more frightened and they start to believe what is happening. Here, a chain reaction is presented, which is how hysteria is created in the form of this play. Hysteria can play a huge role in shaping a

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