Hysteria in Salem In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and the accused would actually be forgiven if they blamed their accusations on another individual. In this play, a group of young girls is accused of being witches. These girls then blame other people in order to get out of trouble and even pretend to be "bewitched" in front of the court during a trial. This leads into the deaths of the innocent people who are accused and automatically found guilty.
The Crucible: Mass Hysteria In 1692, a small town in Salem, Massachusetts experienced an outbreak of mass hysteria and pure chaos in fear of witchcraft. The incidents were started by a small group of teen girls who accused innocent people of being with the devil and witchcraft. It baffles me to see that such a religious town could be in such an uproar to these accusations. Arthur Miller uses great examples of mass hysteria within the girls and other people in the town. Many people go along with what the girls are doing, while some stick to their own belief in what is right.
Abigail show herself to be an even more mischievous character by accusing Tituba of Witchcraft, and wrong doing. Tituba in turn is held in suspicion of being a witch and is threatened with the taking of her life if she refuses to talk about her supposed involvement with the devil. She blames others about witchcraft even though she is the one believing it. She is the "leader" of the girls; she tells them what to do and when to do it. For example when they were in the court room and she was brought in to testify against Mary Warren the girls kept repeating what Abigail said and they did everything she
Elizabeth breaks the news to John that Abigail, the woman (or more teenager) that John had sex with, is telling people all over town that certain members of society are witches. Elizabeth hears from one of the accused that Abigail is to blame which sparks anger in John. Even though John tries to tell Elizabeth of Abigail's good nature, Elizabeth believes that Abigail is to blame solely because she committed adultery with her (Elizabeth's) husband. "My Wife will never die for me!...that goodness will not die for me," (38)! John soon comes to the conclusion that Elizabeth doesn't care about him since Elizabeth doesn't care about Abigail.
To be blacklisted means to be put on a list of people or products viewed with suspicion or disapproval (Free Dictionary), which means nobody would hire you for work. Blacklisting was kind of like what was going on in The Crucible because if you were accused of doing witchcraft, your reputation in the town of Salem was ruined. Arthur Miller’s development of fear in the Crucible is the same as the fear during the Red Scare. Abigail accused Tituba doing witchcraft and just because she was afraid of being hanged, she pled guilty. Being accused of being a witch in Salem, Massachusetts was alarming because even if one was innocent, they are still held guilty.
In “The Crucible”, the girls accused people of being witches just to make themselves look better to others to gain respect. “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (Miller 196). The direct quote from “The Crucible” means children who are overtaken by social fears have the power to control the life or death of a single individual, by accusing them of witchcraft. Many women were killed in the town of Salem during the trials and the ones who weren't killed had their reputations forever lowered. Everyone who was charged by McCarthy had his or her own reputation diminished also.
The course of enacting revenge is symbolically signified through the fervour of allegations of witchcraft, which destroys all judgment and creates a sense of belonging with the members of the community that have been involved in monstrous actions, such as killing babies and communicating with the devil. Miller, having been blamed of being a communist along with many of his friends, is critical of this hysteria. Despite some of his characters’ legitimate fear of witchcraft, the fervour surrounding their accusations leads to innocent people being accused of wrongdoing to satisfy vengeful grudges and create a sense of belonging. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft in order to seek revenge, as Elizabeth acknowledges when she says, Abigail ‘thinks to kill me, then to take my place’. This shows Abigails desire to belong not only to proctor but also within the community, by taking Elizabeth’s position.
Miller characterizes Abigail as a conniving young girl willing to harm others with the objective of personal gain. When accused of working with the devil Abigail results to blame others with this crime. Abigail realizes the power she has, when prominent figures in town believe her accusations. Her goal to take down Elizabeth Proctor becomes possible, when the trials regarding witchcraft result in hangings. Abigail's insufficient set of morals allow her to pursue her mission regardless of the repercussions on innocent people in town.
Groupthink is found in The Crucible because the community experiences it by the eight main symptoms of groupthink, the consequences, and because it was so susceptible to groupthink. One main symptom of groupthink is that the community of Salem experiences is the illusion of unanimity. When Parris found the group of girls dancing in the forest in the beginning of Act One, Abigail was the one who started the chaos in Salem when she first denied practicing witchcraft. Abigail has all of the girls on her side when it comes to accusing people of witchcraft. Whatever the girls say the people of Salem will believe them because they believe in what they hear.
Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century was full of hysteria about witches casting spells, spirits being conjured, and the devil influencing the townspeople. Accusations of witchcraft, for personal vengeance, hurled fellow citizens into jail for eventual execution. The greedy were taking neighbors land once their innocent blood was spilled for crimes of witchery. John Proctor disliked the court’s lack of justice, and thought that the spreaders of the lies only did it to get what they wanted. All he wanted was for fair trials to be conducted and evidence to be looked for, because he was a very just individual and when a debate of who had authority he said “we vote by name in this society, not by acreage” (1.