The Crucible, by Arthur Miller can be superficially interpreted as a play that takes place during an era when witches posed a threat to people. With the villagers of Salem being a strictly religious puritan, any malicious event would have been considered to be the act of the devil and therefore were sought to be terminated immediately. It was during the early year of 1692 when mass hysteria rapidly spread throughout the people of Salem; with people being accused of consorting with devils and casting spells. These honest people were mainly middle-aged women who were childless or who were abandoned by their husbands. This trend undoubtedly represents the theme of empowerment and gender in the play.
Throughout the entire play, Abigail Williams uses her good name to control Salem by accusing people of witchcraft, which results in the deaths of many people in the town. After witnessing Tituba confess to Reverend Hale, Abigail confesses “I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil!” (Miller 189). Abigail realizes that by giving the names of people she saw with the devil she can control Salem because she has a good name and people will listen to her.
The witch trials all began when a foreign slave woman, Tituba, claimed to be able to read the fortunes of her master’s niece, Abigail. The child’s fascination grew and soon the young lady’s friends, Mary Warren, Susanna Walcott, and Mercy Lewis were invited to join in on the fun. One day, however, the minister (Uncle of the child) stumbled into their games and became outraged. As Salem was a strict Puritan community, it is easy to understand the fervent disgust felt by the minister. Instead of accepting the punishment sure to be given, Abigail pretended that she and her friends have had become bewitched because of their “satanic” games.
Fear Manipulates the Truth Why do people allow fear to overcome them? In many cases people do the opposite action of what they want to do all because of fear. These fears can be real or most likely imagined. The Crucible, Bakersfield cases and the nationwide panic caused by McCarthyism all illustrate how fear can eliminate the truth. In “The Crucible” Mary Warren is accused of witchery.
The Crucible and the Mass Hysteria Portrayed The Crucible composed by Arthur Miller, has many themes that have been explained. The most known theme being hysteria, as well as the role it played in devastating the town of Salem. Hysteria can be defined as behavior displaying excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic and this is evident in The Crucible as the actions of Abigail Williams and her friends are accusing the town’s people of Salem as devil worshippers. This theme has been portrayed through the use of dialogue and stage direction. In the whole event of the witch trials, a few people were able to thrive upon the hysteria and use it to their advantage.
Abigail deceives her closest friends and many other well respected townspeople. She manipulates the whole town and begins to gain power and control over everyone. Soon, Abigail starts to get revenge on the people from her past by accusing them of witchcraft. She goes after Proctors wife Elizabeth. Abigail previously worked for the Proctors until Elizabeth became aware of the affair between her and John.
She named witches. Soon it became clear to how to save myself from hanging or any form of punishment of all for that matter. We would say that we saw witches and then name them. I started, the other girls soon followed. Oh all the people we saw with the Devil!
Abigial really ignites the fire by blaming Tituba for "bewitching her". As soon as Tituba confesses to witchcraft, to save her herself, and tells Mr. Hale and Rev. Parris that she saw Goody Good and Goody Osburn with the devil, all the girls start naming off names of women all around Salem that they supposedly saw with the Devil. Mary Warren is to blame for many innocent deaths as well. Mary was the housewife for John and Elizabeth Proctor.
During the Salem Witch Trials the accused people were forced to make a public confession and be killed in front of their family and friends. These Dark Times were very different, yet had both taken quite a large toll on their
An example of this would be the story the crucible by Arthur Miller. In this story there is one girl named Abigail who accuses people of being witches because she didn’t want anyone to know what she had done in the forest. Eventually people started accusing anyone they disliked of being a witch, and people believed them and killed them because of what someone said. This just goes to show that social media nowadays is somewhat like this story from the Salem witch trials. With knowing this I believe that it would be smarter to block social media while there was a mass-hysteria