This can cause instances of mass paranoia and an over reaction of those who have power who are able to influence those beneath them. This is portrayed throughout The Crucible especially when they are scared of any sort of ties with Lucifer. The group of girls which are led under the influence of Abigail Williams, are terribly frightened that ’Abby’ will hurt them if they confess to dancing in the forbidden woods so they accuse many of the community of rash accusations. Unfortunately as the community starts to blindly follow along which was not overly difficult in such a strict puritan community that doesn’t believe in any sort of vain enjoyment. This is how the mass hysteria spread as soon as Abigail released that strong emotions are easily able to manipulate a group of weak minded
She knows that these people are being hung on her part, yet the look on her face shows no remorse or guilt but rather satisfaction. Through the character of Abigail Williams, The Crucible has shown how the evils of jealousy and lust can ruin lives. Abigail becomes the antagonist of the play through her affair with John Proctor, the vengeance she wishes upon John’s wife, and the look of satisfaction on her face as nineteen innocent people have been killed, just like the lack of guilt of the man responsible for the kidnapping and raping of Elizabeth Smart. This story shows us the evils of jealousy and lust. Although they may not be as extreme as the hangings of nineteen people, these evils are still very apparent in today’s
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 Puritan community in The Crucible was vulnerable in many ways and susceptible to irrational and panicky accusations of the Salem Witch Hunts because of their strict and constricting ways. The children in the community are treated very poorly and less than everyone else in the town. As the Salem Witch Hunts were essentially started by the children the fact that they were treated as lesser beings contributed to the communities demise. “He (Reverend Parris) regarded them as young adults, an until this strange crisis he, like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at their sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak,” (Miller 3). Miller foreshadows the Witch Hunts to come.
The women who were acting out on being affected by witches was all to get social respect which they did not get because the only respect women in the past got was over the children in her home. People in the society never valued women as much as they did value men. The teenage girls spoke up in church and they criticized the minister. People started thinking that those girls were touched by witches. The minister in the church was scared since the young girls tried to speak and fight for their rights.
When the trials began, many accused others of witchcraft and this lead to them accusing even more. The new news of the entire witchcraft epidemic in Salem left many disturbed and trying to eliminate the bad of the town. The novel allows the reader to reflect on the life of the Salem people and understand the happenings. One example is the reflection of the lives of teenage girls in the puritan society, sent by God to marry and have a family, lacking the happiness of teen hood. Thus, explaining a
She also tries to ally with them when she says ‘I’d like to bust him myself’, she is referring to Curley and says how she also hates him too. In addition to this candy says ‘curley’s wife can move quiet. I guess she had a lot of practice though’ meaning she is always after men behind curley’s back that she has got very skilled and can leave without anyone
Because of her hate towards Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, Abigail creates demented tales, directed at abolishing the “problem.” Though Abigail’s wild canards seem quite obtuse in civilization today, at the time her acts fell to justification. Furthermore, because of Abigail’s childlike disposition in wiggling her way out of punishment as well as her lust and love for John Proctor, she found deceiving the people of Salem easy, seeing as the threat of witchcraft and demons loomed dangerously in the hearts and minds of all who lived there. Though the
Because she is made to testify against her own will, the audience may think that she will not be able to give a solid testimony and crumble under the pressure. This also relates to mass hysteria and religion. As the belief in witches was very strong when The Crucible was set, any strange and unreligious behaviour may lead to be accused of being a witch. As Mary testified against the other girls her testimony was unsuccessful and then was accused of being a witch herself and throughout that part of the act you can tell that she was becoming mad and didn’t know what to
The lack of power that women have in Salem sets the stage for hysteria. The female characters long for a voice in the community, and attempt to gain one by using their court powers to blame those around them and lying to gain attention from the community. Due to the very little power women have in Salem, the women find the need to blame others in order to be heard. While Abigail is being accused of performing witchcraft, she tries to blame Tituba. Abigail states, “Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a sitch on my body!