Destructive forces in fiction and reality
Destructive forces are societal pressures that cause destruction in the lives of humans when they choose to give in to them. Hysteria, jealousy, and greed are three of these destructive forces that have an effect on the lives of people every day. Hysteria is characterized by irrational actions that are produced by fear. Jealousy is hatred for someone else because of something that they possess that you cannot or do not have. Lastly, greed is the constant feeling of the need for more; whether it is money, power, or something else desirable, it is classified as greed. The characters in Arthur Miller’s novel, The Crucible, are examples of these destructive forces and portray their effects on individuals …show more content…
Hysteria infects societies and causes chaos where it usually is not justified. The Great Fear was a time in French history that caused hysteria all across the country. In the months before the French Revolution, rumors spread all over France, saying that the king had hired a band of nobles that were to come and raid cities and force them to swear allegiance to the king and country. People became terribly afraid that their families and livelihood were in danger, so they tried to do everything in their power to protect themselves. Their reactions might have been expected at first, but their attempts to defend themselves soon turned into great hysteria. Large groups of scared people armed themselves heavily and found any nobles or strangers traveling through their town and questioned them and stole their belongings. Basically, the townspeople became the raiders that they feared were coming after them. There was so much hysteria that small rumors about oncoming invaders would evoke a band of rioters. One specific example is that a man thought he saw invaders coming over the hills and the whole town gathered their weapons and prepared to fight, but then they realized that the invaders were actually cattle grazing on the hills. The militias began traveling around, looking for suspicious people to question as secret spies from the king. However, the rumors were all manufactured by people trying to cause terror in an already fear gripped country. The Great Fear gripped towns all across France and caused hysteria in people’s minds that caused them to search and raid innocent people. The false rumors that were spread caused a paranoia that reaped destruction and terror. In The Crucible, hysteria is a huge element in the chaos of Salem. Rumors are spread about there being witches in the town and people sending their
Destructive forces are societal pressures that cause destruction in the lives of humans when they choose to give in to them. Hysteria, jealousy, and greed are three of these destructive forces that have an effect on the lives of people every day. Hysteria is characterized by irrational actions that are produced by fear. Jealousy is hatred for someone else because of something that they possess that you cannot or do not have. Lastly, greed is the constant feeling of the need for more; whether it is money, power, or something else desirable, it is classified as greed. The characters in Arthur Miller’s novel, The Crucible, are examples of these destructive forces and portray their effects on individuals …show more content…
Hysteria infects societies and causes chaos where it usually is not justified. The Great Fear was a time in French history that caused hysteria all across the country. In the months before the French Revolution, rumors spread all over France, saying that the king had hired a band of nobles that were to come and raid cities and force them to swear allegiance to the king and country. People became terribly afraid that their families and livelihood were in danger, so they tried to do everything in their power to protect themselves. Their reactions might have been expected at first, but their attempts to defend themselves soon turned into great hysteria. Large groups of scared people armed themselves heavily and found any nobles or strangers traveling through their town and questioned them and stole their belongings. Basically, the townspeople became the raiders that they feared were coming after them. There was so much hysteria that small rumors about oncoming invaders would evoke a band of rioters. One specific example is that a man thought he saw invaders coming over the hills and the whole town gathered their weapons and prepared to fight, but then they realized that the invaders were actually cattle grazing on the hills. The militias began traveling around, looking for suspicious people to question as secret spies from the king. However, the rumors were all manufactured by people trying to cause terror in an already fear gripped country. The Great Fear gripped towns all across France and caused hysteria in people’s minds that caused them to search and raid innocent people. The false rumors that were spread caused a paranoia that reaped destruction and terror. In The Crucible, hysteria is a huge element in the chaos of Salem. Rumors are spread about there being witches in the town and people sending their