Examples Of Paranoia In The Crucible

According to Neal Stephenson “We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria or a tune that get into your head that you keep humming all day until you spread it to someone else. Jokes urban legends crackpot religions. marxism. No matter how smart we get, there is always this deep irrational part that makes us potential hosts for self-replicating information.” Mob Hysteria has presented itself in many forms throughout history. Mob Hysteria creates a sense of paranoia, a drive to abandon your morals, and an opportunity to seek revenge. Mob hysteria creates a sense of paranoia which is demonstrated in an example in Arthur Miller’s playwright, The Crucible. Consider the following quote: Giles: “Martha my wife. I have waked at night many a time and found her in a corner, readin’ of a book. Now what do you make of that?” ( 40). Giles Cory felt a sense of paranoia because everyone began accusing each other of witchcraft for really pointless reasons. As you can see this paranoia goes so far that he felt the need to talk about the fact his wife reads a …show more content…
During this time fellow Americans were being accused of being Communist. For instance, Joseph McCarthy, a senator wrote a telegram to President Truman that incited this fear: “In a lincoln day speech at wheeling thursday night I state department harbors a nest of communists and communist sympathizers who are helping to shape our foreign policy. I further stated that I have in my possession the names of 57 communist who are in the state department at present a state department spokesman” (www.archives.gov) This tactic had countless of people accusing their neighbours of being a communist. This mass paranoia drove people to accuse others, even their friends and co workers, with little or no evidence to support their