Hysteria has been displayed in many communities around the world and has surfaced many times over throughout history. It serves as a primary factor in breaking relationships and even communities depending on the degree to which it spreads. In author Arthur Miller’s environment, 1950’s America, hysteria began taking over the country as McCarthyism surfaced and people began losing their wits in fear of communism within their government. This type of situation is mirrored in his play The Crucible. Through Miller’s use of characterization of Abigail and Goody Putnam, he makes it clear that Hysteria played an important role in tearing apart the community of Salem, Massachusetts by creating an environment where people act on their grudges and utilize
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In the wake of this situation, all of the girls except for Abigail want to confess that they were not dealing with the devil. However Abigail fears that with this confession, the girls will be severely punished as they were already in too deep with their claims regarding their actions. In an effort to sway the rest of the girls her strong willed and aggressive personality begins to surface as she threatens them saying “I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you…I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 19). This exemplifies the fact that hysteria is beginning to seep into the community and as Abigail becomes hysteric she finds it very easy to turn on her friends in order to save herself, as do other members of the community when the situation …show more content…
They believe the devil has a tight grasp on their town, and once this is impressed upon the citizens, witchcraft becomes a scapegoat and a way for people to accomplish their own agendas. A prime example of this is the feud between Goody Putnam and Rebecca Nurse. The foremost reason that Goody Putnam Despises Rebecca has to do with something she says regarding Ruth, the Putnam’s lone surviving child out of eight, and Betty, who is reverend Parris’ daughter. Goody Putnam asks Rebecca to try and wake up Ruth who is supposedly in a comatose state attributed to the work of the devil. Rebecca tells Mrs. Putnam that since she is a mother to many children and also a grandmother, that she can say with confidence the devil is not involved and that the girls are just playing a game. This upsets Goody Putnam’s severely considering the fact that Ruth is her only remaining child, seven of them having passed away. Rebecca bringing up the fact that she has so many living children is taken as an insult by Goody Putnam and makes her suspect that her babies may have been killed by unnatural causes, and that Rebecca Nurse may have been the culprit. In the heat of her anger, Goody Putnam yells, “You think it God’s work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and bury all but one? There are wheels within wheels in this village! And fire within fires!” (Miller ) In this context,
In the wake of this situation, all of the girls except for Abigail want to confess that they were not dealing with the devil. However Abigail fears that with this confession, the girls will be severely punished as they were already in too deep with their claims regarding their actions. In an effort to sway the rest of the girls her strong willed and aggressive personality begins to surface as she threatens them saying “I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you…I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 19). This exemplifies the fact that hysteria is beginning to seep into the community and as Abigail becomes hysteric she finds it very easy to turn on her friends in order to save herself, as do other members of the community when the situation …show more content…
They believe the devil has a tight grasp on their town, and once this is impressed upon the citizens, witchcraft becomes a scapegoat and a way for people to accomplish their own agendas. A prime example of this is the feud between Goody Putnam and Rebecca Nurse. The foremost reason that Goody Putnam Despises Rebecca has to do with something she says regarding Ruth, the Putnam’s lone surviving child out of eight, and Betty, who is reverend Parris’ daughter. Goody Putnam asks Rebecca to try and wake up Ruth who is supposedly in a comatose state attributed to the work of the devil. Rebecca tells Mrs. Putnam that since she is a mother to many children and also a grandmother, that she can say with confidence the devil is not involved and that the girls are just playing a game. This upsets Goody Putnam’s severely considering the fact that Ruth is her only remaining child, seven of them having passed away. Rebecca bringing up the fact that she has so many living children is taken as an insult by Goody Putnam and makes her suspect that her babies may have been killed by unnatural causes, and that Rebecca Nurse may have been the culprit. In the heat of her anger, Goody Putnam yells, “You think it God’s work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and bury all but one? There are wheels within wheels in this village! And fire within fires!” (Miller ) In this context,