Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

Mass hysteria has the potential to tear a community apart as demonstrated in The Crucible. What is hysteria? “It is defined as an overwhelming fear and excitement that overrides all logic, and is often enhanced and intensified by the presence of others who are acting out on that fear” (Campbell). That theme is common throughout the play written by Arthur Miller. From the beginning, where the witchery begins to John Proctor getting hung, the little town of Salem undergoes major changes. That is the uncontrollable power of a true hysterical nature. It can defy all logic and make people lose their minds. By looking at the events that happened in Salem, it can be observed that a community is held together by fragile means. “A group of teenage …show more content…
Abigail says they were just dancing, though it soon comes out that Tituba was trying to conjure dead spirits. Under threat of punishment if she refuses to confess, Tituba breaks down and admits she communed with the devil. She begins to name other witches in town. Abigail, seeing that she’ll be punished unless she joins Tituba in naming names, leaps up and begins to name more witches. Betty wakes and joins in” (Litcharts). The people that were called out were mainly the helpless or people who wronged the girls. There was never any actual evidence so to prove the accused were in fact witches the girls’ would have fits in court. Steering away from places of logic, the judges and townsfolk believed this. Why? “People of Salem’s worst fear is defiance of god” (Browne). That is why the idea of practicing witchcraft warrants such a high level of hysteria. Neighbors who have known each other for their whole lives begin to accuse each other and send one another to the gallows. People were so terrified of the unknown. The punishment for being found guilty was death by hanging. The person’s fate could be avoided, however, by confessing to the charges of witchcraft. This was an option for many. As the number of confessions grew, so did the hysteria in the town. In the play a total of nineteen innocent people had lost their lives. A dozen many more were in jail. What could have caused this scale of …show more content…
“The townspeople of Salem accept and become active in the hysteria, not only because the hysteria gives them a chance to act on long-held grudges and express restrained opinions” (Browne). It is these people who were truly in need of a more righteous outlook than the many innocent people accused. Their community shows the impact that believing something so heavily can have. “In the end, hysteria can thrive only because people benefit from it. It suspends the rules of daily life and allows the acting out of every dark desire and hateful urge under the cover of righteousness” (Sparknotes). “Hysteria replaces logic with ideas that neighbors, whom they’ve always considered respectable people, all communing with the devil”