The play The Crucible is about the power of rebellion and (later) mass hysteria. Shown in the first act is a power struggle in which Abigail is defiant and dares to talk back to her minister uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail’s actions towards her self-centered uncle foreshadow the power she and her friends would later gain. Due to the need of a scapegoat during hard times, the people of Salem, Massachusetts were quick to believe in witchcraft. Although some of the people accused seemed highly unlikely to be guilty, many still believed the accusations to be true. The sociological aspect of this play is a major facet considering mass hysteria as the driving component.
One could say the whole “witchcraft” problem would resolve if Abigail …show more content…
Shown in the first act is a power struggle in which Abigail is defiant and dares to talk back to her minister uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail’s actions towards her self-centered uncle foreshadow the power she and her friends would later gain. Due to the need of a scapegoat during hard times, the people of Salem, Massachusetts were quick to believe in witchcraft. Although some of the people accused seemed highly unlikely to be guilty, many still believed the accusations to be true. The sociological aspect of this play is a major facet considering mass hysteria as the driving …show more content…
A young, troubled girl with delusional thinking was the cause of the hysteria. She and a group of girls in the village followed slave Tituba’s island voodoo chants to get their crushes to fall in love with them. By wanting to be with Proctor so badly, she went into the woods (a forsaken place to be in this time period) and even danced around a boiling pot of stew while drinking a live chicken’s blood! Unfortunately, during one of their little sessions, the extremely self-concerned Reverend Parris happened to see the pot of stew and the girls (some clothed, some not) dancing and chanting in the middle of the forest. Among these girls was Betty Parris and at the sight of her father, lost all of her senses leaving her cousin Abigail to cradle her in the middle of the woods instead of running away like everyone else. Still immensely afraid of her father and the predicament he saw her in, she feigned illness and the town doctor could not figure out what had caused her
One could say the whole “witchcraft” problem would resolve if Abigail …show more content…
Shown in the first act is a power struggle in which Abigail is defiant and dares to talk back to her minister uncle, Reverend Parris. Abigail’s actions towards her self-centered uncle foreshadow the power she and her friends would later gain. Due to the need of a scapegoat during hard times, the people of Salem, Massachusetts were quick to believe in witchcraft. Although some of the people accused seemed highly unlikely to be guilty, many still believed the accusations to be true. The sociological aspect of this play is a major facet considering mass hysteria as the driving …show more content…
A young, troubled girl with delusional thinking was the cause of the hysteria. She and a group of girls in the village followed slave Tituba’s island voodoo chants to get their crushes to fall in love with them. By wanting to be with Proctor so badly, she went into the woods (a forsaken place to be in this time period) and even danced around a boiling pot of stew while drinking a live chicken’s blood! Unfortunately, during one of their little sessions, the extremely self-concerned Reverend Parris happened to see the pot of stew and the girls (some clothed, some not) dancing and chanting in the middle of the forest. Among these girls was Betty Parris and at the sight of her father, lost all of her senses leaving her cousin Abigail to cradle her in the middle of the woods instead of running away like everyone else. Still immensely afraid of her father and the predicament he saw her in, she feigned illness and the town doctor could not figure out what had caused her