The Seven Stages Of Fear In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

There are two reactions to fear: biochemical and emotional. Even though everybody's biochemical reaction to fear is the same, their emotional reaction is different. The psychology behind fear is a look at how the brain interprets fear and the actions it takes to react to the element that is causing fearfulness. In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many of the decisions and actions were made out of fear, from the beginning of the confessions to John Proctor’s decision not to sign his confession. The Salem community, even those not accused, lived in fear that witchcraft had taken over their town. Fear is a powerful emotion that can drive people to madness. . The question that is being researched is “What is fear and how does it affect …show more content…
The levels, in order, are paralysis, inefficiency, Catastrophizing, holding on, self-doubt, normalcy, and disbelief. The first level, being paralysis, is the fear of doing things wrong or doing nothing in general. Level two is the fear of wasting time and the fear of doing the right things wrong. The fear of things getting worse, bad weather and seeing only the worst case scenario is level three. On the fourth level is the fear of letting go and the fear that stopping doing something will be a mistake which is also known as the “Just in case” fear. Level five is the fear of not being able, the fear of being laughed at, and the fear of being criticized. The sixth level is the fear of being different, being noticed, and the fear of rejection. The final level is the fear of the unknown, death, the point of no return, and the sum of all fears. The seven levels of fear are relevant because in The Crucible all of these levels can be seen in the people of Salem. Abigail Williams possesses levels four, five and six. She is afraid of letting go of John Proctor and what they had because she loves him which is level four. Another one of her fears is the criticism of her town and being laughed at which is level five. She is also afraid of being rejected by the church if someone finds out which is level …show more content…
The amygdala is the part of the brain that is involved with the experiencing emotions. When fear or any extreme emotion happen it sends a lot of signals and hormones to the brain which in the end can cause the event that caused fear, the object, or the environment where fear was caused to leave a negative opinion in one's brain. When returning to an environment that someone has had a negative experience in can cause the amygdala to become overcome with emotions and hormones. In an article by Sue Towey she describes this as an “amygdala hijack” because of the way that it creates a new idea of whatever caused the brain to become stressed. Your heartbeat gets very fast - maybe it feels irregular, your breathing gets very, fast your muscles feel weak, you sweat more, your stomach is churning or your bowels feel loose, you find it hard to concentrate on anything else, you feel dizzy, you feel frozen to the spot, you can't eat, you get hot and cold sweats, you get dry mouth, and your muscles tense up.”(mentalhealth.org). these are only some of the physical short term effects that can happen with