Theme Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

Mass hysteria is the collective deceptions that cause fear and threat in a society. It is displayed by communities all over the world and can break relationships and or societies. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the mass hysteria that occurred in Salem in 1692 is shown. The play, The Crucible, is about a Puritan society that faces a mass hysteria. It arises after a group of girls from the Salem community are caught dancing by Reverend Parris, and blame their actions on the Devil. This causes a hysterical outbreak in the community. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, characters use mass hysteria as an outlet for jealousy, revenge, greed, and guilt. To begin, mass hysteria is an outlet for jealousy and revenge in The Crucible. In The Crucible, Abigail, a seventeen year old, had an affair with John Proctor, who is married to Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor decides to end the affair with Abigail, which causes Abigail to become even more jealous of Elizabeth. For example, Abigail’s jealousy is so intense that she accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. One day during John and Elizabeth Proctor’s dinner Mary Warren informs them that Elizabeth, and other women are being accused of witchcraft. Although, Mary Warren cannot tell Elizabeth who the accuser is she is quick to figure out on her own who it is. When Elizabeth and …show more content…
It can break a whole society or relationship. In The Crucible, Salem ended up breaking due to mass hysteria. It all started with a group of girls playing around, but it ended up damaging the whole Puritan society. The hysterical outbreak caused fear in the Puritan community. The fear ended up destroying the Puritan society because it turned into jealousy, revenge, greed, and guilt that was used among neighbors to turn on each other. Clearly, Miller is able to express that mass hysteria is an outlet for jealousy, revenge, greed, and guilt, in his play The