Hysteria

screaming, and trance-like states that afflicted the youngsters. The physicians called in to examine the girls could find no natural cause of the disturbing behavior” (The Salem Witch Trials, 1692). Since people in this time period were very religious, hysteria and speculation started going around. “If the source of the affliction where the trials took place was not attributable to a physical malady, the community reasoned that it must be the work of Satan. Witches had invaded Salem” (The Salem…

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, accusations of witchcraft are causing individuals to fear for their lives. The mass hysteria caused by several young girls has broken the trust among the townspeople of Salem. In addition , friendships have been turned asunder. Various characters in The Crucible reinforce themes of lies and reputation during The Salem Witch Trials. The concept that someone will lie to save themselves is emphasized when Abigail Williams, niece of Reverend Parris, blames a…

Protection of oneself and one’s family is important. For American’s to feel safe and to be safe, they feel as if they need weapons. These weapons are guns, the bad thing about guns is that they are usually blamed for all of the violence in the world. Guns are not the problem though, it is the people with the guns that are. They obtain them illegally and cause harm to the people around them. This was not the original purpose for guns, guns were used to protect what people want to protect. Banning…

taken to Gallows Hill, a slope in Salem village. They were to be hung. One man was even crushed by boulders. He would not submit to the trials. There were 1000’s of people who were accused of witchcraft, they were put in jail, only to die from a Hysteria case that had passed after they were punished.…

The year 1692 marked a major event in history in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trial hysteria still leaves the country with so many questions as to what happened in such a small town. Why did 19 people die as a result to these trials? This paper will discuss the events leading up to the Salem witch trials, and the events that happened during and after them. To begin, It all started when two girls accused others, older women, of interacting with the devil. Document C,…

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development Freud’s theory of psychological development described how the personality developed over the course of childhood. While the theory is well-known in psychology, it is also one of the most controversial. Freud believed that personality developed through a series of childhood stages in which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous zones. This psychosexual energy – “libido” – was posited as one of the basic primal…

Fear is an influential emotion that can cause many to perceive vulnerability. Fear can be used in different ways depending on the individual who enforces it. Once fear is used by the higher powered individual, the hysteria of it can take over and cause destruction to a community. Fear is used as a weapon by those who abuse their power to manipulate the innocent victims, which is clear in both eras of the Red Scare and The Crucible. The time periods are both supported by controversial claims…

The idea of being a witch is not even possible nowadays, but that was not always the case. In the late seventeenth century, Salem, Massachusetts had to deal with the problem of witchcraft, which is exemplified in the fictional play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Many people were accused of working with the Devil and this caused some who did not confess to witchcraft to be hanged. Arthur Miller also wrote “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible’, ” which explains his connection of the witch trials and the…

Later in the story Mary admits that she wasn’t affected by witchcraft, but she thought she was. “It’s not a trick! She stands. I-I used to faint because I-I thought i saw spirits”( 99). Now that Mary Warren is no longer under the influence of the hysteria brought upon by the girls, she can realize that she was faking, but can’t bring herself to fake the same thing again because she lacks the emotion to do so. Additionally, earlier in the story when the existence of witchcraft in the girls…

Hysteria catches on like a common cold or flu and it spreads very rapidly. For example, Mary Warren discusses how she copied what the other girls did, "I--I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I--It were only sport in the beginning sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I--I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not." (Act 3) This hysteria resembles the heat that was placed…