The Miller s The Crucible - The Powers Of Fear - 920 Words

The Powers of Fear in Salem Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. Hysteria is fear of the highest degree. Fear is defined as a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is a story inspired by actual historical events that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. People in Salem start accusing others of doing witchcraft and then the trend goes on in a continuous cycle.During the time of the Salem Witch Trials fear and hysteria blinded people from the truth. People often fear things they do not understand. In Nigeria, churches are accusing defenseless children of witchcraft; a boy’s â€Å"family pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his throat as an exorcism † (The Boston Globe para. 2); permanently impairing the boy. The boy’s father did not understand why or how what his son was and tried to kill him out of fear of the consequences. Pastors were accusing either orphaned or children from poor families as witches because they could not fight back, as way to establish their credentials. Hysteria made the townspeople actually believe and fear witchcraft in both Nigeria and Salem. In the case of â€Å"The Dying Girl that No One Helped† one person did not get involved because the police† might have picked [him] up as suspect† he feared the outcome and did not understand the importance of the situation.Show MoreRelatedArthur Millers The Crucible And The S econd Red Scare1293 Words   |  6 PagesI Wrote The Crucible†, Miller connects The Crucible and the Second Red Scare by highlighting his process of writing which in return displays the two different time era’s similarities. He states, â€Å"[W]hen I began to think of writing about the hunt for Reds in America, I was motivated in some great part by the paralysis that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitors’ violations of civil rights, were fearful†¦of being identified as Communists† (Miller â€Å"Why I WroteRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1355 Words   |  6 PagesProving a point was a necessity for Arthur Miller during the 1950’s, and he proves his point through The Crucible, a play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller attacks the red scare, which was a time of fear of communism growing in America, and proves the how similar the two events were, and how they are important. As a political alleg ory of the red scare, Miller’s relatively accurate comparison between the red scare and the Salem Witch Trials through The Crucible demonstrates the theme of subjective realityRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1182 Words   |  5 PagesPeople will do almost anything to take down the person they believe to be the cause of their problems. McCarthyism blew up in the 1940’s when America and Russia (a communist country) had a race with technology. With this McCarty saw his opportunity to take down his competition by accusing them of being a communist; which at the time, was seen as being a large threat to the American government. Sense that Russia was a communist country, and threatening war against America, being a communist was punishableRead MoreMccarthyism In The Crucible1743 Words   |  7 PagesIn Arthur Miller s powerful play The Crucible, written in 1953 as a allegory and metaphor for the McCarthy hearings on communism in America, the idea of conscience is gr eatly emphasized in many of the main characters. Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible in response to the red scare of the 1950’s, in which he was was condemned for disrespect disapproval of the United States Congress for being unsuccessful in naming numerous individuals who had attended meetings with him. In a bid to notRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay1552 Words   |  7 PagesHonor and Faith is what is questioned in Arthur Miller â€Å"The Crucible†. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials. Several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft. The afflicted girls accuse people in the town of witchcraft, often choosing victims who they or their families dislike. The main antagonist Abigail Williams with the other girl’s accusations resulted in the arrests and death of many people in the community of Salem. Arthur Miller wrote this play during the time of the Red ScareRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1191 Words   |  5 PagesThe Crucible Author s Purpose In the town of Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a mass of hysteria broke out. It all started in the spring of 1692, when a group of adolescent girls claimed the works of black magic within the village. This ultimately led to a â€Å"series of investigations and prosecutions that caused 19 convicted ‘witches’ to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned† (Salem witch trials 1). Sparked by interest over such a series of tragic event, Arthur Miller produced anRead MoreThe Elements Of Fear In The Crucible967 Words   |  4 Pagesby fear have been prevalent for a very long time, even extending to times before the 17th century. Events in history, such as wars, famines, and plagues have shaped the way people live in todays society. Even today, people live in constant fear over the terrorism that seems to be becoming a staple in everyday living. The Crucible is a play that was written by Arthur Miller during the 1950’s as an implicit way to address the communist accusations by the U.S. government. Likewise, The Crucible focusesRead MoreCorrupt Government Lies In 1984 And The Crucible1496 Words   |  6 Pagestruth. George Orwell and Arthur Miller warn the readers of the dangers when a corrupt government lies to their citizens to preserve their power in their texts, 1984 and The Crucible. Through their characters, the authors portray the conflict between the State’s propensity to lie and the individual’s desire for truth. Orwell depicts Winston Smith fighting against the â€Å"lies† of the party through the use of literary techniques such as symbolism and imagery, while Miller shows John Proctor fighting forRead MoreThe Art Of Deception : The Origin Of And Escape From The Spread Of Falsehoods Essay1413 Words   |  6 Pagesdisturbed humanity, plaguing both small communities and powerful empires. Although often short-lived, these instances of widespread panic can disrupt social and political order. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller reveals that self-centered ambition underlies the spread of false ideas, which can fuel societal paranoia. However, Miller argues that individuals can escape this hysteria and preserve their dignity if they choose to sacrifice their personal needs by denying false allegations. First, Abigail’s rivalryRead MoreThe Hands Of An Angry God1627 Words   |  7 Pagesand The Crucible Essay Two coarse yet uniquely fragile societies, three hundred years apart, devoured by individual ideologies that permeated belief systems, that blinded, deafened, and muted citizens, and that ultimately led to gruesome hysteria. â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God†, written by Jonathan Edwards in the mid-1700’s, is a sermon directed to a Puritan congregation urging with orthodox fervor for transgressors to repent. Arthur Miller wrote the allegorical play The Crucible in 1953