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  • Essay / How Hysteria Ruins the Town of Salem in The Crucible

    No one would think that a false rumor, sparked by hysteria, would end up ruining an entire town. This is what happened to the town of Salem, in a book called The Crucible. Hysteria is an exaggerated emotion within a group of people. The hysteria caused the people of Salem to panic and accuse each other of witchcraft, even though it was untrue. The hysteria evolves at the beginning of the play where Reverend Parris catches Abigail, Betty and Tituba dancing with their friends in a forest. Parris quickly becomes suspicious since Betty falls ill quickly after this event. People start to think they were practicing witchcraft because no one knows why Betty doesn't wake up. People begin to become suspicious and their suspicions lead to hysteria. Eventually, when people are thrown into prison, they begin to admit to witchcraft, even if they were never associated with it. They do this to escape death, because it is close to their future. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, hysteria is ruining the town of Salem, as Abigail, Tituba, and Mary Warren prove. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the Crucible, Abigail is the cause of panic throughout society. She lies in court and accuses innocent people of witchcraft. Witchcraft was punishable by death or imprisonment in Puritan times, so it ruined innocent lives. She doesn't want to be questioned about her actions, so she blames others. An example in Act I occurred when Parris approaches her and Tituba. Abigail immediately begins blaming Tituba. She leads people to believe her when she says, “She sends her spirit upon me in the Church; she/makes me laugh in prayer.” Lying that Tituba is controlling her makes people think Tituba is a witch. Tituba is not a witch, but she is accused because Abigail convinces everyone that she is. She is creating hysteria throughout society because of her lies. Another example of Abigail creating hysteria throughout society occurs in court when she acts as if Mary Warren is controlling her. Mary Warren denies being, but Abigail pretends to be controlled by Mary. Abigail says, “Oh, / Mary, it’s a black art to shapeshift.” No, I can't, I can't keep my mouth shut; It’s God’s work that I’m doing.” By doing this in court, her peers think she is being controlled. This creates hysteria among his peers, as they all believe in his act. Abigail lies to everyone, but they all believe the unreal things she says. Abigail is the main reason why hysteria is spreading across Salem. In The Crucible, Tituba, who accompanies Abigail, is involved in creating the hysteria. Abigail came up with the idea of ​​accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Tituba, once accused, accepts this statement and acts as if she is communicating with the devil, but ultimately she honestly believes that she can talk to him. In Act 4, while in prison, she speaks to a man named Herrick. She offers to talk to the Devil for Herrick, which shows that she thinks she can talk to the Devil. When someone can talk to the Devil, it means they are a witch during that time. She said: “I will speak to him for you, if you wish, marshal. » Asking Herrick if he wants her to talk to the Devil for him shows that she is not thinking clearly and is convinced that she is a witch. During the same conversation, Tituba said, “Take me home, Devil! / Take me home!”. Talking to the Devil proves that Tituba is under the influence of hysteria. Tituba is affected..