Preview

How Does Arthur Miller Present The Hysteria In The Crucible

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
662 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Arthur Miller Present The Hysteria In The Crucible
Sequential to the 1692 Salem witch trials, Author Arthur Miller transcribed the mishaps and vindictive behavior in his play The Crucible, which portrays the hysteria and consternation of the town. An exemplar woman named Elizabeth Proctor exhibits the arbitrary and discriminatory circumstances. In distinguishing, unlikeness Mary Warren impersonates a girl whose hesitancy and uncertainty guides her to condemn many lives. The play depicts the inequitable mobocracy and unjustified perpetrations provoked by self-indulgence and greed.
Elizabeth Proctor is a very developmental woman who during her most arousing epochs, has her moments in which she refuses to let go of the past, and proceed with her life as she begins to understand the clear motives of the hysteria, she flourishes in the aspect of love, care, and faith. She is a pure and authentic person who believes in all honesty and stays true to herself. When her husband John Proctor says “ Spare Me! You forget nothing and forgive nothing. Learn charity, woman. I have not moved from there to there, without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches around your heart,”(Miller 52) he refers to her empathy and her benevolence, which is stingy and frigid. She begins to realize that in her hardest moments her husband John Proctor is the person who has been there to accommodate her and he has not refused to be by
…show more content…
She is judgmental of him due to his mistakes and she has a complicated time letting go. As the story progresses, so does she. Elizabeth begins to deliberately let go of her disappointment and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The CrucibleIn The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is lots of scenes where mass hysteria is used by…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Initially, she is scorned by her husband’s lechery and as a result he resolves to “please her” which shows repentance for his actions, his ‘sin’ and his desire to not wrong his wife in such a way again. Her perseverance causes Proctor to confess to Hale that “the children’s sickness had nought to do with witchcraft” which leads to his admission “I have known her” [Abigail]. He publicises his wrong-doing in an attempt to make amends for his mistakes and earn the forgiveness of Elizabeth. He initially says “I have been thinking I would confess to them” before realising this is wrong – he says in Act 2 “your spirit twists around the single error of my life and I will never tear it free” and yet as he comes to terms with the fact he is “no good man” and refuses to give a false confession in order to save his neck he earns his “goodness”. By the end of the Crucible he has been purged from his wrong doing, and in turn his wife Elizabeth has been purged of her cold nature and inability to forgive John for this “single error”. Although their marriage has been through hell and back, Elizabeth and John are consoled as the play concludes and the audience believes that wrongs have been set…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although Elizabeth is reserved, honest, and dutiful, as most Puritan women were, she struggles from the pain of her husband committing adultery. Early on in the play, Elizabeth is very cold to John but, she continues to stick by his side. No matter what he does…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Salem Witch Trials can be described as a set prosecutions of people who were charged with witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts despite a lack of evidence. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, portrays the catastrophic events that occurred in Salem and their impact on their society. In the play, Abigail Williams is dismissed as the servant of the Proctors due to her affair with the husband, John. Proctor wants to move on after the affair as he states, ‘I may think of you softly from time to time, but I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again (1270)”.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Crucible Miller demonstrates the evils within the human nature through the experience of the Salem Witch Trials. Many characters in this play endure their own personal crucibles. First, Elizabeth Proctor has the ignominy of keeping a terrible secret. Also, Giles Corey goes through a deadly trial trying to protect his neighbor. Finally, Mary Warren, a shy and timid girl, has the impossible task of going against Abigail and the court. Each of these characters’ crucibles are very excruciating, but only some pass while others fail.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deception In The Crucible

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although the sole basis of the Salem Witch Trials was deception, there were still the few skeptics who found hope of truth during the fabricated ordeals. The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller that depicts the dramatized happenings of the Salem Witch Trials during the time of the McCarthy trials. In Miller's play, the character Elizabeth Proctor is one of the only characters in the whole play who is associated with the truth in a time of delusion. The honest and loyal attributes of Elizabeth allow her to represent the truth throughout the pandemonium of the trials.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    She is known in the town as one of the most honest people ever and is very respected by everyone, but, regardless of those things, women are seen by society as second-class citizens throughout the 50’s. No matter how respected or well-known they are, men always dominate and that is portrayed in the life of Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor is a man who provides for his family; he is there for support and the kindness of a father. On the other hand, Elizabeth Proctor is a good mother and a good house wife but always put in her place by her husband and this just demonstrates how dominant the character…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A motif that can be found in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" would be hysteria which definitely plays a part in the crumbling of such a religiously devoted society. Hysteria allows the Puritans to believe their neighbors, people they have probably known for their entire lives, are in actuality servants of the Devil who secretly commit heinous crimes such as killing Ann Putnam’s babies on the behalf of their master, thus superseding logic. The residents of Salem go along with the panic that rattles their community because they truly want to get rid of the supposed evil which lurks about their homes and more importantly because it provides them with a chance to exact revenge upon those whom they believe have done them wrong. A perfect example…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, various people had been accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. This leads to a hysteria of fear of the devil and witches. Hysteria is often an outcome of jealousy, revenge, and greed. The characters in the play all contributes to the paranoia occurring in the town.…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play that takes place during a time period of the witch trials. The entire community is in pandemonium and certain characters are also fighting internal conflicts. Miller uses three characters that shows this internal battle : Abigail Williams, John Proctor who must weigh the importance of his family against his reputation and the Putnams.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hysteria In The Crucible

    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A group of people called the Puritans came to the United States and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. The Puritan people had escaped England because they were being persecuted for wanted to believe in their own religion; in other words, they came here for religious freedom. Salem, Massachusetts was a harbor town, near the ocean. This place was a theocracy; a system of government that is ruled by a priest in the name of God. The Puritans believed that their religion was the right one to follow and that everyone had to follow it. They did not believe in literature and would say that their religion forbade such enjoyment. The only time they would actually hang out and have a sort of reunion was when a new farmhouse was built. Other than this,…

    • 2228 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that takes place in 1692 in the small Massachusetts village of Salem. Salem is a Puritan community; they are a very restrictive society with strong beliefs. They believe in hard work and prayer, therefore they consider material and sexual desires unnatural and evil. Abigail Williams, the main character is the reason for the witch trials that begin in Salem. She is dishonest, manipulative and her seductive ways is what makes her the antagonist of this play.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hysteria In The Crucible

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Over time the definition of hysteria has been altered. Long ago it was believed to be a medical condition thought only to affect women. Symptoms of the illness included partial paralysis, hallucinations and nervousness. In the late 1800’s and through today, it is looked at as a psychological disorder (“Hysteria”). Merriam-Webster defines it as a state in which emotions (such as fear) are so strong that can cause someone to behave in an uncontrolled way(Webster). Hysteria can influence the way people act and think. Throughout time hysteria has developed in numerous situations. In some cases the effects are so substantial that they have become significant aspects in history. For example, the Salem Witch Trials, as told in Arthur Miller’s The…

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “And being what she is, a lump of vanity, sir- . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it:” (Miller 102). The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows greed and vengeance of the Salem townspeople in 1692. Miller is trying to show the government what they are doing with the communism trials and why they are so unfair. The witch trials closely mimic the communist trials in that the root of it was selfishness and greediness. Most of these characters actually lived and some of these events actually happened. Arthur Miller wrote this play to show the people what was going on was wrong. Protagonist, John Proctor, antagonist, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, Thomas Putnam and many others hold grudges, are immature, and selfish because of their long-term burning desire for revenge. Events happening in their life now are adding fuel to the fire.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller explores many different subjects during The Crucible. One of the most impactful subjects he uses is hysteria, when a large group of people have an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear. This happens in the play when the town becomes fearful of witches and begins arresting anybody accused. Miller uses the characters to develop a theme around hysteria. Arthur Miller uses Mary Warren to show how hysteria causes the town to fall into pieces because of the destruction, hallucination, and distrust rampant in Salem.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays