Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth. Thus demonstrating how mob mentality can impact an individual and ultimately drive the action of the play. This shows us how one person who starts …show more content…
But the mainly because everyone thinks she is a witch. Due to the women in the court room continuously repeating it with details to support, making everybody believe Mary warren is a witch. Mary was the one caught in the dancing in the forest and being accused of witch craft. When Mary was in court she admitted she was witch craft but, also made everyone to think it was an act. In act 2 page 80 Mary Warren is pressured by Proctor to go to court and confess that Abigail is guilty. After continuous pressuring Mary Warren replies with ‘I cannot, they’ll turn on me— “showing us the mob has driven fear into people and how Marry is afraid to tell the truth in the case everyone will turn on her and blame her. Mary’s feeble attempt to recompense backfires, so when Abigail uses the poppet to blame it on Elizabeth, making Mary feel even worse thus she agrees to go with proctor to testify against Abigail in court. Later after agreeing to go to court to support Proctor Mary is asked who is at fault and in fear replies pointing to proctor “You’re the devil’s man!” (act three, page 119). This demonstrates how the fear of the mob and the overwhelming pressure from the Abigail makes her turn from the truth. Thus this shows us how mob mentality is evident in the crucible and encompasses characters to turn from the truth and ends in the demise of the Salem Community. It is clear that mob mentality in “The Crucible” resulted in the
Mob Mentality: That escalated quickly… The website Investopedia defined mob mentality as “a form mentality characterized by a lack of individual decision-making or thoughtfulness, causing people to think and act in the same way as the majority of those around them”(Investopedia). Mob mentality usage was prominent in the world's history and is still being used today. In this essay mob mentality will be shown to you in a form of steps.
How many times has one action by one person influenced crowds of people to follow? This is known as “mob mentality”: when a group of people is influenced by a person’s actions to change their behavior and think as a group. In both The Crucible by Arthur Miller and “Half-Hanged Mary” by Margaret Atwood, groups of people who share the same beliefs can conform to a certain idea, whether it is correct or not. No matter how one views the story, it is evident that both communities in the play and poem were determined to band together and to bring these “witches” to extinction. The reasons for having the accused executed seemed unlawful, and it is presumed that with the acceptance of the community, unjustifiable actions become acceptable.
Pride leads to the downfall of Salem A crucible is a laboratory instrument used to heat off any excess water. In the same sense, when “heat” is applied to the Protestant society in Salem, Massachusetts, the readers are able to see the true characters of the townspeople. The readers see whether characters are motivated by greed, by pride, by integrity, or by other impulses. Most people are motivated by pride in one form or another.
Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible, tells the story of the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. Many still consider this as one of the greatest tragedies in American history, as many innocent people lost their lives as a result of false accusations. In this novel, the characters Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Reverend Parris all contribute a significant amount to the continuation of this disaster. Miller describes Abigail Williams as a teenage girl with an “endless capacity for dissembling.” As a result of her attachment to John Proctor, the protagonist, after their brief affair, Abigail tries her hardest to condemn Elizabeth Proctor as a witch.
The first person Abigail accuses is Tituba, she accuses Tituba after Paris discovers Abigail and her group of friends dancing in the forest. When Mary Warren agrees to help John Proctor, Abigail accuses Mary Warren because she agreed to confess that she never had any connections with the devil. Abigail’s final accusation is on John Proctor’s wife; Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail was on a quest for revenge. She wants revenge on Elizabeth for making John Proctor kick her out of the house because of their history.
During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.
The Crucibles Relatability to Modern Life Miller's play The Crucible was written in 1953 and was first performed later that year. The play is a relatively fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that took place in the late 1600s. The Crucible was a relatively enjoyable play because its ability to be relatable. The Crucible is relatable to modern audiences because of the similarity of conflicts, characters, and people's actions.
In addition, when Mary Warren and Proctor are talking after Elizabeth was arrested, He is telling her that they need to go to court to prove all of this is a hoax but Mary Warren is too afraid of Abigail to do whats right. “‘I cannot charge murder on Abigail.’ ‘You will tell the court how that poppet came here and who stuck the needle in’ ‘She’ll kill me for saying that!’” (Miller 80). This quote shows how much power Abigail holds over the other girls.
In act three of the crucible, Mary Warren accused John Proctor of witchcraft. The reason being, either way, she would be going to jail but if she found some way to soften the blow a little she could be let of a little easier. The way she picked in the heat of the moment was blaming John Proctor of witchcraft. She was being blamed by the girls that she was a witch and had absolutely no way to defend herself because the judges already are on Abigail's side. She then dropped the bomb and said that John was a witch and made her do it all.
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.
You will tell it in the court, Mary Warren: I cannot” (Miller, 80) In this conversation, Mary Warren and John Proctor are at odds because Mary is scared and unwilling to testify, but Proctor is forcing her to do so. He does not want to testify, but if Mary testifies, saying the same thing, Proctor does not have to. Mary’s testimony ensues a series of events at the courthouse, ending with the everyone outside in a panic, and Mary, more scared of Abigail than Proctor now, accuses Proctor of witchcraft. If Mary and Proctor has not fought, she would not have testified, these events would not have happened, Proctor would not be accused, and the idea that the accusations were false would not have been placed in the Judge’s head.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.
”(Miller 100). At that point in time Mary Warren and John Proctor both tried to prove Abigail Williams and the other girls of faking it until, act 4 when she backstabbed John Proctor and made her own claim that John Proctor was satan. ”You’re the devil’s man.” (Miller 110). Mary knows what Abigail was always a threat and being on her side was an advantage, John Proctor was foolish for thinking Mary would keep her word and tell on the girls.
(I.465-472). Seeing Abigail cry, it suggests that Abigail’s affair with John Proctor has influenced her behavior in jealousy and lust as she strives for nothing more than her love for John Proctor. By only being heartbroken, Abigail is not to be fully blamed for the hysteria within the town as her actions are only based on desperate attempts to win John Proctor over, and no intentional harm whatsoever. However, on the other hand, Abigail cannot be excused with outside forces making her the way she is due to the fact that she has clearly had a choice in most of her decisions and actions throughout the witchcraft crisis. When Mary Warren, another girl involved in the forest incident, enters the court, she explains to Danforth, the judge, that the girls are lying and are only pretending to see spirits.