Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia in The Crucible Essay

The Crucible Effectively Demonstrates the Development of Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia. dissertate this with Reference to the Play and the Time in Which it is Written.The Crucible was written in 1952 by Arthur Miller and was firstperformed in 1953. It is about a village called Salem in America, setin the 17th century, where a suspicion of witchcraft and associationwith the Devil has arisen. This theme of accusation and paranoia iscomparable with the period of McCarthyism in the United States ofAmerica, where galore(postnominal) people were accused of communism andanti-Americanism. The play was written at about the same time as theevents in the 1950s and in many shipway reflects the villagers anxietytowards their situation.The community of Salem is a strongly religious one and the villagersall attend the Christian church. The minister is the most importantperson in the village, as he holds a high position in their religion,therefore he is expected to give a good ex ample. The village issurrounded by forest and the nearest town is a few miles away. Thiscreates a strong bond in the community as each individual has to work onerous in order to endure the trials of being part of an iso late(a)dsociety. The playwright shows the setting and era in the style of thechar prompters speech - it is in the fashion of late 17th centuryAmerican, when the play is set. The Caribbean slave, Tituba, also hasher speech modified to suit the Barbados dialect My Betty be heartysoon? is the opening line of the play.The first act starts in the house of Reverend Parris, where Parris ispraying, in a confused state, for his unconscious daughter. Tituba,his slave, enters and the ensuing conversation reveals that... ... has an easier job creating the right effect foreach scene, so it is more likely for the audience and they have abetter understanding of it. The Crucible demonstrates how easilypeople can be manipulated by belief, and how belief in something can efficacious ly blind people, making them think irrationally. Thecharacters are plausible and consistent, and the audience can see howthey develop throughout the play. All the events are believable (ifnot probable) and the verbiage used is convincing as 17th centuryAmerican. The audience can empathise with the characters, particularlywith John Proctor, as they see early on the problems he has andunderstand the dilemma he faces in Act IV. I think the play should bethought of not as a piece of drama, just now as a piece of literatureillustrating how peoples trust can be exploited to an individualsadvantage.