On September 11th, 2001 tragedy struck, when two planes flew into the World Trade Center, a plane crashed into the Pentagon, and a plane that crashed down in Pennsylvania. These horrific acts of terrorism changed America into what it is today. It changed the way people thought about others and how equal the American people really are. The United States was in a panic and was ready to accuse others immediately. The Crucible showed us that a shocking, confusing event can make people almost go insane with fear. Many are willing to risk others lives to get their points across. This is when hysteria hit the town of Salem and later the United States. Hysteria is an exaggerated, uncontrollable emotion that usually specializes in a group of people. Like Salem people were accused and unjustifiably punished. The attack on the world trade center affected how many live their lives today both mentally and physically. Opinions like,“9/11 lead to mass hysteria because it was a horrible, sudden tragedy that many people did not see coming”(Maravilla,Perez,Avina, Pg 1). The long term effects of this incident were unnerving. The leaders of this society had to change how they protected this country and had to alter their immediate opinions of a certain people, in fact most people had to as well. The cause of the hysteria was just after the events occurred when the air became thick with worry and uneasiness. This tragic historical event caused several hundreds to live in fear for what “might be
“Even in an enlightened democracy, the media have to check themselves to make sure they are not contributing to an unnecessary mass hysteria” (Brainyquote). Even the most sophisticated governments can lead the public into a state of hysteria. Often times when people become hysterical, others take that opportunity to obtain power for their personal benefit. In history and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, public hysteria was exploited in order to obtain and manipulate power for personal gain.
Mass hysteria has been part of history since the beginning of time. It happened in the United States the years 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem, two young girls were responsible for starting mass hysteria by showing erratic behavior and accusing other people of witchcraft. This resulted in the death of over 20 people. Salem citizens were very confused and scared because they were never sure of how secure they actually were. Another reason Salem citizens were nervous was because, if their fate was put to the test, it would be in the hands of an unreliable court. Another event that involves mass hysteria was the one known as “The Red Scare”. The Red Scare was a variety of actions that led to an enduring episode of fear and hostility through the years 1940s and 1950s. The Red Scare was caused by a series of threats towards America. The Red Scare had many figures but two that were exemplary to others were Hoover and McCarthy. These men stirred up the environment with more problems than it had before. Citizens of America were surrounded by many threats especially their homes being corrupted by the pressure they were surrounded by. Politics played a very keystone part in The Red Scare because it was the fuel to the fire. Families and friends were being separated since
The mass hysteria between today’s society and the Salem witch hunt can be compared through Freedom , Religion ,and the killing of innocent victims. Mass hysteria has caused a lot of destruction in society throughout the years. It has brought about a lot of chaos in both Salem as well as the present society. Mass hysteria has brought out a lot of fear in people in both Salem and present society.
During both the devastating Holocaust in the Germany and the tragic Salem Witch Trials in the small town of Salem, innocent people were brutally killed, causing hysteria among the people. Both groups of people endured hardships because of the hysteria that occurred among them. This hysteria caused people to react in ways that they would not usually act. Both of these events are very historical and help The United States of America be a unified and prosperous country that it has grown to become today. Hysteria is defined as an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping
On February 26, 1993 at 12:18 pm in New York City, the first call was received at the Central Office from a street alarm box at the corner of West and Liberty Streets. The call was reporting a possible transformer vault (or manhole) explosion on West Street near the World Trade Center. As manhole explosions are common in wet whether, there was no hint of a major catastrophe until the phones never ceased to ring after aid had arrived to the site. Numerous phone calls continued, now reporting smoke in the towers of the Trade Center as far up as the 33rd floor within the first three minutes of the explosion (http://members.aol.com/fd347/wtc.htm). The ceiling then collapsed in the train station, which
Mass hysteria can strike anywhere, anytime. Mass hysteria is an illusion or condition that affects a group of people, and is caused by anxiety, fear or stress. It can sometimes put people at risk because in most cases, it makes people sick. Mass hysteria has a negative impact on people like it did on the people of Salem who were killed and locked away. The Crucible was one of many examples of how fear can cause mass hysteria and unfortunately there are many more. Fear causes mass hysteria and has many cases that can prove that this is true.
Following the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, Rescorla invited Hill to New York, where he hired him as a security consultant in order to assess the building 's security. Although no arrests had yet been made, Rescorla believed that the bomb had been planted by Muslims. Hill went undercover in several mosques throughout New Jersey, showing up for morning prayers at dawn. He took on the character of an anti-American Muslim, in order to interview the other visitors to the mosques. He concluded that the attack was likely planned by a radical imam at a mosque in New York or New Jersey. Followers of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, a radical Muslim cleric based in Brooklyn, were subsequently convicted of the bombing.
Hysteria has been seen throughout history, but what dictates the outcome is how the community reacts. Hysteria can be defined as uncontrollable emotion among a group of people. It has been depicted throughout human history, which can be seen during the the Cold War, 9/11, and terrorist threats. The Crucible evidently shows how hysteria leads to the disunification of a community through the human obsession of reputation, the Puritan lack of respect for privacy, and human anger.
Mass hysteria is a phenomenon that transmits collective allusions of threats through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear. The Crucible by Arthur Miller accurately portrays mass hysteria that took place during the Salem witch trials of 1692. People were accused based on revenge or other malicious motives and to make the situation worse, nothing about the trials was logical. After a few people were accused, fear set into the town and everyone was viewed as a witch until proven innocent. Mass hysteria not only happened during the Salem witch trials, but right after the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001 as well. Mass hysteria ties into both the accusations made in The Crucible and the islamophobia that set in after 9/11.
Mass hysteria breaks loose, compromising the lives of innocent people however this is a recurring occurrence. History repeats itself, such as in the events of the Salem witch trials and the Red scare. The Red scare being “hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. ...“ ( Red Scare, History.com) likely due to the cold war, as tensions were high with communist Russia. It took place in late 1940’s and early 1950’s. The Salem witch trials (1692) were a series of accusations of witchery and being inline with satan. This caused the death of many people and the destruction of lives (Salem Witch Trials, History.com). Both events were similar in the hysteria that they caused and yet different in the detail as to what caused the hysteria. Furthermore, the Red scare and the Salem witch trials have many similarities and differences.
“The Crucible” displays hysteria in many ways throughout the play, but the main act of hysteria was that it wrecked the people of Salem. Hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion, which is mainly demonstrated by divisions of society. Hysteria takes a main part of the play because it caused the people of Salem to do such unreasonable acts. One hysterical act in “The Crucible” was during the Salem Witch Trials, one hundred fifth people were accused for practicing
A countless number of elements can be accounted for when analyzing someone's behavior and thoughts. Hysteria, uncontrollable emotion among groups, is a major leader in past and present day society when it comes to how people act and think in different situations. The Crucible provides great examples with how hysteria can affect a group of people. Back in Salem, Massachusetts 1692, hysterics swept the town, creating a storm of emotions. Everyone wondering, what to do? What to think? In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the effects of mass hysteria to reveal his purpose of using it in his writing, how society at that time reacts to hysterics, and the consequences of these incoherences, which still appear in present-day.
Throughout history, many horrific incidents based on an act of violence or disagreement have resulted in panic and mass hysteria. These historical events include but are not limited to, The Holocaust, mass shootings, and 9/11. Many of these tragic events have led to people being immensely afraid. These events often create fear for those who participate in everyday activities. A healthy community consists of a support system, peace, trust, and adhering to societal laws. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, illustrates parallels between the Salem 17th century witch trials and the Communist Red Scare in the 1950’s to exemplify how destructive irrational fear and mass hysteria can become. When a community is overcome with fear it creates an insalubrious system of mistrust, corruption, hypocrisy, and the defiance of laws. Conflict relating to witchcraft in The Crucible, led to tension and struggle for the people of Salem. In his allegory, Arthur Miller illustrates the devastating impact of irrational fear on a community through the actions of the characters of Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth and Judge Hathorne.
Jumping to conclusions, bad assumptions, and false information can cause much hysteria within a society. This can be surely bad if you are dealing with people who are hypochondriacs. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller displays how hysteria is used to cover the truth, but can cause suffering for many of those who are innocent. The play strongly illustrates the hysteria that brushed through Salem because of the fear that Satan had haunted the town. When you have an entire society in an uproar it is usually because of false information being spread and people who are just reacting without thinking about what could possibly be happening. There are some people
The central issue in this case is the impact that informal groups can have on public administration. On September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists, over 3000 people lost their lives. There was, and still is, no doubt that this event reached throughout America and touched each one of us. We can all remember where we were and what we were doing the very moment we found out about it. This case expressed the issues that many people had concerning what to do in the aftermath of this disaster, especially New York firefighters. They lost 343 of their colleagues and were determined not to leave any of them behind. It reminded me of the