"The Crucible Effectively Demonstrates the Development of Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia." Discuss this with Reference to the Play and the Time in Which it is Written.

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Alex Gill        01/05/07        10TY

“The Crucible Effectively Demonstrates the Development

of Hysteria and the Consequences of Mass Paranoia.”

Discuss 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 first performed in 1953. It is about a village called Salem in America, set in the 17th century, where a suspicion of witchcraft and association with the Devil has arisen. This theme of accusation and paranoia is comparable with the period of McCarthyism in the United States of America, where many people were accused of communism and anti-Americanism. The play was written at about the same time as the events in the 1950s and in many ways reflects the villagers’ anxiety towards their situation.

        The community of Salem is a strongly religious one and the villagers all attend the Christian church. The minister is the most important person in the village, as he holds a high position in their religion, therefore he is expected to give a good example. The village is surrounded by forest and the nearest town is a few miles away. This creates a strong bond in the community as each individual has to work hard in order to endure the trials of being part of an isolated society. The playwright shows the setting and era in the style of the characters’ speech - it is in the fashion of late 17th century American, when the play is set. The Caribbean slave, Tituba, also has her speech modified to suit the Barbados dialect: “My Betty be hearty soon?” is the opening line of the play.

        The first act starts in the house of Reverend Parris, where Parris is praying, in a confused state, for his unconscious daughter. Tituba, his slave, enters and the ensuing ‘conversation’ reveals that Parris is extremely worried, not only about his daughter but also his reputation as the parish minister. His attitude is stressed and anxious. The audience can tell this by the way that he reacts to Tituba’s entrance: “Out of here!” are his first words to her. Tituba is obviously scared of him, as the stage directions for her are “backing to the door”. When Tituba is gone, Abigail and the Susanna Walcott enter with news that Betty’s illness possibly has a supernatural cause. Susanna is the first to mention it when she tells Parris that

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“[Doctor Griggs] bids me tell you, that you might look to unnatural things for the cause of it”

Parris, “his eyes going wide”, is now thoroughly worried and refuses to admit that witchcraft may be the cause. He tells Susanna to go back to Doctor Griggs and tell him that he has “sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly”, and that he should “look to medicine” for the cure to his daughter’s ailment.

        When Abigail enters, she is described as “strikingly beautiful” but with “and endless capacity for dissembling”. Later on, the playwright unveils her true personality, but in the early ...

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