Answer:
The Crucible explores how mass hysteria can devastate a community. Hysteria is most clearly seen in the villagers' irrational acceptance of the girls’ fabricated claims of witchcraft. One specific example of hysteria occurs in Act III when the girls, led by Abigail, accuse Mary Warren of witchcraft to prevent her from testifying against them. Though multiple people (including Mary) have claimed that the witchcraft accusations are false, the court refuses to be swayed.Mass hysteria is a social phenomenon where imaginary fear and anxiety spread uncontrollably throughout a population. Throughout the play "The Crucible," hysteria regarding witchcraft spreads through the community of Salem and results in the numerous deaths of innocent victims. Following the initial accusations, Abigail and the other girls falsely testify that certain individuals are involved in witchcraft and have begun to curse community members. During the trials, each girl feigns illness and gets caught up in the hysteria. The girls follow Abigail's erratic behavior and actually believe that they are being attacked by a person's spirit. Nowhere is hysteria more evident than in Act Three when Abigail mentions that there is an invisible bird flying throughout the room and begs Mary Warren not to hurt her. The other girls join Abigail and begin to repeat everything that Mary says. Mary becomes terrified and joins the hysterical girls as they begin to accuse John Proctor of colluding with the Devil. During her hysterical fit, Mary Warren says, "He come at me by night and every day
to sign, to sign, to-" (Miller, 121). The hysteria creates a tension filled atmosphere, which angers Proctor to the point of saying, "God is dead" (Miller, 122). Unfortunately, the court officials believe the hysterical girls and sentence many innocent individuals to death.
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