Causes Of Hysteria In The Crucible

Li 2 A belief in witches has always be present. In society today, people often view witches as fun and spiritual phenomenons that aren’t realistic. However, dating back to the early settlements of America, witches were believed to be real. People were on the look out for witches and in one particular incident, awareness turned into hysteria. The witchcraft hysteria, of 1692 in Salem, was a horrific event because people lost sight of their common sense and their rational judgement. Fear, anxiety, and terror boiled up within the small town of Salem largely due to the rigid theocracy. This event in history has shown how the connection between the government and church led to the loss of justice and a mass slaughter. It was believed
It showed how the common people lived on a daily basis and how the Salem Witch Trial started from start to finish. In his play, Miller suggest that theocracy was the primary cause to the hysteria. Judge Danforth and Reverend Hale were two important figures who contributed greatly to the outcome of the trial. Reverend Hale walked into Salem
Judge Danforth believed that anyone who posed a threat to the court and its authority should be under treason. He said, “Disrespect indeed! It is disruption, Mister! This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?” (Miller 86) and “There lurks nowhere in your heart, not hidden in your spirit, any desire to undermine this court?” (Miller 90) which support how his abuse of authority because of his highly respected government position that was tied with God. “While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering,” (Miller 129) showed how he justified his judgement with God and religion. The government and religion were so tightly united that if people did not attend church, it was the job of the government to record it down. The idea of the government taking charge of a religious case also showed how the government was mingled with religion to the point that there was no fine line drawn between the two. Judge Danforth was able to use this ideology to his advantage by always exerting his authority. His questions wasn’t strictly focused on the religion but instead on the authority of the government with the assistance of religion to back up his statements. He wasn’t assessing the innocence of the accused but instead, he wanted to give an explanation to the people. He wanted to use his authority to give a final closure to the people even if it meant killing innocent lives. He gave with the people what they wanted, in