Comparing Puritanism And The Crucible By Arthur Miller
THEMES
Puritanism and Individuality
Puritan society required that its members follow strict guidelines of social order. These rigid rules of conduct helped the Puritans endure the persecution they faced in Europe and, after they came to America, created a close-knit community able to withstand the harsh weather and Native American attacks common to New England in the 17th century. But communities that focus primarily on social order leave no room for personal freedom. Those who think or act independently are seen as a threat to the community: they must therefore be swiftly stopped or eliminated.
An excessively strict social order also provides no outlet for personal grievances. Over time, unvoiced resentments build up among individuals, …show more content…
The Crucible argues that those most concerned with reputation, like Parris, are dangerous to society: to protect themselves, they're willing to let others be harmed and fuel hysteria in the process. In contrast, The Crucible shows that those who favor integrity by admitting mistakes and refusing to lie just to save their own lives help defy hysteria. Willing to die for what they believe in, they put a stop to the baseless fear that feeds hysteria.
Mass Hysteria
Definition: Mass hysteria is when a group of people feel the same emotion like Happiness, Fear, sadness or extreme excitement.
The Crucible: Mass hysteria is a strong theme in The Crucible and supports the main problem in the play. The main problem in the Crucible is the 14 girls cry witchcraft and the whole town gets hysterical . How this ties into the crucible is the 14 girls start to use the town's fear to get what they want,like when Abigail frames Elizabeth of witchcraft to get her husband John Proctor. Also they would use the villagers fear to control the whole town and get all they attention they wanted(because back then children were never respected or got any attention). The girls create mass hysteria in the town by also getting them so scared of witchcraft and the devils grasp that they want to cleanse the whole …show more content…
The church is against the devil, yet at the same time it is against such things as dancing and premature acts. The reputation of the family is very important to the members of the community; when the girls were caught dancing they lied to protect not just themselves, but their family name. The unexplained was caused by the devil, so some members of the community used the unexplained to their advantage. The girls claim that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance, they also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. In Act I under pressure from Parris and Hale, Tituba names as witches two women suggested by Mr.Putnam "And I look-and there was Goody Good"(50), and she then added "Aye, sir, and Goody Osburn"(50). These type of rumors went on because people didn't want any blame to be put on
Puritanism and Individuality
Puritan society required that its members follow strict guidelines of social order. These rigid rules of conduct helped the Puritans endure the persecution they faced in Europe and, after they came to America, created a close-knit community able to withstand the harsh weather and Native American attacks common to New England in the 17th century. But communities that focus primarily on social order leave no room for personal freedom. Those who think or act independently are seen as a threat to the community: they must therefore be swiftly stopped or eliminated.
An excessively strict social order also provides no outlet for personal grievances. Over time, unvoiced resentments build up among individuals, …show more content…
The Crucible argues that those most concerned with reputation, like Parris, are dangerous to society: to protect themselves, they're willing to let others be harmed and fuel hysteria in the process. In contrast, The Crucible shows that those who favor integrity by admitting mistakes and refusing to lie just to save their own lives help defy hysteria. Willing to die for what they believe in, they put a stop to the baseless fear that feeds hysteria.
Mass Hysteria
Definition: Mass hysteria is when a group of people feel the same emotion like Happiness, Fear, sadness or extreme excitement.
The Crucible: Mass hysteria is a strong theme in The Crucible and supports the main problem in the play. The main problem in the Crucible is the 14 girls cry witchcraft and the whole town gets hysterical . How this ties into the crucible is the 14 girls start to use the town's fear to get what they want,like when Abigail frames Elizabeth of witchcraft to get her husband John Proctor. Also they would use the villagers fear to control the whole town and get all they attention they wanted(because back then children were never respected or got any attention). The girls create mass hysteria in the town by also getting them so scared of witchcraft and the devils grasp that they want to cleanse the whole …show more content…
The church is against the devil, yet at the same time it is against such things as dancing and premature acts. The reputation of the family is very important to the members of the community; when the girls were caught dancing they lied to protect not just themselves, but their family name. The unexplained was caused by the devil, so some members of the community used the unexplained to their advantage. The girls claim that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance, they also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. In Act I under pressure from Parris and Hale, Tituba names as witches two women suggested by Mr.Putnam "And I look-and there was Goody Good"(50), and she then added "Aye, sir, and Goody Osburn"(50). These type of rumors went on because people didn't want any blame to be put on