Mass Hysteria In The Crucible, Good Night, And Good Luck

In American History, many events are started and thrived off of mass hysteria and paranoia; two notable examples of this are the Salem Witch Trials and the reign of Senator McCarthy during the Cold War. During the colonial period of the United States, an event known as the Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts. This infamous event lead to prosecution and eventual hanging of several people, some of which had been falsely accused. A similar event happened nearly 200 years later during the Cold War. Many in the United States feared the spread of communism, and Senator McCarthy of Wisconsin lead the accusation of many politicians being communists. These two events were based entirely on hysteria and paranoia and affected the lives of many people in negative ways. Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” and George Clooney’s, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” both explore these events in detail and bring these …show more content…
At this time, the colonists were still dependent on Britain but were also very inexperienced in living on their own, therefore making them very nervous and susceptible to paranoia. It began with young girls suffering from attacks that caused them to scream and contort themselves. This was diagnosed as witchcraft and citizens of Puritan society began accusing one another. Hysteria spread throughout Massachusetts, with more and more people being accused and wrongly executed. By the end of the trials, those that were still in prison were pardoned and released. These trials are looked upon as a painful mistake in American History. Arthur Miller retells these events in his play, “The Crucible.” The play follows Abigail Williams and her attempts at accusing others of witchcraft out of fear of being caught herself. She eventually flees Salem, taking Parris’s money, and John Proctor falsely confesses to