The Tipping Point Analysis
To understand the mentality and actions of the girls portrayed in the Salem Witch Trials, we must first make connections between The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, the play based on the trials, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and the HUAC hearing in the mid 1950’s. Historians have had trouble figuring out what caused the mass hysteria of witch hunts to happen, but most agree on the fact that the girls felt powerful being able to call anyone a witch and get away with it. Similar events transpired during the mid 20th century where a man named Joseph McCarthy started the notion of communist and communist sympathisers were currently in the United States and trying to take over. This phenomenon is known as mass hysteria and is a major focus point in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. In The Crucible, you see over and over again the same group of girls pointing at people, calling them witches without any evidence, and getting
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The principle can be applied to virtually anything, with Gladwell saying “20% of beer drinkers drink 80% of all beer” (Gladwell 19). We can bring the same principle into The Crucible and we can imply that about 20% of the town were accusers (the girls and some adults) and 80% were accused or able to be accused. The Law of Few can also be applied to both the trials and the hearings. The Law says, “the answer is that one of these exceptional people found out about the trend, and through social connections and energy and enthusiasm and personality spread the word about…” (Gladwell 22). There is definitely enough energy and enthusiasm to go around in The Crucible, where every time somebody is accused, the girls act crazy, start fainting, and hyperventilating. This facade convinced enough people to get the support of high ranking officials on their side, which in turn convinced more people that there were truly witches in
The principle can be applied to virtually anything, with Gladwell saying “20% of beer drinkers drink 80% of all beer” (Gladwell 19). We can bring the same principle into The Crucible and we can imply that about 20% of the town were accusers (the girls and some adults) and 80% were accused or able to be accused. The Law of Few can also be applied to both the trials and the hearings. The Law says, “the answer is that one of these exceptional people found out about the trend, and through social connections and energy and enthusiasm and personality spread the word about…” (Gladwell 22). There is definitely enough energy and enthusiasm to go around in The Crucible, where every time somebody is accused, the girls act crazy, start fainting, and hyperventilating. This facade convinced enough people to get the support of high ranking officials on their side, which in turn convinced more people that there were truly witches in