Mass Hysteria In Salem example essay topic

Introduction Arthur Miller's play The Crucible presents a situation in which many are fooled into believing a false idea by a few people. Other aspects or people are used as scapegoats for what is really happening. The Salem witch trials of 1692 as seen from the eyes of many today seem almost insane. Although this may be true, many people have not yet learned from this situation. In McMinnville, Tennessee, many people claimed to become sick while at school, starting with a teacher, when in fact there was nothing wrong with the school.

The lesson between the events of Salem and the mass hysteria sickness in McMinnville, Tennessee is that reasoning and common sense are often overlooked in times unexplained situations and should not be. The Lesson from Salem and McMinnville The Salem witch trials of 1692 lead to the deaths of many innocent people due to the false accusations of vengeful community members. Once one claim started, many more were presented to the court. Many of the accusations made by townspeople were extremely bizarre and unreasonable when seen from today's perspective.

From the way this event is viewed today it can be concluded that there was no witchcraft being done but rather a case of many copycat lies by intolerant persons. Many were led to believing the fantasy of witches just because everyone else did as well. The same can be said for the mass hysteria that occurred due to a supposed toxic fumigated school in McMinnville, Tennessee. It happened at Warren County High during the month of November 1998. The first person to take ill was a teacher who said that fumes made her sick. Then several students got sick and soon 170 people went to the emergency room (Mass Hysteria...

). The school was closed for about two weeks while testing was conducted of the air and water. The tests revealed that nothing was wrong with the school at all. Sickness which included headache, nausea, dizziness, and breathing trouble was actually caused by what is called a mass psychogenic illness. These symptoms were not the result of a toxin, but rather a result of anxiety. "Blood and urine specimens, obtained from most people treated at the hospital, contained no traces of toxic chemicals", (Mass Illness).

Students and teachers were not affected by a toxin of any sort; they all became so scared that they too came down with the symptoms. This type of illness if often is not explained because doctors and experts do not want to offend those who became ill by telling them it was all made up in their head. "Even when health care officials suspect mass psychogenic illness early in an outbreak, they are often reluctant to label it as such because of community pressure to pursue an investigation", (Mass Hysteria... ). In the case of McMinnville many were offended by the report that their sickness was caused by anxiety.

"They said we were crazy", said Sarah Webb, a senior who says she suffered a headache, nausea and dizziness (Mass Hysteria... ). Many people in Salem would not go against blaming witchcraft because they too feared others becoming angry with them and most people do not like to be told that they are wrong. In comparison to the incident in Salem, the Puritans also were scared into believing the "signs" of witchcraft. Mass hysteria, whether it is an illness or a story, can lead to wrongful judgment of simple problems and can also lead to blaming people or places that have nothing to do with the catastrophe.

The Crucible's warning for America Arthur Miller's The Crucible gives an excellent warning for the people of today. There are in fact, several warnings that the play contains. The most important lesson to be learned is not to let fear control emotions and actions. The townspeople in Salem let the witch hunt get out of control because they were afraid either of being victims of false accusations or they truly believed in witchcraft.

Another warning is that prejudice and revenge should not become motivations to use one person or group as a scapegoat for the unexplained. Unfortunately history has often repeated itself after the events of Salem. Prejudice and fear were the reasons that Japanese Americans were rounded up during World War II and the reasons for suspicions of people of Middle- Eastern decent today. Many specific parts of The Crucible are a guide of what should not happen in certain situations. The play begins with the sickness of two young girls, sickness that cannot be explained by anyone at the time. Looking for an answer, the very superstitious Puritan people blame witchcraft.

"That is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot", Putnam points out his conclusion of why Betty (the sick child) is screaming when a psalm is being said (Miller). The entire source of the play's many warnings begins with this very act. By blaming witchcraft before making a logical conclusion, the people of Salem set themselves up for chaos. Once witchcraft was spoken of, the people were immediately fearful. Fear among a community such as Salem causes distrust and prejudice.

Another significant warning from The Crucible concerns the affects of mass hysteria on a group. Abigail Williams is the main source for accusations and pretending to be taunted by the actions of accused witches. "Miller's characters and their actions serve as a warning to his play's audience", (Cerjak). Abigail's character in particular is one that stands out because she causes others to be afraid. The warning in this is that one person has the power to influence many and this every one should be aware of. Once the first person is accused of witchcraft in Salem, the accusations came flying in to the court.

People are both scared and taking advantage of the situation to hurt others. This mass hysteria in Salem was over witchcraft. Similarly mass hysteria was caused by an illness in McMinnville that was blamed on the new school building. Both these incidents warn the future about controlling outbreaks of mass hysteria.

Ultimately the play tells a story of complete chaos caused by separate avoidable events. Had reason been applied to Salem in the time of the witch trials the outcome may have been drastically different. Today the trials may seem absurd, but history still continues to repeat itself in different forms. Eventually the town of Salem erupted into a chaotic mess where many innocent people were murdered. There is no one person to blame but much is to be learned from the event. A pivotal character in The Crucible is John Proctor who found himself caught in the middle of the entire event.

Unlike most of the other townspeople Proctor was reasonable and did not believe witchcraft or the devil was causing the ills of Salem. After Proctor himself is accused of conforming to the devil he says, "I say- God is dead... A fire, a fire is burning!" (Miller). In other words he states that God is not alive if he can let this madness happen and a fire represents the growing fear between townspeople. In a situation such as this, it is easy to loose faith when everyone else seems to have lost it as well. As the play progresses John Proctor is forced to decide if he should lie and falsely admit to trafficking with the devil or retain his innocence and be hung.

Proctor can give in to evil and make the court appear just or face the consequences of being innocence. "Miller fears man's loss of self- a self which is lost in conscience's conflict between justice and evil". (Cerjak). Proctor faces this loss of self in his temptation to give up his good name to live. He chooses to die an innocent man in order to keep his good name. A warning to be learned from Proctor is that people will refuse to admit to being wrong, such as the court, in order to save their own reputations.

The Crucible relates closely to many warnings that people of today has not listened to. The case of mass illness cause by anxiety in McMinnville, Tennessee proves that many have not yet learned about the effects mass hysteria can have on a group of people. Many do not realize it can lead to actual physical illness or believing in wild stories. Although an unfortunate example of a warning not heard, McMinnville is not the only time something of this nature has occurred.

Hopefully in the future people will continue to learn from the warnings of Salem but also from repeat events in history that closely resemble those of the witch hunt.