Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

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Modern society continuously repeats the mistakes of the past; easily stereotyping a group using the false claims of a crowd of people, who keep intending to inflict pain that will forever be remembered due to the scars that remains. The rotten core that causes the discrimination of a race or the ethnicity of people is mass hysteria. A small group of people will spread their fears and hatred, then soon it will escalate into a wildfire causing mass hysteria. According to history, in the past, mass of people hunted down witches, currently, referring to “Wrongfully Suspected” today the mass of people hunt down Muslims due to the actions of one radical group. As suggested by “Still Puritans After All These Years,” perhaps Puritanism still exists …show more content…

Arthur Miller created an allegorical play, The Crucible, which he intended to related to then the anticommunist sentiments during the 1950s, however it also reflects the status of modern society.
1950s, the era of the Red Scare, Joseph McCarthy, the one man who started the chaos. McCarthy accused hundreds of being Communist sympathizers, those of the entertainment industry were especially targeted. Despite the lack of evidence the accused victims were jailed, had their passports seized, and were blacklisted, which led to the end of their promising careers. The words of one man escalated the fear of the whole entire mass of people. The Crucible demonstrates the idiocy of the Red Scare, false accusations that ruined the lives of hundreds, just like the Salem Witch Trials. Young, powerless girls like Abigail Williams were accused of witchcraft, however soon the tables are turned, with her words, it could cause the mass of the people …show more content…

An article, "Wrongfully Suspected" by Rosalyn Schroeder, confirms the racial fears that occurs today. Just one radical group, ISIS, causes the fear of the whole Muslim race, which is defined as Islamophobia.The term "terrorism" became frequently associated with the Muslims in a negative way. The actions of one group does not represent the whole ethnic group, yet the mass ranks the innocent the same as the radicals. Young Islamic men constantly feared for their lives for anyone who might attempt to seek justice in their own way. The government even enforced a law, Stop-and-Frisk Law where if anyone deemed suspicious visually, the police could search without a warrant, however men of the Latino and black race were searched more often than any other. Especially after the World Trade Center tragedy, people of Islamic religion were targeted for search constantly. Why does no one stand up for the Islamic people? Simple, if one dares to defy the mass, then they will be targeted. History will continue to repeat itself as long the mass is involved. Without an attempt to judge the innocent community as a whole, rather by a few extremist, as humans all who involve themselves with the modern witch hunt for a false, fictional motive should be all be deemed

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