Fear in The Crucible (Play Analysis)

Because of instinct,humans tend to react strongly in certain fearful situations in order to try and avoid those particular situations. In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Miller illustrates that fear is a dangerous motivator as it can lead people to compromise their integrity, act without thinking, and to believe in a false reality.

The fear of danger can lead a person to admitting to something one has not done, just to take the focus off of him. An example of this would be when Tituba admits to doing witchcraft even though she has not. After she has admitted to it, Hale says, “You have confessed yourself to witchcraft, and that speaks a wish to come to Heaven’s side. And we bless you Tituba” (Miller 46). Tituba admits to witchcraft because she fears being hung. If she does not confess to witchcraft she will be put in jail or she will be killed, so in order for that not to occur and for her to be set free, she has to confess. This is a perfect example of how fear can lead someone to compromising their morals just to push the feeling of fear away. Tituba is confessing to a sin even though she has not done anything in order to stay safe. 

Another reason why fear can be considered a dangerous motivator is because fear can lead to acting without thinking. An example of this would be when Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, just so that she could find acceptance and love. Abigail drank blood for it and she only did this to try and get her killed in order to get her away from Proctor and have him all to herself. In the book, when Betty found out what Abigail had done, she said, “[...] You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (19), this quote reveals how Abigail did drink a “charm” (blood) to try and kill Elizabeth Proctor. This is a good example of how fear can lead to acting without thinking because she had no care about how John might feel about this or about Elizabeth’s life at all. She only cares about herself and her future. 

A final reason why fear is a dangerous motivator is because being fearful can lead to buying into the supernatural rather than the reality. The Salemites were so worried about the devil that they heard one believe in witchcraft and started to follow. They did this in a sort of blind follow and just fell right into the belief. When Elizabeth says, “[...] There be fourteen people in the jail now. [...] And they’ll be tried, and the court have power to hang them too [...]” (52). The people of the town are experiencing what is called potentiation, which means that your fear response is amplified if you are already in a state of fear (“7 Things You Need to Know about Fear”). This is exactly what the people of the town are feeling. They are already scared to be the next to be accused and jailed and that fear is raised as time continues. 

Overall, the book, The Crucible, shows a very good understanding on how fear can lead people to do things they normally wouldn’t, act without thinking, and to believe in a false reality, most importantly, Miller shows how fear can be a very dangerous motivator.