Themes of Hysteria, Guilt, and Reputation in the Crucible Essay Example

The Crucible by Arthur Miller explores courage and personal integrity by allowing the responder to see the world differently through challenges faced by the characters. The ability for one to achieve redemption depends entirely upon the sins committed. The play The Crucible expresses human experiences by exploring the challenges faced by individuals during both the Salem witch trials and the cold war era in which miller was writing.  This is explored through themes of hysteria, reputation and guilt. Throughout the play the audience discovers what other people believe in terms of what it means to be human. Miller  considers these ideas to highlight the anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies within the society and what motivates us to behave in this way.

The hysteria created in The Crucible expresses how humans act when faced with a confronting situation. The Crucible links to the cold war when this play was written, neighbours were turning on one another for their own safety. In the crucible the girls accuse many of the town’s people of being witches ‘i have seen too many frightful proofs in court-the devil is alive in salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points’ whis is being said by reverend hale expresses, that the hysteria has given power to the girls that are accusing people in town that they do not like. This is an example of an anomaly due to the girls acting out on what is socially acceptable, this is relevant because the mass hysteria overwhelms the logical individuals, throughput and ends up justifying its own existence. ‘Fear feeds fear’. The community begins to believe that the fear must have legitimate origins. The hysteria has affected how the person experiences the situation and the differences, Miller explores how they react differently to other people however extreme emotions can easily take control over situations.

Redemption of what one has once done can affect the way their reputation can be restored. John Procter publicly confesses to having an affair with Abigail willlimas damaging his reputation so that he can save his wife from death. "A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, i beg you - see her what she is" this reveals that in this moment john proctor is willing to put his reputation on the line for his wife's life however when they ask his wife she says nothing about it, this makes the deputy governor suspect john of lying to protect his wife by making up lies that make the young girls not seem innocent. John Proctor's point is inconsistent with the rest of the town because if it were true he wouldn't have waited and he should have come forward sooner, people had already been hung and it seems like a lie to wait for so long. Several characters in The Crucible face a decision to protect their reputation or their integrity, many characters choose to protect their reputation over their integrity. Eventually John Proctor chooses to protect his integrity, damaging his reputation. Reputation has caused challenges faced by humans according to how the other people perceived the situation.

When faced with regrets and guilt the way that people express their behavior affects how others perceive them. This is expressed in john´s character after he had an affair with abigail. When John is being questioned in court he tries to defend his wife, "It is a mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice , life, woman, life is godś most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it… . it may well be god damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.'' This is spoken by Reverend Hale expressing that he feels guilty for all the lives he has signed away now that he believes that life is more precious and that lying is a smaller sin to pay at this time. It also links into the guilt that John proctor feels for having an affair. Guilt is a theme that affects the way people will react to everything when faced with situations that are explored differently. The feeling of guilt can make it very difficult for people to think properly and enjoy their lives during their time of regret. 

Expressed earlier were the themes of hysteria, guilt, and reputation. The way that they all have an effect on the roles in the play The Crucible. Through the text there have been anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies within the characters behavior that ultimately affected the outcome of the play.