Characterization_of_John_Proctor_-_The_Crucible

Characterization of John Proctor - The Crucible It is not uncommon for a small insignificant lie to roll downhill and become an uncontrollable snowball. This same analogy applies to collective hysterias; a person’s fear of someone or something easily spreads from person to person, growing into massive chaos. An example of a collective hysteria is illustrated in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, for a group of young girls in Salem caused its population to doubt the sanctity that once dominated, making people fear and believe in the dark witchcraft forces among them. As this took place, the town unconsciously divided itself into those who believed in witchcraft, and those who relentlessly condemned its existence in town. In the play, the characters Anne Putnam and Rebecca Nurse illustrate these opposing views; Anne being one who secretly sides with witchcraft while Rebecca openly condemns it. These two characters demonstrate an abysmal contrast in their attitudes and beliefs, sharing very few similarities. In the reader’s view, Anne Putnam was one of the female characters most likely to be linked with witchcraft, for she demonstrated several signs of siding with this dark concept and even indirectly practicing it. Anne Putnam instructed her child Ruth to putnam, rebecca, children, nurse, anne, witchcraft, mrs, two, similarities, salem, people’s, dark, characters, town, people, one, midwife, indirectly, few, even, eight, both, being, wife, while, view, took, themselves, supporting, spirits, share, several, play, personalities, person, lived, irrelevant, involving, idea, high, growing, found, fear, death, collective, cared, birth, between, believe