Hysteria The state of hysteria in a society can spread faster than a brush fire, and be more dangerous then a San Francisco earthquake. There is a process of four combined steps that will ultimately lead to this disaster; a fearful event, promotion of the event, attacks due to pretense, and total panic and chaos. Webster's dictionary defines hysteria as a state of unmanageable fear or excess.
The process of hysteria is initiated by an event which brings fear, and will eventually cause social unrest, chaos, and distrust. This event usually involves a group of people and an issue that concerns the whole community. In the Crucible this can be seen when Abi and the other girls of Salem are found dancing in the woods. The dancing strikes fear of witchcraft, and the process of hysteria begins. The American Communist scare in the 1950's was initiated by the increased popularity of the socialist system of government.
English: San Francisco Mission District burning in...
The Agassiz statue, Stanford University, Californi...
Reverend Samuel Parris (1653-1720)Because this system challenged the basic civil rights of Americans, this event involved the entire nation.
In order for hysteria to occur a significant number of people must learn of the event. This happens by the promotion and spread of fear throughout a community. Promotion is important because without public knowledge of the fear social unrest will not take place. As seen in the Crucible, promotion is shown when Reverend Parris holds a meeting of the largest town gossips to tell them of Betty and Ruth's ailment, and that witchcraft may be involved. This knowledge starts a chain reaction through Salem, which spreads the news to everyone in the town. During the Red scare media exploitation had already plagued America, so promotion was almost instant.
At this point the community is starting to fall apart. The first signs of unrest are noticeable, and...