Hysteria, fear and paranoia are constantly present in societies around the world and have led to some of the most brutal behavior by man and to some of the most serious catastrophes of organized society. In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", the Salem witch trials took place in the town of Salem. People began to blame others for the presence of witchcraft because everyone was unaware of what was happening and who was actually involved in witchcraft, thus leading to mass hysteria. In the play, innocent people were accused of witchcraft by others because they were of a different race or ethnicity; they were poor or rich; or they were ranked low in their society. This refers to the 9/11 incidents where people blame innocent people for their ethnicity. Hysteria, fear, and paranoia can cause the degradation of clear thinking and, ultimately, the disruption of civilized behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the Crucible, fear begins to arise after the girls of Salem are caught dancing. When the girls are captured, they blame their actions on the devil and Tituba. Everything went downhill when the girls refuse to confess, which led to mass hysteria. «It's a providence, now the thing has come out!» It's a providence!'. - Mr. Putnam. This will fuel mass hysteria in the play because the villagers are starting to blame each other for the witchcraft. “Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse is tainted, then there will be nothing left to keep the whole green world from burning.” This quote shows that innocent people are blamed because of the rumors spread in the village. Hale now begins to recognize the intensity of everything that is happening, but fails to see the flaws in the accusations. In the tragedy of September 11, Osama Bin Laden was the leader of this attack. His soldiers he ordered were Muslims, and due to mass hysteria, “citizens around the world have blamed Muslims for tragedies in the past.” “The Crucible” and 9/11 have many connections to major events in history caused by tensions, impacts, and people's reactions. “The Crucible” demonstrated that mass hysteria and fear was a weapon used by those in power to control their enemies and was used to silence opposition and force false testimony from others. Hysterical fear became an unconscious means of asserting anger. The people in Salem are paranoid when they begin to believe that the devil is attacking them. “I want to open up! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I return to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" Abigail confesses that she has dated the Devil. Then, as the next step toward absolution from sin, she accuses others of being witches, thus shifting the burden of shame from her shoulders to those she names. Seeing Abigail's success, the other girls follow suit, and with this pattern of hysterical and selfish accusations, the witch trials begin. As for fear, Danforth told Reverend Hale that "No uncorrupted man can fear this court , Mr. Hale!" Nobody!' He believes that the people of Salem have nothing to fear if they have nothing to hide. If, on the other hand, they fear the court, then it means that they fear the court will discover their corruption country didn't know what it was.