... plague: deadly and contagious. Often, we see that hysteria is transmitted from one party to another rapidly. One such example is when Parris discovers his daughter to be immobile and mute. The townspeople have caught wind of the situation and word of witchcraft runs rampant, according to Abigail. Paranoia starts to creep in ... he believes he saw some movement in the soup! Abigail tries to defend herself, exclaiming "That jumped in, we never put it in!" (39), but the nonchalant questioning swiftly takes a sharp turn: "Hale, grasping Abigail: ...Did you call the Devil last night? Abigail:...

• Word Count: 2297
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... now- we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face" (39). This overconfident attitude of Reverend Hale leads him to make more conclusions than he should, resulting in the mass hysteria throughout Salem. As a reverend, Hale is a messenger ... sinful person in The Crucible without a doubt. She has had relations with a much older man, Proctor, and calls herself a messenger of God as she condemns many innocent men and women to their own death or humiliation. Certainly, Abigail knows that she is not being a good Christian by doing the ...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School