Technically the definition of mass hysteria is a condition
affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety,
irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness. However,
the term is more commonly used to refer to any mass delusion, in which a group
of people become governed by irrational beliefs or moral panic. Jumping on the
"bandwagon" can be especially dangerous especially for the people
living in the time of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Puritan way of life actually strengthened the
possibility of mass hysteria infecting everyone living in the society. In order
for a society like the Puritan's to survive, it must be unified and ordered. It
is clear from the beginning of the play that the society is very strictly set.
Everyone's mind is already made up about everyone; for example, Giles Corey
resents Thomas Putnam because he feels that he is only obsessed about land. The
society is so ordered, that outsiders have had a hard time finding their
places. Some of the accused are actually people of lower class such as Tituba
and Sarah Osbourne. With only one person, (yes one person!) Abigail, driving
the hysteria, Salem becomes unsafe. She takes advantages of the Puritan way of
life and becomes very believable in the accusations of people committing
witchcraft.
In recent times people in a way take the same advantage that
Abigail took. Most people usually jump on the "bandwagon" and believe
anything that everyone else believes in. When Donald Trump called out Barack
Obama for not being born in the United States, many people believed him because
of his integrity and popularity. The hysteria of Obama spread around the
country in less than a day! Even though Obama proved that he was born in
America, this idea had spread so quickly that people ignored his birth
certificate and stayed on the bandwagon just because of one person who decided
to raise a question to the public. Isn’t that interesting?
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