Pointing a Finger at Herd Mentality in The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women. The Salem Witch Trials were horrible events in American history, and have inspired many texts such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The crucible is based on the Salem witch trials that occurred in the 1600s.

This book depicts how accusations of one person destroy the town of Salem and explain human nature in following the herd. Herd Mentality was accountable for the Witch trials in the crucible because of fearful actions in order to depict how the McCarthy trials were caused by Herd mentality. Herd Mentality was to blame for the witch trials because people confessed to witchcraft to avoid to being hung and it encouraged others who were accused to confess. Abigail confesses to witchcraft immediately after Tituba “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil.” Abigail sees through Tituba’s confession that you will be forgiven and not punished, and this encourages Abigail to confess.

The confessions by the girls legitimize the town that there is actually witchcraft in Salem. In addition, Abigail is able to accuse others of witchcraft in The Salem and she becomes a leader of the herd. As more people are accused and arrested for witchcraft in Salem, the people accused of witchcraft begin to confess to avoid being hung such as Sarah good, “But not Sarah Good. For Sarah Good confessed, see.” Sarah Good’s Confession further solidifies the idea that there really is witchcraft in Salem and that Abigail and the girls were not lying about conjuring spirits. Also, this confession gave authority to the court in that the court was ridding the town of witches. Now that the people of Salem believe in witchcraft, they begin to follow the herd and suspect other people in the town of witchcraft.

In addition to confessions, the Herd Mentality was to blame for the witch trials in the crucible because the people in Salem believed the rumors of witchcraft. As Abigail and the girls are treated like goddesses as they convict more people of witchcraft, “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel.” This shows how much people respect the girls and believe their stories. The people of Salem are fearful and uncertain of witchcraft and this causes them to blindly follow the herd. As the court grows bigger more and more people are convicted, “There be fourteen women arrested? No, sir. There be thirty-nine now.” There have been many people convicted of witchcraft and the people of Salem do not question the court or the convictions because they are afraid of being accused themselves.

Since the people do not question the convictions it allows for the trials to grow significantly to a point where they cannot be reversed. Herd Mentality was to blame for the witch trials because people confessed after others did and people believed the rumors and that witchcraft was real. The McCarthy Trials were a series of trials where American Citizens were questioned about their involvement with communism. Herd mentality played a large role in the trials and Arthur miller was one of those questioned. Arthur miller wrote this book in order to explain the effects of herd mentality and how devastating it can be.

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