However, as opposed to The Crucible, the community of Eyam is motivated to turn to superstitious beliefs due to their immense grief and desperation to seek an explanation for their sufferings rather than for means of survival by avoiding punishment or vengeance.

In their respective texts, both playwright Arthur Miller and novelist Geraldine Brooks highlight the consequences of fear within a community.

The Crucible is paralleled against the persecution of alleged communists in Senator Mccarthys reign in American in the 1950s.

The internal crisis arisen from binary thinking, greed, vengeance and imminent fear of the Devil, give effect to detrimental acts, mass hysteria and irrationality within the community of Salem.

Likewise, an isolated town, being struck by an bubonic Plague, consequently lead the community of Eyam to turn to superstition and individuals to use the fear and grief of the community for self gain.

Both texts explore how the social compact, including respect and duty, is irrevocably changed as fear works its divisive influence.

However, in both texts, Miller and Brooks display the ability of some individuals to overcome the hardships they face and shine, and even offer hope for the future of humanity.

In the presence of fear, conflict within communities can often be exacerbated which can therefore lead to hysteria and scapegoating.

In the 1660s, medical and scientific research was just beginning.

So, in the puritanical province of Massachusetts, reading books other than the bible was forbidden, hence any logical or scientific thinking was rare.

The society of Salem is stirred by a dualistic belief that anything they dont understand, must be the Devil and hence the notion of binary thinking and absolutism is portrayed as being a factor for mass panic or mob mentality.

Hence, Arthur Miller implies to his audience, the importance of rationality, and strongly negates societies that impose binary thinking among its citizens by showcasing the devastating effects of the Salem Witch Trials.

Thereby the audience is positioned to recognise the flawed and ideologically motivated Salem to Senator McCarthys reign in 1692.

The dangerous assumption to look to unnatural causes is fuelled by the widespread belief of the Devil and hence, characters are summoned to ascertain its presence in the village.

Therefore the desire to lay blame is strong and Tituba a black slave, an example of an outsider is the first accused, and with greater suspicion than a white servant.

This is mirrored in the Brooks novel as the idea of the Devil and Witchcraft spurs among the town of Eyam in Year of Wonders.

In a similar approach to The Crucible, the ongoing propellent regarding witchcraft provides individuals an opportunity to also target the vulnerable members of the community as a scapegoat.

T he attack on the Gowdies provides a clear example on the detrimental effects of conflict and mob mentality and how individuals who do not conform to society are the ones first targeted.

Brooks describes the mobs crazed voices that screamed with frenzy to emphasise that there is no rational explanation for their actions.

Similarly in the Crucible, Millers acting directions indicate the workings of a collective madness as each characters aims to shift blame onto others.

Parris speaks fearfully, Tituba is terrified and rocking on her knees while Betty has a fever in her eyes and the girls cry hysterically and with great relief the names of the women they claim to have seen with the devil.

These stage directions exemplify the hysteria that has awoken in Salem, and also shows how individuals attempt to defend themselves by deflecting blame out of fear and in order to survive in a putarincal and oppressive society.

Both passages show how fear and superstition can lead to the irrational condemnation of innocent individuals.

The Crucible Pdf