The Crucible
...e no play. The Hysteria is what drives the play and as it dies the plot thickens and truth and reason kick in. Unfortunately, by the time the hysteria dies down, it is too late to acknowledge the truth for the sake of reputations. A prime example of hysteria is when the girls are on trial in front of the ministers and the lawyers. After Abigial took the lead in creating a story to save hers and the girls’ reputations, all of the other girls soon followed after with more bizarre versions of the same claim. Each of the girl’s stories, more dramatic than the first. The result of these false accusations lead to the deaths of many innocent people. In all of this, theocracy seemed to over ride common sense, thusly creating the hysaria that is so frequently seen in this play. Another hidden but common theme in the play that is made clear in the film is regret. Regret plays a major role in this play because it and death are the aftermath of an ordeal that could have been prevented. An example of regret (in the film) is when Tituba confesses to which craft to stop Rev. Parris from beating her. Her confession was justified but she then built on her story and made false accusations. She did not realize the repercussions of her accusations until Abigail and the girls build on her lies. When she had seen what the end result of her lies were, (in the film) there is a look of extreme regret on her face. Another example of regret is when John Proctor is sentenced to death after his wife Elizabeth lied to keep his reputation clean. After john confessed to committing adultery with Abigail to clear his wife of accusations of witch craft, she lied to keep his name free of tarnish. When the court hers there tow stories, they were both a...