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Introduction Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible presents a situation in which many are fooled into believing a false idea by a few people. Other aspects or people are used as scapegoats for what is really happening. The Salem witch trials of 1692 as seen from the eyes of many today seem almost insane. Although this may be true, many people have not yet learned from this situation. In McMinnville, Tennessee, many people claimed to become sick while at school, starting with a teacher, when in fact there was nothing wrong with the school. The lesson between the events of Salem and the mass hysteria sickness in McMinnville, Tennessee is that reasoning and common sense are often overlooked in times unexplained situations and should not be. The Lesson from Salem and McMinnville The Salem witch trials of 1692 lead to the deaths of many innocent people due to the false accusations of vengeful community members. Once one claim started, many more were presented to the court. Many of the accusations made by townspeople were extremely bizarre and unreasonable when seen from today’s perspective. From the way this event is viewed today it can be concluded that there was no witchcraft being done but rather a case of many copycat lies by intolerant persons. Many were led to believing the fantasy of witches just because everyone else did as well. The same can be said for the mass hysteria that occurred due to a supposed toxic fumigated school in McMinnville, Tennessee. It happened at Warren County High during the month of November 1998. The first person to take ill was a teacher who said that fumes made her sick. Then several students got sick and soon 170 people went to the emergency room (Mass Hysteria…). The school was closed for about two weeks while testing was conducted of the air and water. The tests revealed that nothing was wrong with the school at all. Sickness which included headache, nausea, dizziness, and breathing trouble was actually caused by what is called a mass psychogenic illness. These symptoms were not the result of a toxin, but rather a result of anxiety. “Blood and urine specimens, obtained from most people treated at the hospital, contained no traces of toxic chemicals,” (Mass Illness).
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