Examples Of Political Allegory In The Crucible

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is a chronological narrative including a large cast of characters with a constantly moving setting.* The Crucible is a dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and an allegory of the McCarthyism period. Throughout the play, Miller explores the destruction of freedom by the ignorant and tyrannical society in which his characters live.* By exhibiting how easily a member of the community can become an outcast, Arthur Miller displays social criticism in the Puritan society as well as in today's society in The Crucible.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible focuses on the Salem Witch Trials along with the pointing of fingers that went along with it. Miller wrote this to reflect upon what was occurring during the Red Scare in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The Crucible is written in an ironic and cynical tone mocking the Red Scare.

The Crucible is a play, which explores the witch- hunting hysteria that happened in Salem 1692. Miller uses this “organized mass-hysteria”[1] to comment on his own similar experience during the 1950s. Through “The Crucible”, Miller is able to draw an analogy between the hysteria of the Salem witch-trails and its modern parallel of the anti communist ‘witch-hunts’ which occurred due to the HUAC-House of un-American Committee, which were lead by Senator Joseph McCarthy; who with the help of the committee were “ruthlessly determined to hunt out communists as the Salem judges had been to hunt out witches”[2]. Miller used “The Crucible” to criticise this unmitigated

‘The Crucible’ is an allegory. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. In this case, the obvious meaning is the Salem witch-hunt and the hidden meaning is McCarthyism. McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s and it was governmental accusations with no evidence. Joseph McCarthy started doing trials on those he thought were communist, but he had no evidence for it. This is the same as the witch trials in The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this in response to McCarthyism.

In “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller tells the gruesome story of the Salem Witch trials and what people went through when it happened. Throughout the “The Crucible” they are many themes the author reveals such as revenge, guilt, hypocrisy, and authority. The most common theme in “The crucible” is integrity and courage, that justice and truth into any situation.

Imagine being accused of something you never did just because someone had something against you. That is exactly what the characters in “The Crucible” were going through. The author, Arthur Miller, used the play as an allegory. He wanted to compare the Salem witch trials to the McCarthyism. McCarthyism, created by Joseph P. McCarthy, was popular during the cold war and it falsely accused people of being a communist with no evidence to support the accusation. It became popular because of the spread of communism in China and Europe. In the United States, anyone could accuse someone of being a communist and could ruin their lives. That is exactly what Miller was trying to portray in “The Crucible.” If someone accused another person of witchcraft their whole lives could be turned upside down. They could even possibly be hanged. Throughout the story there are an abundance of arguments. Most of the arguments come from Act III in the courthouse. The arguments are all different, but they all end up being the same in the sense that people are being falsely accused. The arguments that are like that include Giles accusing Putnam, Proctor accusing Abigail, and Parris accusing Proctor.

The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court

various moods in the mind of the audience, in Act I. In Act I we

The Crucible, a phenomenal play, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory to the McCarthy Trials of the 1950s. An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning- literal and symbolic. In an allegory the character, events, and instances(“Definition of Allegory” R104). Characters like John Proctor, Abigail William and Hathorne represent Arthur Miller, Joseph McCarthy, and J.Edgar Hoover. Events like the people who were hanged, and people were accused of being witches were similar to blacklisted and they blamed for being communist. Instances were, when Procter’s wife was pregnant, and Danforth made people choose a side were in comparison to Francis Walter’s wife took a photo with his finance and the communist hide their beliefs. Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to show morality within a society that will accept others, to teach paranoia results in trauma and to criticize the government way of causing unnecessary fear.

In America, the 1950’s was a time of mass hysteria. The Cold War, a long-lasting war over Communism, had just begun and many were afraid that communism would enter the United States. A man named Joseph McCarthy gained authority and had accused a plethora of Americans of having communist connections. Arthur Miller's book, The Crucible, had been written as he was inspired by this time period’s hysteria comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller indicates the influence government has during a time of hysteria to serve the agendas of a few disregarding the interest of many by utilizing elaborate logos, diligent diction, and tenacious metaphors.

Arthur Miller writes about the tragic results of human failings in his play, The Crucible. He presents characters from the past and infuses them with renewed vitality and color. Miller demonstrates the horrifying results of succumbing to personal motives and flaws as he writes the painful story of the Salem witch trials. Not only do the trials stem from human failings but also from neglect of moral and religious considerations of that time. Characters begin to overlook Puritan values of thrift and hope for salvation. Focusing on the flawed characters, they begin to exhibit land lust, envy of the miserable and self-preservation.

The crucible can definitely be an allegory for the red scare and mccarthyism because of the events that took place, false accusations and letting beliefs take control of the world. In the crucible many people were accused and killed based on the belief that these people were witches and were apart of witchcraft. These people were often falsely accused without evidence at all and still received full punishment. In the mccarthy era Joseph accused many people of being communists. The only problem with this is that joseph had absolutely no evidence to back up his claims. Even though he had no evidence people still got in trouble and punishments included getting deported and sent to prison. It really isn't that hard to see the events in the crucible and the mccarthy era as being very similar.

The Crucible allegory for the McCarthy hearings The Crucible, in a literal sense, signifies that because of the amount of tension and jealousy in Salem at the time, hysteria arose and accusations of witch craft began. That, of course, is only scratching the surface of what Arthur Miller was actually trying to depict in this play. During the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials by using allegory. The accusations and fear, the conditions of the hysteria, and the courtroom procedures are similarities between the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings. Both, the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings, left a deep impression in the world today.

Many of us have made accusations and judgements about others that are false and have people

The Crucible, a twisted playwright, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory to the McCarthy trials of the 1950’s. An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning- literal and symbolic. In an allegory the characters, events, and instances relate to real people, events, and instances. (“Definition of Allegory” R104). Characters like John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and the Court, represent real people like Arthur Miller, Joseph R. McCarthy and the organization created, the HUAC. Events like the puritans being brought into the court and John Proctor having to choose between staying to oppose the court or using his wife as leverage were similar to the accused that were brought in, as well as Miller refusing bribery. Instances when the court had no substantial proof were in comparison to the HUAC having no evidence and taking away the passports of the accused. Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to show that people in power take advantage of their authority. He wanted to teach that being under pressure and living in fear can affect the decisions that are made in everyday life and to criticize the institutions that wronged the vulnerable people during these times.