How Does Arthur Miller Present Conflict In The Crucible

Communism. Witchcraft. These two highly controversial topics are either feared or adored by people. There are numerous similarities and differences between both, yet one thing is prominent: they both incite hysteria. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegorical play mirroring 1950’s America during the Red Scare. “McCarthyism” is the act of accusing someone of an act of treason without substantial evidence. It relies on the uncertainty and the fear of the unknown among people, which in turn, incites hysteria. Joseph McCarthy accused many people of being communists without much evidence or reason. The accusations in The Crucible also are proposed without evidence and cause much hysteria among the town. Since The Crucible was written as an

Arthur Miller, an American playwright and the author of The Crucible, explained the incident involving within the series of Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible and the Second Red Scare demonstrated a comparison in order to establish an allegorical parallelism between the two. Joseph McCarthy caused the fear of communism throughout the American politics and culture, which referred to the Second Red Scare. In the play, the innocents got falsely accused of witchcraft without factual evidence, similar to the situation when McCarthy indicted numerous well-known, innocent Americans for un-patriotism. The parallelism based on the two events can be embodied through the fallacious allegations upon individuals employed by Miller and McCarthy: the mass hysteria that overwhelmed the innocent civilians, leading to an outbreak which occurred due to its chaotic presence, and the act of integrity over reputation put forth on the individual.

The Crucible is the fictional story of the Salem witch trials in which many women were accused of being witches. The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, who was recorded as the greatest American playwright (“Arthur Miller” 1). The scene for the play is based in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. McCarthyism was the act of accusing people of treason without evidence, attacks on a person's character, and attack on their patriotism by accusing many Americans of being communist (Ortega). Lisa Martin says, “Communists control led the two world superpowers, China and the Soviet Union Americans feared a takeover in their own country” (Martin 1). Many people tried to accuse the men and women who were spreading the fear. One man named Joseph McCarthy was a senator that charged communists that interfered with the U.S. State Department (“Joseph McCarthy” 1). The accusations lead to investigations, questioning and finding people guilty without evidence,

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

 The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play that takes place in the sixteen nineties during the famous but tragic witch trials. The entire community is in pandemonium yet certain characters are also fighting internal conflicts. Miller uses three characters that manifest this internal battle ever so clearly: Mary Warren whose whole world turns upside down, John Proctor who must weigh the importance of his family against his reputation and Reverend Hale who must decide whether to do his job, or do what he knows to be right. 

Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a metaphor for the Red Scare, also known as McCarthyism, a time period in U.S. history when Senator Joseph McCarthy and the government used propaganda against communism. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) would blacklist and accuse anyone for the crime of supporting communism, with or without evidence. (11-04-15) Arthur Miller’s purpose and message in the allegorical play, The Crucible is to show the dangers in mass hysteria.

At first glance, the playwright Arthur Miller in The Crucible highlights the historical significance of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, but in fact it is an allegorical expression of his perception of McCarthyism. If the reader has some background information on Arthur Miller’s victimization as a communist, it is evident that the play is a didactic vessel illustrating the flaws of the court system in the 1950’s. The communist allegations were launched at government employees, entertainers and writers, without the proper regard for evidence. In order to alert the media and the citizens in the United States of the Red Scare, and its injustice, Miller writes The Crucible. His play serves as mirror image of the way the government in 1950

One of the main inspirations for The Crucible was the search by the U.S. congress for “communist sympathizers” in the 1950’s, the era when Miller was writing the play. Those hearings were each branded as a “witch-hunt,” and audiences in 1953 recognized the resemblance between the Salem witch trials and the current “red scare.”

During the time of Mccarthyism, fear and illogical thinking were also very prominent. According to pbs.org, “a young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government ( Mccarthyism) ”. Although these accusations were eventually proven to be untrue, it instilled fear in the already paranoid public and resulted in many people having their passports taken away, the loss of their jobs, and even jail time for some of the accused ( Mccarthyism). Being one of the accused, Arthur Miller knows all about the illogical thought processes that created the chaos. In The Crucible, he incorporates the faults of Mccarthyism with the underlying themes of the Salem Witch Trials to encourage the reader to see the wrongdoings of both events.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible reveals the true colors of society and the desperation to dispel fear in any possible way. The witch trials of Salem killed many innocent women in hopes to protect the town from evil created by a group of girls who tried to hide their own mistakes. Miller incorporates many allegories to the McCarthy trials which possessed the same reasoning for unjustified trials. Miller uses syntax, the complexity of his characters and the political battle of his time to portray in his play The Crucible how environment and social pressure can blur the lines of personal morals and society’s hunger for justice.

To note the similarity, “The Crucible” was an analogy for a contemporary witch hunt in the McCarthy era. Miller's play, The Crucible, was a comparison between the Salem Witchcraft Trials and The Red Scare, yet the idea was never directly displayed in his work. To add on, the timeline of the 1680's and 1690's witchery accusations was very similar to those of the 1920's Red Scare, communist accusations (“The’). Within The Crucible, people are being

Hysteria and injustice in "The Crucible" The crucible is a figurative play relating the culture of the Salem society and the political events surrounding the McCarthy hearings by author, Arthur Miller. The author, through the 1953 play, illustrates the way fear and hysteria in the society discredits logic and leads to injustices to some people. The play has its setting at the Salem society, which is a close-knit society with a strict code of ethics. Precisely, the society is a rigid somber place that prohibits people to break the dominating monotony and strict work ethics.

The play ¨The Crucible¨ has many reference related to the time period of Mccarthyism. Mccarthyism was a time period were accused of being involved in communism. Many people lost their jobs and their reputation was ruined. In the same way ¨The Crucible¨ alludes to

The Crucible is a historical fiction play based on the Salem Witch trials. Throughout the book, Arthur Miller compares the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy Trials through intensive side monologues. Miller’s purpose in adding the McCarthy trials to the play is to show that history is periodic because of the reoccurring patterns within the two trials. The Salem Witch Trials, in The Crucible, and the McCarthy Trials show that history is periodic because of the reoccurring personality types, grave consequences, and trial proceedings.

There are strong parallels between Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the history it depicts and the reign of terror that the 1950's era of McCarthyism repeated. These two historical events are linked by several commonalities: a lack of intelligent discussion, public hysteria, threats, fear and finally, the presumption of guilt rather than innocence. Miller convincingly uses fiction and dialogue to recreate a very real moment in history, which due to the timing of the play's release may also have been purposely created as a response to the actions of Joseph McCarthy.