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How Does Joseph Mccarthy Use Abuse Of Power In The Crucible

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Sparknotes emphasizes the role of empowerment by stating, “The witch trials empower several characters in the play who are marginalized in Salem’s society”. In fact by empowering individuals who were previously powerless in the society (in The Crucible) crumbles. Arthur Miller’s trying to convey that absolute power will often lead one to the abuse of power. Abigail Williams ,a 17-year-old Puritan girl, is a good example of power abuse because once she realizes that an accuser can be powerful, she takes on the role. To cover up that she’s been dancing in the woods she blames Tituba, a servant, and others for her crimes. She first throws Tituba but under the bus, so she can get out of trouble. “I never called him! Tituba. Tituba” (85). When …show more content…

Joseph McCarthy was a United States Senator. He was the face of the period most commonly known as the red scare, where they tried to find evidence of communism in the United States. They both dropped out of school, and they were insignificant to their communities before they worked their way up in society. Both accused people of being something they were not, and they were not able to accurately prove the accusations. Joseph and Abigail gained power that they did not originally have. Joseph was strongly against communism he thought he was doing good both were look down upon in the end they abuse their power to convict innocent people of crimes they did not commit. They use hysteria to their advantage because in all the chaos it becomes easier to get away with things. Miller uses these comparisons to show how crazy people get when given too much …show more content…

He becomes blind with power, and he does not want to see the truth. He condemns innocence people to their deaths without concrete evidence that the allegations are true. Danforth believes what he is doing is right. He does not consider the unjust nature of people being accused without solid evidence, “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when 12 are already hanged for the same crime. It’s not just” (68). Miller is trying to depict that power can blind those of wrongdoing. Danforth does not for a second think that he has overlooked evidence. He does however silence anyone trying to prove him wrong saying they should not “undermine the court”(69). Danforth also begins to use scare tactics towards the end of the play. He tells Giles Corey to “sit down and take counsel with [himself], or [he] will be set in jail until [he] decides to answer all questions...this is a court of law...I’ll have no effrontery here!” (121). Miller is depicting the chaos that goes along with false allegations, and how people can lose themselves in the

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