Mccarthyism In The Writing Of The Crucible By Arthur Miller

The Salem witch craft trials are the most learned about and notable of Europe's and North America's witch hunts. Its notoriety and fame comes from the horrendous amount of people that were not only involved, but killed in the witch hunt and that it took place in the late 1700's being one of the last of all witch hunts. The witch craft crises blew out of control for several reasons. Firstly, Salem town was facing hard economic times along with disease and famine making it plausible that the only explanation of the town's despoilment was because of witches and the devil. As well, with the stimulation of the idea of witch's from specific constituents of the town and adolescent boredom the idea of causing entertainment among the town was an

The Crucible was written as an allegory for the McCarthy era in 1953 by Arthur Miller; an American playwright. The McCarthy era was epitomized by the fear of Communism that Senator McCarthy whipped up. He fostered a witch hunt against anyone who disagreed with his views. Miller’s intention was that the play would be a parody of his own context (himself) with John Proctor quite evidently being a reflection of Miller. The witches in the play symbolized communism. A ‘Crucible’ can mean both; "a container for melting or purifying metals by heat" and "a severe test." Miller describes the village of Salem as ‘the container’ and its contents; the God-fearing residents of Salem along with their emotions. This ‘purification process’ is exactly what

The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. People look back on these times and are appalled at how horrendous the times were; yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator from Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To express his outrage at McCarthy’s actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials.

Authors used their literary work to get a point across to the public in the story The Crucible; Arthur Miller used events and characters to show the similarities to McCarthyism which was prevalent in the 1950s. McCarthyism was associated with the period in the United Sates also known as the Second Red Scare. McCarthyism is very similar in the way that Joe McCarthy accused Americans of being communist and in The Crucible people were being accused of being witches. It is known that Arthur Miller wrote this story as a reaction to a tragic time in our history.

As America entered the post-war era after World War II, there was still an ongoing sense of paranoia throughout the country. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, McCarthyism, initiated by Joseph McCarthy’s accusation of 205 Communists and the use of unjust methods to hunt Communists, arose. As this era emerged, Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, which highlighted and dramaticized the scandal of the 1692 Salem witch trials, gained popularity and opened on Broadway. Though the two events in American history, McCarthyism and the witch trials, lie almost 300 years apart, Miller’s The Crucible serves as an allegory to the closely mirrors the events of McCarthyism, specifically in the request of the names of those accused, the absence of reliable

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,

In Arthur Miller’s “Why I Wrote The Crucible”, Miller connects The Crucible and the Second Red Scare by highlighting his process of writing which in return displays the two different time era’s similarities. He states, “[W]hen I began to think of writing about the hunt for Reds in America, I was motivated in some great part by the paralysis that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitors’ violations of civil rights, were fearful…of being identified as Communists” (Miller “Why I Wrote The Crucible”). Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is an effective allegory due to Miller connecting Salem to McCarthyism by the showing the people of Salem being driven into rash actions and unjust court systems because of

Human beings are born with many emotions. From happy, excited, sad, and more to list, these feelings are what contribute to our behaviors and ways of thinking. A happy person will feel energized and tend to work more productively; a person full of anger can sometimes act without thinking and regret later on. Another specific example is The Crucible by Arthur Miller, where fear takes over the minds of people. When witchcraft is believed to be practicing among the villagers, the fear for life and the bottomless greed for wealth have stirred up the trust between the people, causing them to call out names, whom they believe to be witches, with false confessions. The Crucible is an excellent allegory that portrays McCarthyism, mob mentality, and courage.

In the 1940’s America was living in fear.Communists were violating the country and the Government Employees were being forced to testify before Congress.The reason behind the cause of this event is because of Senator Joseph McCarthy.McCarthy scared the country into large groups.This obsession lead to a congressional committee of accusing and imprisoning the citizens.The reason for their imprisonment was because of the beliefs they had.Arthur Miller’s Play “The Crucible” has a similar connection to this time period,where there was fear and continuous accusations.Miller connects The Salem Witch Trials and The House Un-American Activities Committee and the damage of their communities.

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.”

In the rigid year of 1692, many men, women and children were put to death because they were believed to be witches and that they were taking part in the practice of witchcraft. The place where it occurred in is a small Puritan community of Salem Village. Witchcraft was forbidden to practice in the small town of Salem by the Puritans. It all started when a group of girls gathered in the home of Reverend Parris to listen to stories told by a slave (Salem). Along with listening to the stories, they also took part in playing fortune-telling games, which were strictly forbidden by the Puritans. Many people in the community believed that they were victims of witchcraft because of what they did and experienced and they were frightened by this thought. This event is what kick-started the Salem witch Trials in a small Puritan

Imagine a situation where every day was encircled by mistrust and fear. Helpless, afraid, like an animal having to strictly follow the rules unless it wanted to be pointed out. This was the tone that Arthur Miller uses for his novel The Crucible. Wanting to comment on the mass anti-communist scare of the McCarthyism period, Miller wrote a historical fiction novel about the original “witch hunt”, the Salem witch trials. Paranoia, just like in Hollywood at the time, was what most colonists felt during the spring of 1692 in Massachusetts. Miller detailed the harassment that the inhabitants were subjected to by a group of girls led by a promiscuous seventeen year old. These girls started a religious hysteria among the Massachusetts colony by claiming that particular women living in the colony were in accordance with the devil. This led to many (as many as 200) people to become accused of being a witch or wizard; eventually being put in jail, or for some specific few, being hanged. Through the play, Miller really shows how human beings are able to do fearful things, but at the same time, he shows us how human beings are able to forgive. One of these examples being the growth of a Puritan couple consisting of John and Elizabeth Proctor, who is initially shown to the audience as a broken couple, being that John had relations with Abigail.

In 1692 in the city of Salem, Ma there was an uproar in the city. The people in Salem went against each other, they would call each other witches. They would say that they stole something or they are acting strange, they would make up things just so the other person would get in trouble. Salem was a small city so word got around fast. The witchcraft began before the trials and the false claims occurred. About one hundred and forty one people were arrested, nineteen people were also hanged and one was crushed because heavy stones were put on his chest which broke his ribs, piercing his heart and lungs. They would either lay there with the stones on top of them until they confessed they were a witch or lied to them just to get the stones off them or they would let the stones crush them, having the people not knowing if the person was a witch or not. Trials were pointed at people who were accused of working or doing witch craft. Trials lasted between sixteen ninety two to sixteen ninety three. Many people were gathered up and try for witchcraft. Some who were arrested died in prison while waiting for trial. The accused were fourteen women and five men who were hanged. Many people died for things they didn't do and for the rumors that weren’t true. Some of the ways they would use to find out of the person was a witch or not were unfair. The events that took place in salem in 1692 are a part of a greater pattern throughout our history to persecute innocent people especially women as witches. Some of the ways they would use to find out if the person was a witch or not was unfair.

During times of distress, we look for someone to blame. Whether we blame witches or whether we blame communism, there is always going to be insanity. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, we witnessed a town stuck in the thought of witchcraft. In the 1950s we witness a similar event of communism. The events of McCarthyism enhanced the readers understanding of The Crucible, in many instances the accusations of the United States communism and Salem were a lot alike, people were scared, puzzled, and without much reason.

The 1950s of America is a place where corruption is present in both the court and society due to McCarthyism. McCarthyism is an accusation towards another individual for reasons of treason or other illegal activities which lacks proper evidence. The Crucible by Arthur Miller places an emphasis on this period and captivates its background of McCarthyism. Arthur Miller uses the Salem witch trials to demonstrate that the 1950s America is full of intolerance, greed and injustice through McCarthyism.