New Historicism: The Crucible started with The Red Scare New Historicists look at events occurring in the world at the time a literary work was written. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, was accused of being a Communist in 1957 during The Red Scare. “In developing his script, when Miller visited Salem in 1952 he immediately realized the parallels between Salem in 1692 and the then-current United States” (“Why I Wrote The Crucible”). The parallels are what caused him to write the play. The citizens of the United States and Salem were both plagued with anxiety. Is it human nature to follow into and/or create mass hysteria? During The Red Scare and The Crucible innocent people were condemned, and the injustice of the matter amplified …show more content…
There’s a scene where all of the girls start shouting out numerous names of the people they saw with the devil. Abigail accuses John Proctor’s wife of being a witch because she’s infatuated with John. Abigail knows the people they’re accusing are innocent, because near the end she runs away. “Rumors of witchcraft throughout the town lead to accusations, roundups, and forced confessions. Eventually the innocent were sent to the gallows” (Miller). In the play when the innocent people didn’t falsely confess of being a witch, they were hung (Miller). Similarly, in the United States, people feared communism as the Cold War was happening. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many people of being communists. According to Yale Law professor Ralph Brown, 10,000 people lost their jobs because of McCarthy. A large majority of them being innocent (“McCarthyism”). “His [McCarthy’s] interrogation tactics were brutal and his accusations often unsubstantiated, but his hearings brought public condemnation to the accused and resulted in the general persecution of many innocent people (“McCarthyism”). Arthur Miller saw the parallels between the accused innocent people during the Salem Witch Trials and from
In this essay I will talk about two main central ideas. First, some people accuse innocent people for witchery. Secondly, there is a lot of hatred in the town of Salem.
Thesis Statement: Arthur Miller conveys of the theme of jealousy by how it can ruin lives by abigail was jealous of elizabeth proctor Also John Putnam is moved by jealousy by he is jealous of others people's property.
In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts a small group of girls joined together to go in the woods at night to meet a slave woman name Tituba. Tituba is a slave of Reverend Parris. During their meeting all the girls are dancing
The Crucible is a complex and intriguing novel with events, characters and themes comparable to almost every period of human history. It is common for humans to fear change and what is unknown, in the play The Crucible this is witchcraft and the devil, in more recent times it can be seen in post World War Two and Cold War United States, through McCarthyism. The themes in the crucible are as important to people in the 21st century as in Salem in 1692. These include justice, reputation, hysteria, intolerance and empowerment. All of these are common themes throughout human history. The characters in The Crucible are also important to people of the 21st century as they can teach us a little bit about people around us and their reactions when
“Arthur Miller made the play called “The Crucible” during the 1950’s as a response to McCarthyism and the U.S. Governments blacklisted people.”(Blakesley). Miller was then question and accused of “Contempt of Congress” for not identifying people that were at meetings he attended. McCarthyism and The Salem Witch Craft Trials have been two very wrong things that have happened in the history of the United States for a lot of reasons. First off they both wrongfully accused innocent people of performing not accepted actions of those times. In America you have a right of free will and in both cases they were denied this right just because of someone else’s opinion. In both cases of the Salem Witch Craft Trials and McCarthyism people were being accused of acts with little evidence. People pointed fingers at others so they wouldn’t get blamed for anything, so there was a scare factor taking place. Large groups of people supported these acts maybe because of a get on board everyone’s doing it theme, and if you disagreed you were considered a witch or a communist. Our country supported McCarthy until later we soon regretted it. During the 1940’s and 1950’s communism was a scare in the U.S. so McCarthy capitalized on the subject and said two hundred card carrying communist were in the U.S(PBS). With the Salem Trials people capitalized on the scare of witches and everyone starting accusing the “weird” people. Accusations weather true or false can
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is wonderful example of how mass hysteria can spread throughout a small community. The setting of the play is Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 during the infamous Witch Trials. Miller uses these trials and the way they impacted the Salem community as a parallel to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Both time periods show the effect corrupt authorities can have on the lives of others. The author’s most striking commentary is on the role
(H)To be accused as a witch, was to be labeled for death by hanging, whether you are guilty or not. (Tr-TS)The label of witch or warlock what the townspeople use as a vessel to get their enemies and competition out of the way. (B)In the puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls were caught dancing in the forest by the reverend. To avoid any punishment for doing so, the girls claimed to have been bewitched. Soon, what began as a simple act of preservation to keep from being hung, very quickly turned into an opportunity to gain power over the other townspeople. (Tr-ThS)Slapping the label of witch was these peoples way of gaining said power. (ThS) (pt1)In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible,(pt2) Miller uses many literary devices, but most
Martin Niemöller once said,“First they came for the communists, but I was not a communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” The culture of accusations is a part of hysteria. As paranoia ensued in “The Crucible”, Joseph McCarthy made false allegations that influenced many peoples lives. An affair integrated in Arthur Miller’s play created controversy among the community. Trials were held for those accused and lying was the only way to survive. The harsh truth that was revealed in “The Crucible” and the parallels between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials show patterns in which fear was used as an advantage, unsubstantiated claims occurred, and unethical punishments were given.
From the Cold War Museum it says “These people on the list were in fact not all communists” Everyone was so scared they had no reason to question it and they just wanted to make sure communism would not start. This started the Red Scare and caused anyone they have seen could be a communist with how many people McCarthy had found. This is also relatable to the crucible and the girls from salem. Abigail and the girls started pretending to be possessed and blaming people all over for witchcraft. Everyone was so scared that they believed everything the girls said and got rid of anyone the girls called out. In the Crucible Abigail says “Why do you come, yellow bird?” Abigail and girls talk about a yellow bird that only they can see that Mary Warren sent to hurt them, most people in the court believe the girls even if none of them can see it. Arthur Miller made this book as an allegory to show how easily you can destroy someone's life by blaming them for something.
Accusations of people practicing witch craft or being a communist was a big problem during the following years causing chaos throughout the country. “Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in eastern Europe and china.” (McCarthyism)The story begins with a group of girls dancing in the woods then being accused of practicing witch craft. A fair amount of young women were apart of the crime, which then caused them to accuse one another and other people in the village. This caused people to fear and prove to the court that those accusations were incorrect. Also during the red scare, accusation of people being or pro-communist, stirred up rage and anger. “In the center ring were the
In the late 1940’s, hundreds of screenwriters, actors, actresses and entertainers of the Hollywood film industry faced charges of being subversive to America through spies for the Soviet Union. The FBI was accusing many Americans for being loyal to the communist country, this is similar to witch hunts that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. The “Red Scare” and the Witch Trials both produced mass hysteria as a result of people’s irrational angst. The Crucible a play composed by American author, Arthur Miller who was many of the accused during the red scare, wrote this play about the town Salem that fell into mass hysteria after a group of girls Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam, Tituba and Mary Warren wrongfully accused townspeople
The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller was written in response to McCarthyism in the 1950’s. In 1692 and 1693 the Salem witch trials took place in Salem Massachusetts. Girls believed to be involved in witchcraft were responsible for these trials. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s senator McCarthy came to office. Senator McCarthy and some of his allies were responsible for hysteria in the United States of America in the 1950’s. The scare was also in result of a communist scare after World War II and leading to the cold war. The behavior of the people of the Salem witch trials and Americans in the 19050’s resulted in a big scare in reaction to hysteria.
Throughout history, many horrific incidents based on an act of violence or disagreement have resulted in panic and mass hysteria. These historical events include but are not limited to, The Holocaust, mass shootings, and 9/11. Many of these tragic events have led to people being immensely afraid. These events often create fear for those who participate in everyday activities. A healthy community consists of a support system, peace, trust, and adhering to societal laws. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, illustrates parallels between the Salem 17th century witch trials and the Communist Red Scare in the 1950’s to exemplify how destructive irrational fear and mass hysteria can become. When a community is overcome with fear it creates an insalubrious system of mistrust, corruption, hypocrisy, and the defiance of laws. Conflict relating to witchcraft in The Crucible, led to tension and struggle for the people of Salem. In his allegory, Arthur Miller illustrates the devastating impact of irrational fear on a community through the actions of the characters of Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth and Judge Hathorne.
Imagine the year is 1692. In a small Massachusetts town a culture of highly religious folk live in peace. Salem. It´s late January and the reverendś young niece Abigail and only daughter begin to act strangely. Rumors of witchcraft fly through town and fear runs rampant.In around a year 200 people are unjustifiably accused and 20 sentenced to capital punishment. Who is next? The strange widow down the road? The Coreys? In a time of obscured justice, line were crossed and innocent lives lost. In his breakthrough play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller spins a tale not far from the truth.Letting his readers explore a gruesome tale of blind hatred. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Abigail Williams embodies the wrongdoings of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Crucible book written by Arthur Miller based on a real life story that happened in 1692 to 1693 In Salem Massachusetts was based on lies and injustice, genre is play, The author's purpose is to inform the audience about what happened during the witch trials . The Salem Village was full Puritans and they was very strict based on church rules. People that missed church regularly will be justified as a witch or malignant and will be put to shame on a stockade. People that break the rules of the strict religious town will hang or live if such person decides to confess, If they confess the accused person will still be imprisoned and not killed. Also if you was accused of practicing witchcraft you will be accused by the people and go