The Crucible Is Still Relevant Today

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.

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

During the 1940s and 1950s there was a mass hysteria in America because people suspected others of being Communist. A man named Arthur Miller wrote ‘’The Crucible’’ as a way to signify what was happening in the U.S. . He used this story to show how bad things were and how easy it was for people to be falsely accused of being Communist. Miller connects America's Red scare to his fictional story ‘’The Crucible’’ because in the fictional drama the normal people of Salem where falsely persecuted as witches and just like the people during the Red Scare , their lives were ruined beyond repair and they were even killed for suspicion of being a witch even if there was littler evidence to state them as being one.

In this paper, I will be talking about The Crucible, a story written by Arthur Miller in 1952 about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and the Red Scare, a time in the 1950’s when Americans were scared that Communists were a threat to them. I will also talk about how Arthur Miller uses “The Crucible” to help the reader understand that similarities such as fear and nationalism occur in historical witch hunts such as the Red Scare still exist, and society persecutes those who do not fit into society because it fears those who are different.

    The Crucible uses fear of witchcraft in the America of the 1600s as a metaphor for the fear of communism that was widespread in America in the 1950s. Arthur Miller wished to show that the attitudes and behaviour of the villagers of Salem were as irrational and ill-founded as the attitude and behaviour of the committee chaired by Senator McCarthy. Essentially Miller uses the 17th century setting to provide critical distance between the events described and the emotions that they aroused. After three hundred years everyone understands that witchcraft was never a threat to society and we can look at the way people behaved fairly sensibly. The Crucible argues that communism is

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

Have you ever felt like you were among frauds and liars in a group supposedly full of devotees? The people living in late 1600s Salem were known as God-fearing, yet often projected their personal vendettas onto one another through the witchcraft trials. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller utilizes characterization, dramatic and verbal irony, and symbolism to the the convey the conflict of piety and corruption, therefore exposing the hypocrisy of a theocratic community.

“YOU’RE A WITCH!”, “YOU’RE A COMMUNIST!” Imagine you’ve been brought to a court or government panel, even though you haven't committed any crime or been charged with one. You are questioned about your political or biblical values and are accused of disloyalty or of being a witch and are asked to incriminate your friends, neighbors and associates. If you don’t cooperate, you risk jail, losing your job, or are killed; this occurred during the Salem witch trials and the McCarthyism era. McCarthyism was a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692/93. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era because people believed false evidence out of fear, people falsely accused each other out of fear and self gain, and after the trials the accused lives were

The Crucible is one of the most notable classics in American literature. Written by Arthur Miller, the story takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. It’s a story about witch hysteria that caused the trials and executions of many innocent people. Furthermore, it’s filled with many intriguing characters, symbolism, and themes that keep the book on the shelves of American high schools everywhere. Similarly, the Second Second Red Scare in the United States during the 1950s was also time of hysteria and fear of communism. Intriguingly, to consider that Arthur Miller lived during most of the twentieth century, there must be a correlation between The Crucible and the Second Second Red Scare. Therefore, other than the fact that Arthur Miller’s

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials, written in 1953 as an allegory to the McCarthy “witch hunts” against communism. Both the Salem and McCarthy “witch hunts” created a “mob mentality” through fear that led to trials against the accused. The girls in The Crucible, when they were discovered dancing naked in the woods and having fits, claimed that witches were responsible for their “sickness.” The powerful personality of one of the girls, Abigail, created a kind of hysteria in the other girls that led them to point fingers at specific women in Salem.

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is an American classic rich in themes that are consistently pertinent to human beings regardless of time period. Betrayal is often a recurring theme in the community of Salem. In Salem, citizens are plagued by fear, acquisitiveness, and hate to betray others, one’s self and one’s ethics. Miller’s message is let the readers understand that it is imperative to separate what you believe from what society believes. It is important to remain true to yourself, and to not give in to fear, hate or greed.

In the 1950’s, there was a large fear of communism in the United States. People were afraid of the terrors that came with communism and it created a great panic. For personal gains, people falsely accused others, leading to innocent people arrested. Arthur Miller voiced his opinion to the situation by writing The Crucible, a play that recounts the story of a similar scenario - the Salem witch trials.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a play based on the historical witch trials; this drama includes a chronicle that tells the account of a young woman, whom is in love with a married man, that accuses the masses of a modest village of necromancy. Miller distorts information given in the Salem witch trials to produce an exciting tale for the audience, but in doing so, The Crucible becomes an unreliable resource. Margo burns stated

One of the many works written and driven by Puritan influence, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has continued to influence life and thinkings. Its story tracing the 1692 Salem Witch Trials has been widely read, received and understood, along with influencing the reader and their ideals. The play has manifested into more than words on a page and has become of the greatest influences, even sixty years after its publication. Though its story has not changed and is merely a retelling of the original itself, its themes have greatly impacted its universal and enduring state.

Arthur Miller´s 1952 play, The Crucible displays the struggle for an individual going against their society. It shows the colonial community of Salem, Massachusetts disaster of witchcraft accusations caused by the selfishness of a single individual Abigail Williams in 1692 which is similar to The Red Scare of the 1950’s. This theme is also brought through the setting and plot. The play's setting provides a suitable environment for the events that take place. The world of Salem is confined by strict moral and religious codes which spur the abuse of power.