What Is The Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthyism

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

‘The Crucible’ is an allegory. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. In this case, the obvious meaning is the Salem witch-hunt and the hidden meaning is McCarthyism. McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s and it was governmental accusations with no evidence. Joseph McCarthy started doing trials on those he thought were communist, but he had no evidence for it. This is the same as the witch trials in The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this in response to McCarthyism.

“I have here in my hand a list of 205 State Department employees that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department”, McCarthy’s speech in the State Department, (“McCarthyism & the Red Scare”, History.com). The Red Scare era was a haywire of communist infiltrations during the Cold War, in the 1950s. On February 9th, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy a republican of Wisconsin, accused originally 205 state department employees of being a part of a communist party. McCarthy’s speech sparked an uproar of nationwide hysteria about the renegade people in the American government. Overall, McCarthy accused 224 people for being involved with a communist party. One of the 224 people, Arthur Miller, an american playwright who wrote The Crucible to warn the american people against the government misinformation. The Crucible is about the salem witch trials in 1692. He compared the witch trials in The Crucible to the McCarthy investigations. The Crucible, a play, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy Era, which took place in the 1950s, because of the false evidence provided, the false accusations, and the hearsay in the courts.

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

In order to be accurate in accusing someone of a crime, you must have the appropriate evidence to back up your story. In The Crucible, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. The ones who confessed, were sentenced to jail and the ones who denied it, were killed. The only way they had to prove what was being done, was spectral evidence. Therefore, the only person known to tell the truth was the victim. McCarthyism involved communists, like The Crucible, those who were accused were sentenced to jail time. The parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names, the lack of evidence, and rebellion against the government in which they served.

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller written in the 1950’s. It was set in the 1690’s in Massachusetts. The play is about the witch trials and how something like a group of girls in the woods could lead to about 200 people being hanged and accused of witchcraft. The people of Salem were new to Massachusetts as they were puritans who went off to America to set up a new religious colony . The people were new to their surroundings had the Native Americans as enemies because they took their land. Although the Crucible is about the witch trials, it is thought to be a metaphor for the McCarthy Communist trials

The McCarthy Era began in the time period of 1950, shortly after World War II ended. Communism is a theory of organization based on the holding of all property in common, having actual ownership to a community as a whole. After the issue of communist seemed to pass, the Salem witch trials took place in Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Arthur Miller said he wrote he crucible as an allegory of McCarthyism.

колдовство, or witchcraft, in Russia was not as common as in Europe, however, the Soviet Union devised a different kind of ‘witchcraft’. Although Arthur Miller related his book The Crucible to American McCarthyism, it was just as relatable to East Germany or even modern day Crimea.

The Crucible is about the fear, the hysteria and the accusations that took place in Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials. It was written in the early 1950s when the McCarthy era was occurring. There were many similarities between the witch trials and the McCarthy trials. Communism was the new witchcraft, and no one was safe from accusations. If someone didn’t like someone, they could accuse them and get away with it.

'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.' (George Santayana) During the events of The Crucible, the citizens of Salem are in a frenzy as people are accusing one another of witchcraft in order to further their own selfish agenda’s, and mirrors the real-life events of the Red Scare during the The McCarthy Era, where mass hysteria swept through the public, as the country tried to root out Communist agents from Russia, signifying the untrusting nature of humans and what selfish means we will go to accomplish our own agendas.

The McCarthy era was the period in American history where the fear of communism spread across America. Threats spread noting that people in industries (entertainment specifically) would be accused of being communists and that would cost them their jobs and have them blacklisted. Arthur Miller writes The Crucible as an allegory, comparing the Salem witchcraft trials to McCarthyism. The Salem witchcraft trials took place when women were accused of practicing witchcraft and black magic, while McCarthyism was accusing people of being communists. The Salem Witchcraft trials and McCarthyism are both similar in the aspect that they have moral characters and power hungry people who unscrupulously accuse people for something they did not do.

In Salem Massachusetts during the spring of 1962 the witch trials began. These trials stimmed from a diagnosis by a local doctor named William Griggs, in January of 1692 who diagnosed two young girls with “bewitchment” after they were having fits that included: violent expressions, writhing and uncontrollable outburst of screaming. In February, after other young girls began to have similar signs, four arrest warrants were issued due to the girls accusing Tituba, Parris’ Caribbean, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn of bewitching them.

Throughout history, there have been many examples of cruelty within a society. Often Times, this cruelty come with fear, suspicion, and ignorance. Within the Article “Mccarthyism” by Arthur Miller, readers can see examples of suspicion. Likewise, the text “The Crucible”. supports cruelty caused by ignorance , and “Japanese-American internment camps demonstrates how Fear can destroy a society.”

Hi I am Alex and this essay will contain and discuss the following subjects: playwright Arthur Miller, Senator Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism, The Crucible vs. The Salem Witch Trials, the Puritans, and Hysteria. So enjoy.