The late 1600’s was a difficult time period for all member of Salem, and the neighboring cities that were drug into this mess. The executions of many accused witches had the whole community of edge. They were pitted against each other as the fight to survive was won by accusing others before you could be convicted. The winners of this battle were the children who initiated it including, but not limited to; Abigail Williams. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was used as an allegory to express his feelings of his personal accusation of communist beliefs or practices during the 1940s and 1950s. Miller used The Crucible as a symbol for McCarthyism. In every good story, there is a strong lead who has to try and fix a terrible problem. John …show more content…
These wild allegations often had no evidence to support, very similar to the witch trials. Abigail Williams was the young girl in the center of these claims in Salem. She was the niece of Reverend Parris, which gave her the respect of the town, heightening her reliability. Throughout the trials, she blames more and more people for the epidemic and is never questioned because people don’t want to admit their own fault. “There is news, sir, that the court- the court must reckon with. My niece, sir, my niece- I believe she has vanished, ” (1156). After she skips town, everyone realizes her part in the death of many innocent civilians, but it is too late. This relates to the red scare, because even though many people were throwing blame on other, like Abigail, McCarthy was the initiator of this. Without these two, neither event would have most likely ever …show more content…
Friends would back each other's allegations with lies. When a person was on trial, chances were that more than the original name-caller would buttress the case. The bandwagon effect had a major impact on the afflicted societies. The mob mentality was once again proven correct in Salem and during the cold war. Everyone used the backing of others as a reason to make false accusations for protection, or simply because they could in some instances. “[Mercy Lewis] Mary, do you send this shadow on me? [Mary Warren] Lord, save me! [Susanna Walcott] I freeze, I freeze! [Abigail] it is a wind, a wind! [Mary Warren] Abby, don’t do that! [Danforth] Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?” (1148). In this case, mary was put on the stand, with intentions of telling to the truth after threats from John Proctor, but Abigail's group then made everyone believe Mary was a witch to protect their image. The citizens in America during the 1940s and 1950s live shared similarities is this state of mind with the Salem community. They were pitted against each other and had the group mindset of seeking for the people responsible for all things wrong. All morals were temporarily thrown out the window due to fear and peer
Salem Massachusetts was a town of quarrels in the early 1690s so it was no surprise the word of a single teenage girl set all the townspeople turning on eachother. In the years leading up to the Salem Witch Trials, miniscule tensions broke free between the people of Salem. This apprehension didn’t become a tangible threat; however, until a young girl named Abigail Williams cried witchcraft. Therefore, Abby was the most to blame for the events plaguing Salem in 1692.
‘The Crucible’ is an allegory for the McCarthyism Red Scare era of the 1950s. An Allegory is a story that can be interpreted on both a literal and a symbolic level. Arthur Miller uses the Salem witch trials as a symbolic story of what happened to him. The allegory that was created between ‘The Crucible’ and The Red Scare is that people were being accused of something that was false.
“No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices.” Is a quote by Edward Murrow that states one man can not harm an entire nation unless the people in that nation help him with the destruction. The whole town of Salem, in The Crucible, was put into a quarrel because multiple girls were calling everyone witches and all of the townspeople went along with their mischief. As Arthur Miller was writing The Crucible a belief known as McCarthyism was being spread about. The belief was that many Americans in the Congress had pro-communist beliefs.
When searching for historical lessons on mass paranoia and how it shapes a society, look no further than the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, led to the accusation of witchcraft among over 200 people and the execution of 20. The seed of paranoia was planted in Salem and no one was safe from the village’s extreme behavior. However, the seed of paranoia is not restricted to Salem, Massachusetts. Mass paranoia has been present in other times of United States history.
Arthur Miller was a Victim during the “ Red Scared “ a time when many people were in fear of McCarthyism and Communism spreading in the United States. Allegory is when a poem, story, or a picture has a hidden meaning, the meaning can be a moral or political one. At the time many of Miller's co workers were being accused of communism in the United States. Miller did what he does best and wrote a play named “ The Crucible “. This play was an allegory for McCarthyism comparing it to the Salem witch trials.
This play explores a number of themes as it illustrates the repercussions of fabricating allegations against others. The main themes that were developed throughout the play include hysteria, groupthink, and reputation. Hysteria is a recurring motif in the play because Abigail Williams, the main accuser and antagonist, is well-known
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. He wrote this because he wanted to create an allegory. This allegory was to compare a personal matter to one that was affecting many other people. The Crucible sends a universal message about worldwide issues. Miller connected his personal experience to the Witch Trials of 1692.
Abigail Williams was historically quite different from how she was depicted in The Crucible and yet her character remained faithful to the original. The real Abigail Williams was only a child of eleven years old at the time of the Salem Witch Trials, not a teenage girl seeking revenge in order to be with the man that she loves (“About Abigail Williams”). Williams was likely an orphan as she lived with her uncle. Not much is known about her parents or how she came to live with Reverend Parris (“The “Afflicted””). Her lack of a stable two parent home may have contributed to her psychological need for attention and her role as the foremost of the “targeted” and “harassed” accusing girls.
Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
“Mary Warren, very faintly: No, sir. Hathorne, with a gleam of victory: And yet, when people accused of witchery confronted you in court, you would faint, saying their spirits came out of their bodies and choked you - Mary Warren: That were pretense, sir. Danforth: I cannot hear you. Mary Warren:
Abigail forces the girls of Salem to dance in the woods with her to help conjure spirits and make the charm to kill Goody Proctor. Abigail threatens the girls right after Betty took fright by saying, “let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (Miller, 144). Later on as the trials prolong Mary Warren turns on Abby and is telling the court that she lied. When Abigail then accuses Mary of witchcraft she turns back to Abby and obeys her once again.
In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.
`The Crucible' written by Arthur Miller is a great example of an allegory which explores the conflict existing between individual choices and social expectations. In Salem the society may have power over certain individuals such as Mary Warren but not over strong willed characters such as Abigail and Proctor. This community holds power over individuals who fear other individuals and is made up of a dominant group. Miller uses this idea to make a comparison to McCarthyism in the 1950's. During this time in McCarthyism the government had most authority over America and almost brainwashed them, while in Salem people were ruled over by the Church and Court.
MARY WARREN: Abby, we’ve got to tell. Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two year ago! We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things!
Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Miller wrote his drama during the brief reign of the American senator Joseph McCarthy whose bitter criticized anti- communism sparkled the need for the United States to be a dramatic anti- communist society during the early tense years of the cold war. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. Convict communists were ordered to confess their crime and name others to avoid the retribution.