Have you ever been accused of something you did not do? Unfortunately, this circumstance happened during the second Red Scare of the 1940s-1950s. Joseph McCarthy is the leader of this movement and the founder of McCarthyism. McCarthyism, the act of accusing high government officials of being a part of the Communist Party. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller dramatizes the Salem witch trials through allegory with fearful and miserable tones to illustrate to his audience that hysteria can change one’s actions towards others around them, further explaining the political allegory he creates to show McCarthyism. McCarthyism and The Crucible share the lack of evidence that their main instigators have against those charged with McCarthyism or witchcraft. …show more content…
McCarthy announces at a meeting in Wheeling, West Virginia that he has a list of 205 card-carrying Communist in the U.S state department and restates the list in Salt Lake City(McCarthyism). Joseph McCarthy’s list makes the American public paranoid about the spread of communism among them. All the innocent people on McCarthy’s list are defenseless because he has gained too much power over the people. As McCarthy’s list was on paper, Abigail Williams and her followers have a list based on their memory of the night in the woods with Tituba. The list starts when Abigail wants to be forgiven for dealing with witchcraft, so she announces that “[She] saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” and the other girls start accusations to be forgiven too(Miller 1). The girl's accusations put the people of Salem in a state of terror. Abigail Williams accuses her own friend Mary Warren of witchcraft. Williams pretends that she is in a state of possession and screams, “Mary, please, don’t do it!” W while the people around her stare with wide eyes(Miller 3). Abigail benefits from Mary Warren and the people’s fear, she uses her power as a weapon, so she can achieve the role of leadership among her community. Williams and McCarthy’s lists create external and internal chaos amongst the public. Both instigators feed off the public’s fear and use it to get what they want, especially if it’s for their own
In “A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy,” Edward Murrow criticizes McCarthy’s actions, citing similar issues to what can be identified in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Murrow says, “We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law,” stating that an accusation standing alone is not enough evidence to convict someone. In The Crucible, the accused are tried without sufficient evidence to convict them. In fact, those accused of witchcraft have to provide proof that they were innocent, whereas it is traditional that the prosecutor would bring forth incriminating evidence. Therefore, the accused are guilty until proven innocent and frequently commit perjury in order to save their lives [Yet another reversed political idea-- if you confessed, you weren’t hanged].
In 1957, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible during the McCarthyism era to show how much fear and hysteria can and has already impacted America. The Crucible exaggerates the Salem witch trials of 1962-1963 which are similar to the McCarthyism era. The parallels between the Salem Witch trials and McCarthyism include blaming others, unreliable sources, and punishment if someone refuses to testify. The first parallels between the Salem Witch trials and McCarthyism are blaming others to save
Maria Evans Mrs. Busick English 3 03 February 2023 The Crucible & McCarthyism: What are the parallels? Have you ever been so wrapped up in hysteria and fear that you end up doing things that you would normally consider irrational, extreme, and completely against your values? This situation was perfectly played out in The Crucible based on the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 and the McCarthy Era in the United States in 1953. The Crucible was a book written by Arthur Miller, dramatizing the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts.
Thomas Bevilacqua Mrs. Goldberg Honors English 11 - 2B 31 March 2023 The Crucible and McCarthyism: What Are the Parallels? Imagine being completely helpless, unable to defend yourself against the accusations of a crime you did not commit. The only way to save yourself is to give up others' names, guilty or not, and put them in your situation. This was the essence of both McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials.
Tony Reynolds-Villegas Mrs. Howard Period 3rd May 23, 2023 McCarthyism in The Crucible Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible is an incredible representation of McCarthyism. Arthur Miller represents McCarthyism using religion. The Crucible, a book based on the Salem Witch Trials is used to showcase McCarthyism, which is a idea in which people are accused without any evidence. McCarthyism happened during the second red scare which was people of democracy against communism, or in The Crucible religion against witchcraft.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “the term McCarthyism is applied to the persecution of innocent people using powerful but unproved allegations”. This very idea is prevalent throughout the Crucible, even more so within the court gatherings. An example of this is found within ACT IV of the novel,
‘The Crucible’ is an allegory itself , a story that can be interpreted in both a literal and a symbolic sense. The author , Arthur Miller lived in a time frame in which the McCarthyism Red Scare occurred. Miller also uses the Salem witch trials as a symbolic story of what happened to him. Senator Joseph McCarthy launched the House of Un-American Committee which was known as the HUAC. One of the many factors to McCarthyism was in the first Red Scare, the rise of Communism within the United States.
Justice cannot be achieved without a fair trial based on evidence. McCarthyism and Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" are interwoven in history due to their connections to the Red Scare and the fear of communism in the United States during the 1950s. McCarthyism refers to the intense anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy when the government and society engaged in a witch-hunt against suspected communists, often without any concrete evidence, while "The Crucible'' is a story about the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century when people where being accused of witchcraft. However, with his play, Arthur Miller is actually trying to show the parallels between the unjust prosecution of so-called
At the time when Arthur Miller wrote the play “The Crucible”, he was coming from the position of a victim. Arthur Miller was accused of being a member of the communist party in the McCarthy era better known as The Red Scare. “The Crucible” is an allegory to The Red scare that was going on when Arthur Miller wrote the play. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. “The Crucible” contains many similar events to what had been happening during the Red Scare, with some events being very similar, making “The Crucible” a perfect allegory for Arthur Miller to write a play about.
In 1952 Arthur Miller published a play “The Crucible” which was based on his research of the witch hunts in 1692, where it took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The play, though, was more, than a recollection of tragic medieval events, it was an allegory of the 1950’s red hunt by a Republican U.S senator Joseph McCarthy, where a witch hunt was replaced by a hunt for communists. The Crucible reveals moral and political messages such as an allegory for the greed of power, betrayal, and the courage to stand up to public opinion. This pertains to the history of McCarthy and the House of Un-American activities committee.
One parallel of figures is Abigail to Joseph McCarthy and how they used the hysteria and crisis that occurred to further their own agendas. Abigail, who sought to win over John Proctor, used the events that ensued after being caught performing in the woods. The tactics that Abigail used followed that of Joseph McCarthy when it came to seeking political gain. Both also wrongfully accused those in the society for such crimes. During Act 1, Abigail uses the events happening with Tituba to cause panic by naming even more accused than originally stated which ressembles such naming as that of the list of people Joseph McCarthy claimed to have in his speech in Wheeling, WV.
The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller creates an indisputable connection between the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare, the fear and persecution of suspected communists in the USA between the 40s and 50s. The hysteria and paranoia that took America by storm during the Red Scare are effectively criticized through the use of characters and plot. Through the depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, Miller shows how patterns of investigation, accusation, and punishment are correspondent between the trials and the Red Scare. The common themes of fear, hysteria, and dangerous mob mentality are explored through the use of irony, symbolism, and characterization. Arthur Miller successfully creates an allegory of the Red Scare in The Crucible while showing
The fact that Abigail has this much power, not just in the court, but over other people as well helps her to essentially control the whole
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.