Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthyism

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is a powerful depiction of the events that took place during the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in the late 17th century. At the same time, it can be seen as a story from the McCarthy era, which was a time of political repression and anti-communist hysteria in the United States in the 1950s, it was also known as the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a period of time where people were scared of Communism since after WWl, the Russian leaders were overthrown and they encouraged other countries to rise up and do so as well. The parallels between the events in The Crucible and the McCarthy era are numerous and striking, and they reveal the dangers of fear, mistrust, and false accusation.

In the play, the initial accusations of witchcraft are fueled by a general sense of anxiety and suspicion, as well as by the desire of some characters to gain power and control. Similarly, during the McCarthy era, fear of communism and the threat of nuclear war created a climate in which people were quick to make accusations and to point fingers at one another, often based on little or no evidence. In the play the accusation began after a girl named Betty fell sick and people thought it was witchcraft. This led to them questioning the girls, and the first girl named Abigail started accusing people which led the others to start naming people as well. This caused the first wave of panic and hysteria among the townsfolk, and because of this people thought what they were doing was fair and not cruel. With McCarthy the start of fear and hysteria was because of the Red Scare. With more immigrants coming into the US and the Red Scare spreading people began to worry and panic and McCarthy fueled the fear with the accusation of 205 senate members contributing to Communism. This made people feel unsafe and people believed McCarthy and immediately trialed those that were accused. This led to even more unease among the Americans as they no longer knew anybody they could

In the play, characters such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are ruined by the accusations against them, and many are never able to fully recover from the damage to their reputations and careers. Similarly, during the McCarthy era, people who were falsely accused and punished suffered long-term damage to their reputations and careers, and many were never able to fully recover. At the same time, the sense of fear and mistrust that pervaded both the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era created a climate in which people were hesitant to speak out or to question authority, which had a terrifying effect on free speech and political