Compare And Contrast Abigail Williams And Joseph Mccarthy

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.

Do Abigail Williams and Joseph McCarthy share the same beliefs, behavior, and motives? Or are they completely different people with different characteristics? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail is a very important role in the book. In the movie Good Night and Good Luck Joseph McCarthy is a big part of that movie. Not only are they both very important, they are also rude and manipulative. They are alike in some ways and at the same time they have some differences.

Also, since The Crucible was written to be parallel to McCarthyism, the same idea is shown. The same situation can be seen in The Crucible as Arthur Miller was influenced by the events that occurred during McCarthyism. In the Crucible, anyone whose name that had been mentioned underwent an investigation and was asked to prove that they were not partaking in witchcraft. Because this task was impossible, the court made rash decisions such as sending people to jail or sentencing them to be hanged. This scenario is seen in the crucible when Rebecca Nurse is accused. The Putnam’s, in the midst of the mass hysteria, falsely accuse her of witchcraft. Because of her strong faith to God, she is unwilling to say she never walks with the devil in order to get out of going to jail and being hanged. Although McCarthyism did not lead to anyone being put to death, people had seen communism begin to take over and they were so fearful of this idea, they were willing to make these rash, foolish

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is seen as a true piece of American Literature that presents itself at the core of McCarthyism in the bitter wake of Communists spies inside the United States. In many cases the main character of Abigail Williams is considered secondary to that of John Proctor. However, many years later, Miller writes a screenplay for the 1996 film adaptation starring Hollywood heavyweights like Winona Ryder; whose portrayal seems to allow the character of Abigail to have more room to expand. It is to my opinion that the author does this to present a more rapid and truthful motif that differs from that of the 1950 ‘witch hunt’ for communists. It is shown in the differing aspects of Abigail’s character from play to screen,

In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

Many have said that history repeats itself. This has never been more evident then with the tragic events that happened with the Red Scare and the events in The Crucible. Both deal with mass hysteria and how accusers are given power and use that power for evil. In both the accusers look down upon the rest of the society and just accuse away with your accusing finger. What we learn from both of these horrible events is that we should never look down upon others or accuse someone of committing an "immoral crime" without seeing or never or hearing what really happened. There's no such thing as an "immoral crime" because everyone has different moral codes, what one person thinks is horribly wrong could be totally normal to another so there's no such thing as a "moral person".

A witch hunt is seen as an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and recounts one such witch hunt. During this time, witches and conspiring with the devil were frowned upon by the Puritan church, and were the cause of much fear and suspicion. The Salem Witch Trials were a product of this fear and uncertainty that eventually overwhelmed the village for more than a year. Miller wrote The Crucible during the time America was concerned about the rising power of Communism in the Soviet Union on the heels of World War II. Soon, people feared, communist ways would come to the United States and would quickly corrupt the government system. Senator McCarthy rose to power during this time by creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion based on false claims of communist activity. Conventional wisdom has it that mankind has evolved so far that the idea of targeting innocents is no longer an issue; however, Senator McCarthy and targeting of innocent Muslims after 9/11 remind us that witch hunts still exists in modern times.

When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.

In the midst of the Protestant Reformation, families seeking a religious haven emigrated to America with new ideas that would come to shape their communities into prosperous societies. However, they were often afraid of others who they believed would try to ruin their success, creating a fear of the unknown as they accused their neighbors of unprovable claims. The suspicion continued to affect the lives of Americans throughout the development of the American identity, from international events such as the Cold War to smaller-scale court cases. While the conditions at which tendencies to incriminate a member of society have evolved since colonial times, the impulse to incriminate based on a fear of the unknown

After World War II, the fear of autocratic governments and communism spread, especially within the United States. The idea of having a restrictive leader produced fear amongst citizens, creating a sense of distrust towards neighbors or officials that might support such a faction; this anti-communism movement was known as the Red Scare. Spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy, the domestic war-on-communism reached an extreme, one that took away the freedoms of this nation’s people. Americans sacrificed civil liberties and privacy in an effort to deter the totalitarian wave from taking root in their country.

The way someone appears, or acts, is not necessarily always correct or truthful. In the book The Crucible, the Forest Girls, Abigail, Susana, Mary and the others, effectively deceive the townsfolk into believing that witchcraft is practiced in Salem. Abigail Williams is not as innocent as she portrays herself. She misrepresents herself as a virtuous young girl who was unjustly affected by witchcraft. During an escapade in Act III, the girls become disillusioned by Mary Warren who attempts to expose the charges of witchcraft as mere acts of vengeance. The girls then act as if Mary has entered their souls and then they, of their own free will, somberly repeat everything Mary says.

Albert Einstein once said,“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” This quote shows the importance of human nature because most of the topics I researched all started by someone noticing something out of the ordinary and making it something it is not. Humans do not like change so when something happens that they are not use to, they do not know how to react. Some view it as stupidity, but to the person it is their only way to react. In witch trials for example, when someone is acting different they would declare them a witch and have the background information to prove it. They do not know if it is true or not, but it is what they would follow. The same for McCarthyism, the person who

A play based on the Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, is in fact an allegory to the Red Scare. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is told in way that shows his criticism towards McCarthyism. Arthur Miller explains how the Salem Witch Trials became in his play. The Crucible is about a group of teenage girls accusing innocent people in the town of Salem. However, the innocent people in the town of Salem are referred to the hundreds being accused of communism during Red Scare. An allegory resembling The Crucible is a play that symbolizes the atmosphere of Salem to that during the McCarthy era, in addition to the comparison of the trials and hearings, along with characters from the play representing people from the event of the 1950s.

How do we distinguish our enemies from our allies? An enemy is someone who betrays another individuals trust. People throughout history have always betrayed one another, especially when one persons misfortune is anothers gain. This is as true today as it was in the seventeenth century Colonial America. In Arthur Millers play, “The Crucible” about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, we see how this played out with tragic results.

Imagine a normal day, you're about ten years old and playing with some friends in the backyard. Then out of nowhere you see your mom or dad is frantic while being ripped out of the house. The worst part is that you cannot do a thing about it, because the people that are taking him or her taking them are bigger than you, and not to mention but they are also very important people, the kind that if you try to stand up for yourself or others against they will have a way to drop you.