Comparing Communism In The Crucible And Inherit The Wind

Hysteria, paranoia, and delusion was what drove the Salem Witch trials in 1692. Many people were executed by decision of the court because it believed in absurd false allegations. Justice in the court was perverted by fear and delusion (Johnson 9). In the 1940s and 1950s, many people in the United States were living in fear of communism; similar to those who feared “witches” in Salem. In the 1953, Arthur Miller came out with a play: The Crucible based on the Salem Witch Trials tackling McCarthyism; accusing others of being communists trying to overthrow democracy in the United States (9-10). Arthur Miller was a playwright and a political activist speaking up addressing societal issues. One of his most well-known works being The Crucible, addressed McCarthyism and its absurd purpose. Miller, creator of The Crucible was blacklisted, and accused of being a communist along with many other entertainers (“Arthur Miller”). Through all this ignorance and delusional fear, Arthur Miller was inspired to explore the similarities and parallels of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism.

People will do anything to stay alive. The things people will do to survive exist at their clearest during the 1950s with McCarthyism on the rise. McCarthyism, otherwise known as the Red Scare, began when senator Joseph McCarthy accused anyone who was a left-wing “loyalist” risk of being a communist. The threat of losing everything in life; if the case escalated that included taking a llast breath. Arthur Miller sums this up beautifully in a quote describing his experience during McCarthyism, “The more I read into the Salem panic, the more it touched off corresponding images of common experiences in the fifties: the old friend of a blacklisted person crossing the street to avoid being seen talking to him; the overnight conversions of former

Although, many people that were condemned weren’t actually apart of the Communist Party, (under McCarthyism around 1950-1954) they got blacklisted or lost their jobs. This social injustice is also portrayed in The Crucible as its characters face the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as his own reaction to the injustice of McCarthyism. Miller’s purpose was to show how people accused each other with false denunciations because of their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another under McCarthyism.

Channeling Change The Crucible by Arthur Miller was modeled after the Puritanical society during the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Innocent people, such as Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor were falsely accused and condemned of witchcraft. The aftermath of the trials affected the children, cattle, crops, and the reputations of the accused.

Reasons Behind The Crucible Arthur Miller’s main purpose in writing The Crucible was to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials and to warn against government propaganda. At the time that The Crucible was published, America had a huge fear of communism. Anyone accused of having ties with the communist party was shunned. It much resembled the Salem Witch Trials in how the government, or leader of the time, used fear against the people to gain power. For example, Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Reverend Parris in how they both lead the people into the belief that there were intruders in their mists that had plans to sabotage the community.

and Satan has voted no. Then, the final line says, “A tie! Your vote must decide the issue.” Though this seems funny, it perfectly illustrates the purpose behind Marsden’s book. Proving that fundamentalism has carried on in spite of all the naysayers and opponents, also proves that God has been actively at work in history keeping Biblical truths alive and

In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote the famous play The Crucible, in response to a fear of Communism The “Red Scare”, was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was afraid of communist takeover. The Crucible a play in which Arthur Miller changes some events of the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the problems that were happening in his own society. In this essay we’ll see the ties between The Crucible, McCarthyism , The witch trials and Puritans. Arthur Miller, was born in Harlem, New York City, NY on October 17, 1915 to parents of Polish and Jewish descent. His father was successful coat manufacture.

Fear, it causes people to be blinded by the truth. People can’t tell right from wrong. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to show how no one could see what was right. During the 1950’s communism was spreading throughout Europe like a wildfire, then it slowly made its way over to the U.S. This was known as The Red Scare. People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.

The Scopes Trial John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, who found himself at the center of one of the 20th century’s most famous life-changing court hearings; The Scopes Trial. It was also known as the Monkey Trial, where biology teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in a public school located in Tennessee (Kemper). Prior to the trial, there was a anti-evolution law that was passed making Scopes actions illegal, this was known as The Butler Act. As a matter of fact, when Scopes went against this law it was the first step in moving towards modernism. As well as, causing America to move away from traditional values.

In this town there was no respect for that which led the townspeople to close themselves off to anything that was not taught in the bible. It led Reverend Brown to lead the townspeople inadequately. The townspeople were relying on Reverend Brown to lead them and that is not wrong of them but the only problem here was that they did not know how to think for themselves. They were so closed minded to new ideas that everything outside the doctrine was wrong. To think freely is to be able to open your mind to new depths, it does not mean you have to agree to them or believe in them it just means that you are able to see out of the lense of someone

Most characters in this story ignore opinions and facts that are true. This is shown when the judge says, “The Reverend Brown has asked me to make this announcement. There will be a prayer meeting tonight on the courthouse lawn, to pray for justice and guidance. ”(Lawrence and Lee 48). Brown wants a religious meeting which shows how ignorant he is to Drummond and evolution.

“This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge! He wishes to think!” (Lawrence & Lee, 1955, p. 94). This quote from Inherit the Wind represents the heart of the controversy known as the Scopes Trial in 1925. This historical court proceeding still affects us today, yet few know much about it.

“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.

The novel displays many decisions made by the people, in which, they are aware that one must be with the court or they are against it. Members of the community know they cannot sneak by interrogations without fully believing in the court or else they will be hanged for witchcraft. Putnam states, "there is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark" (Miller 16), but perhaps the real murderers are right in front of the people the whole time, calling themselves a

The issues it dealt with then are much the same as the issues we deal with now. The modern audience can still relate to the issue of corrupting power, or the struggle to uphold the conscience, the issue of society's 'rules' and our condemnation of those woof those who go beyond those 'rules', along with our inherent desire to 'blame someone else', because of this connection. As with many good plays, The Crucible has many timeless facets, which Miller has incorporated, and these can give us valuable insight into many of our own