Examples Of Fear In The Crucible

Two hundred accused and twenty people dead in Salem. Such a large consequence from something that started so small and innocent. What happened you may ask? The answer is simple- accusations of witchcraft. A group of girls were caught dancing in the woods. One girl, Betty, became unresponsive, so help was called in. In order to save themselves, the group starts accusing others of witchcraft. The entire story is an allegory to the author’s real-life nightmare. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, he compares his situation in McCarthyism to John’s experience to show the effects of fear and mass hysteria on society.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are ancillary links between McCarthyism and the trials that show that fear can be used

As proof, John and Elizabeth’s relationship was going downhill since the affair of John and Abigail. After the accusations of Elizabeth, she tells John, “It is not my soul, it is yours. Only be sure of this, for I know it now: whatever you will do, it is a good man does” (Miller 138-139). With Abby’s accusations against Elizabeth, it began to bring the couple closer together than before. She tells him that he is a good man, unlike what he thought early in the book. Developing that idea, when their wives were in trouble, the husbands went around the town to get signatures to help prove that the wives were good women. In court, Proctor tells Danforth, “Will you read this first, sir? It’s a sort of testament. The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca, and my wife, and Martha Corey” (Miller 96). Knowing that, if something wasn’t done quickly to save their wives, they would be dead soon. This made the men come together to try to save their wives from death. In the small town that they were in, reputation means everything. The men thought that if they could have people agree with them and have them sign saying that their wives are good, people who have never seen them dealing with the Devil the court would be more kind than they were. All ninety-one people who signed the paper were landholders, farmers, and members of the church. During the time period, those were some of the highest members of society. The higher you were in society, the more your opinion was taken in. In McCarthy’s speech, he spoke about John Service saying, “(John Service) was not only reinstated in the State Department but promoted” (McCarthy). Throughout the Red Scare, it was nearly impossible to prove that you were not a communist once someone accused you or said you had ties. Luckily, John Service was able to do so, but it wasn’t an