Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

McCarthy and a Witch

As high schoolers, students learn about the world of politics in their history courses. Makes since, right? Well, there is also a great deal of politics in English, though it is brilliantly hidden in the eloquent writings that are studied. A perfect example of this undercover political lesson can be found in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible; a brilliant piece of work that parallels the historical havoc of the Salem Witch Trials to the Red Scare of the 1950’s. To begin, the characters in The Crucible are representative of many key figures involved with the Red Scare. Abigail Williams, the one responsible for the false accusations in Salem, is equivalent to Senator Joseph McCarthy who accused thousands of supporting communism. Through these false accusations, McCarthy ruined lives of many innocent people just as Abigail did. Along with Abigail, Reverend Parris is used as a symbol for Edgar Hoover. Much like Parris, Hoover used the public panic to build upon his

In the rising action of The Crucible, Abigail accuses a well-known, Christian women, Elizabeth Proctor. Though she was quite, she was respected by the town. Similarly, McCarthy and his cronies accused many actors and writers of the time. Just as Elizabeth was sent to jail, those accused were black-listed and unable to work, ultimately creating enough doubt of the claims and leading to the downfall of their accusers. More importantly, the endings of both stories are paralleled. In the resolution of The Crucible, Abigail destroys her campaign against witchcraft in a way reminiscent of McCarthy’s downfall. After Abigail accuses Hale’s wife, an undeniably godly woman, the court sees beyond her facade, forcing her surrender. Equivalently, after McCarthy accused the much of the U.S army, the public saw behind the curtain allowing them put an end to the Red Scare as well as McCarthy’s political