Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, tells the tale of the witch trials in Salem back in 1692. This story represents an allegorical tale of McCarthyism back in the 1950’s because of the way it correlates directly to the so-called witches accused in Salem to the so-called communists accused in the U.S. Back in the 1950’s, the citizens of the United States feared the growing and spreading of communism all over the country and the world. Much like the citizens of Salem feared that witchcraft took a stand among them. The accused communists dealt with much hate from everyone else who lived in the U.S. because the citizens feared them and their ties to communism. McCarthy feared nothing when accusing citizens and even decorated government officials. Once accused, your good name stood no longer which explains why John Proctor begged the officials of the court to “leave him his name for how may he live without his name?” (Miller, 143) Everyone feared not only the person accused, but their families as well. Many people opted not to bear children at this time simply because of that reason. They didn’t want their kids growing up with a slanderous name. However, even if the court officials held a name within their grasps of a suspected witch, they needed a ‘signed’ confession to

This proved similar to how everyone in Salem feared the accused witches and hated them for it. Goody Putnam especially hated a few of the accused witches because one of them, Goody Good, “midwifed to her three times” and Mrs. Putnam begged her husband not to call her due to the fact that “she feared her, because her babies always shriveled up in Goody Good’s hands.” (Miller, 47) This correlates with the way the people feared the accused communists thanks to McCarthy’s list, even without any proof supporting these claims. These reasons I listed, support why I believe The Crucible stands as an allegory to