Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

Those who would admit to being a witch would go to jail, but for those who denied having interaction with the devil would have been trialed and hung, so really, anyway you put it it’s a lose-lose situation. Things like politics, religion, imaginations, and fear of people were just some of the main factors of what aided people into believing that Satan was upon the town of Salem. They believed that the humans were with devil and doing as he said which in turn gave them the power to harm others. One girl named Tituba was trying to save herself by confessing to witchcraft. She didn’t just confess but she also accused many other women about being witches and she said that they all were in the “hands of Satan”.

She doesn’t mean to harm anybody; she just wants to find out the reason why her babies have been dying. Nevertheless, her blind devotion to god convicts many innocent people as witches. In the court, she strongly claims that her babies were murdered because of witchcraft, “They were murdered, Mr. Parris! And mark this proof! Mark it!

In short it is a clear example of McCarthyism – or making accusations without the proper regard for evidence. A term that was developed during the 1950s as terror of communism grew and developed. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the infamous “Salem Witch Trials of 1692”. Although fiction, it very well portrays what was going on at the time. These people cried out witchcraft against their neighbors, with alternate motives in the back of their minds.

In both the play The Crucible and the film Good Night and Good Luck, the characters reflect the people during the Red Scare of the 1950’s and the Salem witch hunts of the 1600’s. Even though in different time periods, both events caused controversy and chaos that made people very afraid of having a communist or witch reputation. Both Edward Murrow and John Proctor are similar in the manner that they both fight against the government’s power. For example, Proctor was against Judge Danforth because he was accused of association with the devil, just like Murrow was accused of communism by Senator McCarthy. Both were willing to stand up against hysteria even if it would ruin their reputation.

In document C its shows the examination of Bridget Bishop recorded by Samuel Adams. The thing that makes this case significant is that Samuel Adams nine-year-old daughter Betty had accused someone of witchcraft. This meant that if Samuel Adams did not prove that Bridget was a witch, her daughter was lying and was going to be known as a liar for the rest of her life and it would have looked bad on Samuel Adams family. So he was determined to prove her guilty and get her killed for something she didn 't do just to save his family from embarrassment and judgment. In document D it also shows a paragraph written by a historian in the 19th century.

You can tell that Abigale is very lustful early into the story because of her obsession of John Proctor. After John respected her, She makes up lies in court in order to get attention to herself and get people in trouble. Abigale was completely and utterly obsessed with John Proctor. Abigale tries to get John’s wife in trouble with the court by saying that she is a witch so she will be killed. She does this so John will be forced to leave his wife and increase her chance of being able to be with John.

Paranoia is a great motive and a sufficient drive for people. As Newton’s law states, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This was the most probable case that happened in the Red Scare back in the 1950’s. This tragedy that happened began with a United States Senator James McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities proclaiming and dictating that Communists had infiltrated the government and even society as well. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible began with the pretense that these trials were more or less something of a comical sense.

The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.

In Medea, a surge of insanity purges her after she is betrayed by her husband Jason causing many cruel and harsh actions to follow from her. The ending result a murder scene. Is she really at blame for her actions and should she be punished? Believing that she is truly insane this would entail that she is completely innocent and therefore not to be punished. Thesis: Medea’s insanity which led her to killing her children suggests she let her emotions take control of her proving she is not at fault for her actions.

Is disobedience against the nation’s government needed if it means living to see another day? The Crucible by Arthur Miller portrays a society which corrupts itself through the belief of witchcraft. Witchcraft seemingly sets all the rules and standards for life and death and brings individuals against the court for their life or untimely death. Furthermore, there have been numerous individuals who go against their unjust government in order to protect a reputation, their own kind, and their beliefs. Individuals go against the government for numerous reasons, one being their own beliefs.

Many people believed the girls and demanded for the people who were “possessed” to be killed a the spirit removed from the body and let free. One of the main causes of the salem witch trials was the belief in the Occult. The puritans strongly believed in the existence of witches and warlocks or things from the underworld. All of these creatures were blamed for all of the bad things happening to their crops and lives. Due to this belief, they were inclined to make some of the most improbable explanations to the situations that were occurring.

If denied these accusations you were blacklisted. When you are blacklisted this meant for many that their promising careers would terminate. The Crucible is a story about a town accusing people of being witches if you were found to be a “witch” you were hang. After learning about McCarthyism, it is apparent that people had many ulterior motives for their actions, also conflicts and groups of people become apparent. McCarthyism shed light to my eyes that there was more to Salem.

Prejudice towards people of German, Russian, and Chinese descent is still felt today, when an ignorant person calls them a “Communist”, because of the damaging affects the Second Red Scare had. The Salem Witch Trials affected society by realizing that not all those who cry victim should be believed, especially when ulterior motives, such as the girls in The Crucible.These horrific events demonstrate how mass hysteria, mob mentality, and corrupt politicians created an atmosphere of substantial coercion that caused the destruction of innocent people’s

Around the time of the witch trials, the people in Salem were very religious. Rumors were easily spread and it was nearly impossible to prove yourself innocent if people were talking about you otherwise. During the witch hysteria, innocent people were imprisoned and and executed because someone has accused them of being a witch. It is understandable that some would accuse others to save themselves from imprisonment or from possible death. However, I believe Abigail should be held responsible for the imprisonment and execution of innocent people because she threaten the girls, so they would act bewitched and she also lied about getting stabbed by a needle and making it look like as if Elizabeth Proctor did it with witchcraft.

People were so full of fear that they would do anything to eliminate their anxiety. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s reenacted the hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1692 by spreading mass fear of prosecution, creating false accusations, and blacklisting people. The Salem witch trials were considered to be America 's most notorious episode of witchcraft hysteria. Many innocent people were killed as a result of false accusations, and many other women were put through trials to determine if they were witches. All of the evidence that was given, in other circumstances, would be deemed unreasonable.