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Fear Of Corruption In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism. In Salem the citizens feared that the devil …show more content…

McCarthy created the uproar of having a ‘witch hunt’ on communists in America. His influence on the people gave him credibility when he accused those innocent people. “He cited 81 cases that day. He skipped several numbers, and for some cases repeated the same flimsy information. He proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation.”(ushistory.org). Judge Hawthorne represents the need to find justice in both cases of Communist and witchcraft. He is often stubborn to change his views of witchcraft, which he openly believes is real and is causing the problems in Salem. His powerful presence in Salem might the reason for false accusations because of his strong view on their accusations being the truth. In The Crucible the Judge Hawthorne does not question when the girls accuse the innocent of witchcraft. During the red scare many people didn't question when someone was accused of communism because they genuinely feared it. Viewing The Crucible as a direct parallel to McCarthyism one could compare Abigail and Joseph McCarthy as similar factors. Abigail causes the town to turn against certain characters much like how McCarthy turns everyone against those 81 that he

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