Page 3 /4 Page 1 of 4 Richardson1 NaQuavius Richardson Mrs. Camp English III 26 February 2017 McCarthyism in the Crucible The Crucible showed many similarities towards the phenomena of McCarthyism in the 1950s. For example, The Crucible shows how the Salem Witch Trials mirrored McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism share many similarities such as people being accused of things with no proof, people were put on trial for false accusations, and many innocent people were killed. One similarity between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials is that people were being accused of being something that they were without solid proof, The Salem Witch Trials being witches and McCarthyism being communists. As shown in The Crucible, during the Salem …show more content…
But when their accusers were prompted to provide proof of the witchcraft, they could not deliver any viable proof. For instance, in The Crucible, Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch but instead of admitting that she had no proof, just envy and jealousy, she created “proof” by sticking herself in the stomach with a needle that was claimed to be pushed into a poppet by Elizabeth in order to hurt Abigail (Miller 1201). That is just one of many things that shows the comparison with the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. Everybody in The Crucible accused Tituba, a black woman in the play, of being a witch just because she was black and not like everyone else. That could not be solid evidence as to whether or not she is a witch. Page 1 of 4 Page 2 of 4 Richardson2 The Salem Witch Trials also show similarities to McCarthyism by portraying people who were falsely accused of something and were automatically put on trial. Most of the accused were sentenced to hearings with prosecutions following them. This took place in Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693 (Wilkins). Miller wrote The Crucible to show
There are several parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism: giving names, lack of evidence, and resistance to authority. A parallel between The Crucible and McCarthyism is that people had to give names in order to save themselves. Mr. Elia Kazan was a well known Hollywood
Cassidy Menard Mrs. Myllyla Comparison Essay 1 December 2017 Salem Witch Trials VS. McCarthyism Trials In both The Crucible and McCarthyism, we see that dishonest people get ahead by using distractions of other people. In both instances, falsely accuse other people of wrongdoing in order to divert attention away from their own wrongdoings.
Though centuries apart, the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism are very similar. The Salem witch trials in the 1690s are described in great detail within The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Many innocent people are charged with witchcraft and killed if they did not confess. McCarthyism started in the 1950s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing people of being Communists. If people did not cooperate, they could go to jail or be put on a blacklist.
The results of the trial in Stamford was that Mercy Disborough was temporarily convicted of witchcraft while Goody Clawson was acquitted. The consequences for Mercy Disborough were that despite months and jail and continued peer accusation, she was acquitted. The consequences for the townspeople are blurrier, but it is evident that persistent hysteria was not one of them. The results of the trial in Stamford were largely reigned in from the massive hysteria and mass convictions associated with contemporary witch trials by the law.
One difference between these two is that in the witch trials people actually lost their lives and were hanged, but in the McCarthyism Era people were just blacklisted and lost their jobs and the chance to get a
The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.
People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.
When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.
In both events, there was only one way to get out of being charged. In the Crucible, the accused would hang unless they confessed to witchcraft or gave a name of someone else who was a witch. During the McCarthy era, people put on trial for being a Communist were either expected to give names of other Communists, or they would be subject to
Since the beginning of time people have gone through trials in court to either be proven innocent or guilty. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller a massive number of people were being convicted in Salem, Massachusetts because of the witch trials. The law of the land states that everyone is above suspicion until they are demonstrated to be guilty by legitimate evidence; in the play the Crucible if a person was accused of an unlawful act they were summons for being a witch and working for the devil without proper confirmation. Citizens in Salem were imposed to establish their innocent or be put to death, which caused conflicting issues in the village.
Mass hysteria was present in both The Crucible and McCarthyism. Mass hysteria is when people went crazy because people were accused of being communists and or witches. Mass hysteria was however started by specific people in both scenarios. In Mccarthyism Joseph Mccarthy a United States Senator and in The Crucible Abigail Williams who was accused of having an affair with John Proctor her employer were the specific ones who accused people of being communists and witches. Even though the Salem witch trials happened in the late 1690s and McCarthyism in the 1950s they paralleled each other.
In the Crucible those who were accused of being guilty, put on trial, and who are expected to confess. Unsuccessful to that led to death. In McCarthy, the media were not disposed to stand up to Senator McCarthy for the fear of being accused of being a Communist. Fear is the main factor playing in both situations, terror of being accused or what people might say, or think.
Abigail Williams is not your typical teenage girl. She is a girl that will drink blood to kill someone, accuse people of witchcraft, and have a affair. By looking at The Crucible, one can see that Abigail Williams develops the theme of reputation, which is important because people who fear losing their reputation spread hysteria. Protecting her reputation motivates Abigail Williams to accuse others of being a witch.
The McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials accurately represent the saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. " In the 1950s, the McCarthy hearings tainted lives by falsely accusing those in the film industry of being associated with Communism. In the 17th century, the Salem witch trials charged innocent villagers of practicing witchcraft. Victims from the McCarthy hearings were isolated and ruined, while victims from the Salem trials were hanged and shunned.
The Crucible Analytical Essay In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller tells the story of the Salem witch trials taking place in Massachusetts in the very late 1600’s. The character Abigail becomes a known liar throughout the story by telling other that she sees the devil and makes accusations towards others about performing witchcraft. The story is an excellent example of lies multiplying. If a person lies, they will eventually create more lies because of the first.