Twenty-five men and women died of false accusations against themselves in the 17th Century Salem Witch trials. Two hundred five leaders in the US government were accused of being communist by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Both historical events make a negative parallel to each other, thus exposing the detrimental effects of fear and selfishness on humans. Author Miller in the play, “The Crucible”, uses a jealous and destructive tone that draws striking similarities between the witch-hunt that took place in the 17th Century Salem and the communist hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Miller uses the tool of allegory to reveal the dangerous consequences of falsely accusing individuals and exposing the motives of those in power who use fear and manipulation to maintain control. …show more content…
The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts which was the town of the witch trials, but it parallels to the time of the Red Scare and the persecution of individuals falsely accused of being communists. Miller uses the events of the play to highlight the harm caused by false accusations and the destruction of innocent lives and reputations. The characters in the play, who are falsely accused of witchcraft, are forced to confess to crimes they did not commit or face death. Through the play, Miller illustrates how fear and suspicion can lead to a lack of civil liberties. Miller shows how the abuse of power can lead to the manipulation of the legal system and the persecution of individuals without evidence. The Crucible serves as a powerful reminder of the dangers of blindly believing in fear and suspicion and the importance of protecting individual rights and due process in
The play The Crucible and the rise of McCarthyism as discussed by Fitzgerald in the Red Scare both demonstrate how human nature reacts when confronted with the threat of false accusation and wrong doing. The Crucible is an allegory of the United States during the time of the Cold War in the 1950’s and the rise of McCarthysim under USA senator Joseph McCarthy. The accusations suffered by many characters in The Crucible for witchcraft and the resulting aftermath as the town of Salem reacts to these events. These accusations mirror on how Senator McCarthy, through the FBI, accused many government employees, agents and civilians of being Communists (Fitzgerald 44). In both cases, the accusations were made in the absence of evidence to support them,
In the 1950s, Americans witnessed their own version of a ‘witch hunt’. During this time, fears of communism were at an all time high due to the ending of World War II. In turn this caused Joseph McCarthy to falsely accuse people of being a communist. The play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, correlates to the McCarthyism Red Scare of the 1950s. In the play, Abigail Williams used people’s fear to her advantage and began to falsely accuse townspeople of using witchcraft.
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” a partially fictionalized play that depicts the Salem witch trials, is similar to the “Red Scare,” a series of government’s actions which were provoked by Senator McCarthy’s paranoia about the presence of communists within the American government. For instance, in “The Crucible,” Reverend Parris, the head of the Salem church and the village, uses the witch trials to assert his political dominance over the townspeople in the same manner that McCarthy used the “Red Scare” to justify the eradication of “the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by the [United States]” (McCarthy). Likewise, the gathering by McCarthy of “[fifty-seven] cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying
In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Mills in 1953, the setting takes place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Crucible demonstrates the effects of the Salem Witch trials and how it led to mass murder. This production provides insight on the lives of the accused, what the causes were, and how society dealt with it. Mills’s production pointed out the brutality that politics and government or “the law” introduced in towns including Salem. Throughout the play we discover what contributors led to the mass hysteria and just how strongly it could deceive people.
When the Salem Witch Trials are remembered at face value, the sinister events that took place within the puritan community seem so surreal, so deranged, that it becomes easy to ignore the very real and dangerous implications they make of human nature and capability. It is easy to think that such heinous things could never occur in modern society. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, takes that assumption and uses it to expose the absurd injustice of modern events by creating a play that employed the infamous Salem Witch Trials as an allegory of his own experiences with the Red Scare and McCarthyism during the Cold War. McCarthy, the main anti-communist leader during the Red Scare, was known as a man who unapologetically made accusations against people to undercut their credibility and bolster his own influence.
The play is set during the witch trials in Salem, where innocent people were persecuted and executed for witchcraft due to mass panic and fear. The play depicts the desperation of the accused, who were willing to confess to crimes they did not commit to save their lives. Religion is shown to be a tool of manipulation, with individuals in power using faith to control others. John Proctor is portrayed as a rational individual who refuses to give in to fear and panic. Abigail Williams is a character who manipulates hysteria to gain power, falsely accusing innocent people of witchcraft.
Composers utilise political and personal motives to assist in the formation of texts. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1953) utilises drama as an allegorical representation of the unjust corruption of the McCarthy Era. George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) draws an allegorical rejection towards the corruption of the Russian revolution. Both texts convey how the devious or contriving nature of politics ultimately causes people to manipulate or create situations for their own gain and personal agendas. Miller, through The Crucible, displays how composers manipulate their audience to favour their representation.
The drama demonstrates how hysteria may cause societal order to disintegrate and how people can become engulfed in the chaos and lose sight of reality. Characters like Judge Danforth, who abuse their positions of authority to manipulate and dominate others, provide more examples of how power may be abused. The idea of reality is also investigated, as the protagonists struggle to determine what is real in a setting where lies and deception are commonplace. The play by Miller serves as a warning about the dangers of unchecked fear and the skewed effects of power. By focusing on the Salem Witch Trials, Miller draws attention to the dangers of irrationality for both individuals and civilizations, as well as the devastation it may cause.
The play was originally written for readers to draw connections with the time of the play which was during Salem 1692 when an actual witch hunt was occurring and the time when the play was written which was during 1952 USA when a communist witch hunt was occurring. The play uses allegory to position readers to be critical of the McCarthyism period during 1952 by having it share a number of similar aspects in comparison to Salem. The play also uses juxtaposition by having characters who display high levels of personal integrity punished and the characters with little to no personal integrity facing no real consequence. Features like these performed in the play will make the performance both interesting and a learning experience. This makes it even more necessary that “The Crucible” should be
The Crucible, is a story of mayhem, deceits, and riot. It is a classic example of how lust and vengeance affects the reality in which we find ourselves in. In The Crucible, the desire for revenge and the resulting spreading panic led to many innocent deaths. It is written to mirror a world where the fear of communism is so widespread - that citizens are arrested on no-solid grounds, and the disruption of daily life and death are prevalent. In short it is a clear example of McCarthyism – or making accusations without the proper regard for evidence.
In modern times, witches are fantasy characters seen in media, but in the town of Salem, they are a real fear. A fear that drives people to insanity and leaves some questioning if reputation is more important than integrity. Arthur Miller enlightens these questioning people in his play The Crucible by describing the witch hunts in Salem. The play follows the people of Salem as the town falls into a witch hunt when a group of girls accuse an innocent slave of witchcraft to save themselves from getting in trouble. It describes the corruption of the authority figures as they force innocent people to confess and accuse others of witchcraft, and it shows how fear can cause a whole town to go against their better judgment.
Miller states that the play is about the Salem Witch Trials and the Puritans. The overall tone of the piece is negatively talking about Salem and the Puritans and, in a way, talking about the Red Scare through the Witch Trials.
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.
The play illustrates how hysteria can lead to the breakdown of social order and how individuals can be swept up in the madness, losing sight of reality. The abuse of power is also demonstrated through the actions of characters such as Judge Danforth, who use their positions of authority to manipulate and control others. The concept of truth is also explored, as the characters grapple with the difficulty of discerning what is true in a world where lies and deception abound. Miller's play serves as a warning against the dangers of unchecked hysteria and the corrupting influence of power. By examining the Salem Witch Trials, Miller highlights the potential for individuals and societies to succumb to irrationality and the devastating consequences that can result.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller creates an indisputable connection between the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare, the fear and persecution of suspected communists in the USA between the 40s and 50s. The hysteria and paranoia that took America by storm during the Red Scare are effectively criticized through the use of characters and plot. Through the depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, Miller shows how patterns of investigation, accusation, and punishment are correspondent between the trials and the Red Scare. The common themes of fear, hysteria, and dangerous mob mentality are explored through the use of irony, symbolism, and characterization. Arthur Miller successfully creates an allegory of the Red Scare in The Crucible while showing