The Crucible And Mccarthyism Analysis

If people had used evidence instead of just accusations then they would have realized that Mr.Jacobs isn’t a witch, just a person accused for Thomas Putnam's own personal gain. Thomas Putnam's anger toward the town for not getting enough respect is what caused him to accuse an innocent man of witchcraft, demonstrating how emotions can lead to immoral

Through the context of the injustice and paranoia entrancing Americans during the 1950’s, Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, sheds a new light on how the witch hunts of Salem are

Why did people believe in witches and why was witchcraft a crime? By: Kaya Saito Introduction This essay is about why people believed in witches and how witchcraft was a crime. This essay is split into 3 different parts the belief, explaining the belief, and witchcraft crimes. The Witches are from the 16th century to the 17th century in Europe. Witches were usually women sometimes men who made an agreement with the devil to help by causing harm and bringing suffering to innocent people.

Arthur Miller was born October 17th, 1915 in Harlem New York and died on February 10th,2005 in Roxbury Ct . The story The Crucible is an allegory . Arthur Miller’s play is about the Salem witch trials that occured from 1962 to 1963. It is an allegory to the Red Scare that happened during the 1950’s.

In the Crucible many “[people were asked] to confess themselves”(Miller 140, hard copy) Seldom did they not confess. If they refused to confess they were considered to be a witch and were executed or jailed. During the Mccarthy Era, if people were accused of being a communist and questioned, some would often plead the 5th amendment. To many McCarthyist, they considered this “positive proof that the person being questioned is a communist”(Victims of McCarthyism).

In Defense of Rebecca Nurse     Your Majesties, Judge Corwin and Judge Hathorne, our defendant Rebecca Nurse, a highly respected member of the Salem community, has been wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. We believe that these profound accusations against, the honest and trustworthy, Rebecca Nurse were fabricated by those who are trying to cause harm to the Nurse family. This accusation of practicing witchcraft is serious and is not to be taken lightly.   A warrant for the arrest of Rebecca Nurse was issued on March 24, 1692 (Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons). This warrant was issued due to the Putnams accusation that our defendant practices witchcraft.

Lead by Senator Joe McCarthy, this modern witch hunt for communism ruined lives and spread lies, with the initial victims being the disliked, the outsiders. One of the first of those blacklisted was Owen Lattimore. He was outspoken about his unpopular liberal views and so it was easy for McCarthy to shift blame and suspicion towards him (Victims of McCarthyism). McCarthy played off the existing fear of communism left behind by World War II to gain support for his lagging political career by fighting a problem that did not really exist. As in The Crucible, people easily accepted that Lattimore and others like him were to blame, in this case for being communist.

Like Abigail utterly told liars about how Elizabeth spirit had stabbed her at the dinner table but actually Abigail framed Goody Proctor with the doll Mary Warren had made as evidence to stable herself. Also Abigail accused Mary Warren for working with the devil in the setting of act three in the courtroom. The girls in courtroom acted as if Mary spirit was attacking them ,to scare her back to their side. Giles Corey also accused Thomas Putnam for being gluttonous for more land and therefore accusing his neighbors for it.

Situational irony is created in the text through Proctor reciting “ thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… You have said that twice, sir… Adultery, John”(Miller.II.12.). This is an example of Situational Irony because the only commandment Proctor couldn’t remember is the one he broke. Proctor’s inability to remember his commandments causes the community to question his faithfulness to his religion and in return creates conflict later in the trials when people question his judgment and accuse him of witchcraft.

This would explain why so many people were accused. “In conclusion, the residents of Salem Village usually accused their neighbors of witchcraft because it was very common to have a history of conflict or tension with your neighbor at the time”(Teenink.com). Even if no one can prove that these were the main reasons for the Salem Witch Trials and there are still many other theories, these three give the best explanation. These three theories show that the girls only did i because they were ill or believed that it was right because someone they looked up to told them to do it.

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.

Almost every kid in school has read a passage or a story, and never really understood the purpose of learning the topic in school. The teachers expect us to do the work, and hopefully understand it, but we never truly understand why we learned such a topic or event. The Crucible is a prime example on what students read in school, or why we’re obligated to read the book. The crucible and McCarthyism have many similarities that many people over look, and don’t realize, and connects more than we perceive. Books like the crucible and McCarthy are historical events, many schools have very few books based on historical events, which is why teachers spend more time on them.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are two stories that are based on mass hysteria and public shaming. Both stories and their topics are what helped to shape America’s early identity. In The Crucible, the townsfolk accept and become active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious piety but also because it gives them a chance to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held grudges”. This shows that there is mass hysteria in the story based on the quotation and its explain why people have mass hysteria or why they do it. A group of teenage girls is discovered dancing naked in the woods by the town minister.

The Hysteria in The Crucible and Terrorism Hysteria can bring people to do the unthinkable; for example, taking someone's life. The hysteria in societies throughout history has resulted in endless problems and many deaths of innocent people. Though during extremely different times, the hysteria in the play The Crucible and the hysteria that has resulted from acts of terror by the group al Qaeda can be closely related to one another. The time periods in which the events happened resulted in some differences between the two, but the result is the same, mass hysteria. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and the al Qaeda terrorist attacks have many similarities and differences.