Tony Reynolds-Villegas
Mrs. Howard
Period 3rd
May 23, 2023
McCarthyism in The Crucible
Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible is an incredible representation of McCarthyism. Arthur Miller represents McCarthyism using religion. The Crucible, a book based on the Salem Witch Trials is used to showcase McCarthyism, which is a idea in which people are accused without any evidence. McCarthyism happened during the second red scare which was people of democracy against communism, or in The Crucible religion against witchcraft. Arthur MIller conveys McCarthyism in his book The Crucible by using religion to represent democracy. Not only does the book convey McCarthyism but the characters themselves show the message.
John Hale, a devoted religious man is
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To defend himself he was to recite the 10 commandments, which he could not do. This raised suspicion of Proctor. This is exactly like when McCarthy would accuse someone of communism but the person couldn’t prove himself to not be a communist.“Let you repeat them, if you will” (The Crucible, Arthur Miller Act 2, 66) This quote is showing Hale ask Proctor to recite the 10 commandments. This quote is directly from the event where Hale went to Proctors to interrogate him. It shows how Hale isn’t scared to use religion to prove his point. The same way McCarthy would use democracy to prove his point. This isn’t the only reason why Hale is a good conveyer of McCarthyism. He also convicted many people of witchcraft based on them being related or close to them just as McCarthy would. “Mr. Corey, exactly what complaint were made on your wife?” (The Crucible Arthur Miller, Act 2, 72” This quote is from John Hale interrogating Mr. Corey based on what he said about his wife. This quote proves my claim about how Hale would grow suspicious of people that are associated with witchcraft. In brief there are many events showcasing John Hale being a representation of …show more content…
McCarthy would often accuse people even if he knew the truth of who they really were. Many people lost their careers, their lives even. “Any man who has been named by a either a senator or a committee or a congressman as dangerous to the welfare of this nation, his name should be submitted to the various intelligence units, and they should conduct a complete check upon him. It’s not too much to ask.” (Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1953, MillerCenter.org) McCarthy is saying that any man named by someone of high position should be checked by the various intelligence unit even if there is no evidence. This quote shows how McCarthy really didn’t care about right or wrong he just wanted to accuse people. As a result many people lost their careers. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were actually sent to death for being “Russian Spies”. “It is much more plausible that the documents were only released now because they prove nothing and do not help to justify our parents' execution.” (University Of Pennsylvania” This quote is from Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's kids stating that their parents are innocent. This quote is from Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's kids stating that their parents are innocent. This quote shows that no matter how fair the trail or accusation is. As long as they’re accused their life is practically
In Act I of the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, we are introduced to Reverend Hale, a “spiritual doctor” who comes to Salem as an authoritative figure on the science of demonology to try and assess whether the presence of witchcraft in Salem is true or false. However, as the play proceeds, we see Hale deviating from his original purpose and ideas. His intentions shift from figuring out whether or not witchcraft is afoot in Salem to the desire of making the accused confess to save themselves from being hanged. In Act II, after Hale has seen all of the girls confessing to seeing others with the Devil, such as Elizabeth Proctor, he goes to John Proctor’s house to find out more.
The trials of McCarthyism were held to judge if you were a part of a group of communism. In The Crucible, the girls were urged to confess that they were conjuring spirits. In the McCarthyism trials, they were urged to name other actors/actresses' names if they were involved. In document A, Kazan said, “I have come to the conclusion that I did wrong to withhold these names.” They wanted to exploit the followers and punish them.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “the term McCarthyism is applied to the persecution of innocent people using powerful but unproved allegations”. This very idea is prevalent throughout the Crucible, even more so within the court gatherings. An example of this is found within ACT IV of the novel,
Reverend Hale, in The Crucible, is that person with courage and the want for justice because he changed from an arrogant “witchcraft specialist” and a court member to the man trying to save the lives of those accused of witchcraft. Rev. Hale’s change is not so subtle. The first introduction of him is that he loves being called to ascertain witchcraft as it gave him pride of his knowledge (Miller 1146). When he arrived at Salem he immediately took himself superior telling the presented to carry his books (Miller
In witch trials for example, when someone is acting different they would declare them a witch and have the background information to prove it. They do not know if it is true or not, but it is what they would follow. The same for McCarthyism, the person who
Character Analysis of Reverend Hale “We can not look to superstition in this,” Reverend Hale states, before subsiding in the fast-paced fervour of vengeful accusations ahead (Miller 1149). In the play, The Crucible, Reverend Hale has been summoned by Reverend Parris to Salem to investigate supposed witchcraft. Conceiving himself as a “young doctor on his first call,” Hale becomes too cocky and he falls vulnerable to manipulation, which serves as an opportunity for the residents of Salem to legally accuse one another of witchcraft (Miller 1148). Hale goes into Salem so determined on finding the truth only to result as one of the heads in charge of this whole ordeal in the courts.
Reverend Hale’s Character Evolution “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance” (Alan Watts). Change, the only constant in this universe, the thing a community needs the most to thrive in modern day society, the thing people of Salem cannot accept. In Arthur Miller's the Crucible we see how when the court and the townsfolk get dead set on the idea of witchcraft being rampant in the Village, they are imminently unaccepting if Reverend Hale’s change of no longer believing the devil was in Salem. In the start of the play Hale is seen as a man of god, he is the “spiritual” doctor sent to evaluate Salem and banish Satan from the region.
(119). Hale, at this moment, completely changes his case for this lunatic trial. He believes Proctor and goes against the court and against his beliefs of witchcraft for the first time. This shows that Hale is patient enough to listen to the defense and can be swayed easily because Proctor’s defense makes Hale go against the ultimate power of the court, Danforth, to recoup for his past wrongdoings. He fights for Proctor to the point where he leaves, which is astounding because the study of law and witchcraft is his life.
This quote reflects that his perspective toward witchcraft has changed and 0signifies progress in Hale’s character, “Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up Beware, Goody Proctor-cleave to no faith when faith brings blood. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it . I beg you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess.”
Justice cannot be achieved without a fair trial based on evidence. McCarthyism and Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" are interwoven in history due to their connections to the Red Scare and the fear of communism in the United States during the 1950s. McCarthyism refers to the intense anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy when the government and society engaged in a witch-hunt against suspected communists, often without any concrete evidence, while "The Crucible'' is a story about the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century when people where being accused of witchcraft. However, with his play, Arthur Miller is actually trying to show the parallels between the unjust prosecution of so-called
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).
Hale is talking about potential allegations of witchcraft in the Proctor household, Goody Proctor is offended by this, so Reverend Hale says “Goody Proctor I do not judge you”(64) This statement he makes shows how despite him thinking so highly of himself in the beginning, he is not here to judge someone considered lower than him by
In The Crucible, this experience happens when witchcraft is first allegedly outspoken by the young girls including Abigail Adams, Betty Parris, and Tituba. Once they confess to witchcraft, Hale deliberately believes they spoke to the truth whilst stating “Take courage, you must give us all their names [...] Glory to God! It is broken, they are free” (Miller 45) Without proper evidence collected, he immediately resorts to witchcraft, considering he is the highest level of social status, which is the head of the church. Since Hale is briefly known as the “head of the church" with knowledgeable experiences with God, the Bible, or even the Devil, he is caught off guard with a higher extent of ego to believe everything that involves church related topics. His overall reputation, as the head of church, allows him to only believe in himself and take full responsibility of a conflict that isn’t fully handled correctly.
Arthur Miller used his storytelling to discretely show the US leadership that decisions made in fear were dangerous. Miller in his story had a quote about how “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.” stating the the Americans may like how the situation is being dealt with but it will eventually cause terrible trouble. McCarthy was making decisions made in fear and it was hurting the US and in fact made it so that if Miller wrote his opinion without hiding it behind a story he too would have been punished and arrested. It can be assured that Miller would have just written his opinion in its raw form if McCarthyism wasn’t a factor.
Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Miller wrote his drama during the brief reign of the American senator Joseph McCarthy whose bitter criticized anti- communism sparkled the need for the United States to be a dramatic anti- communist society during the early tense years of the cold war. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. Convict communists were ordered to confess their crime and name others to avoid the retribution.