The Crucible is a large part of American Literature, written by Arthur Miller. It is set within the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, a town based completely on the Puritan beliefs. The people in the town follow laws based on the will God and all he sees to be true and holy. A man named Reverend Parris finds his daughter and niece dancing in the woods with a group of other girls. In fear of punishment, Betty, the daughter, fakes a coma. Parris believes that this is the work of the Devil and orders Abigail, his niece, to tell him what happened. She ultimately blames Betty’s and the other girls behavior on their housemaid and slave, Tituba. Parris threatens to hurt Tituba if she does not confess even though she has done nothing wrong. Parris …show more content…
When a person does not learn from their own mistakes it would be easy for them to repeat their actions. If we as a people do not learn from history it can cause a generation to make poor choices. Followed by the spread of McCarthyism, Arthur Miller released The Crucible in 1953 as a way of “calling attention” to how history continues to repeat itself in an attempt to educate it’s readers. With the Red Scare on the rise, Many people were in fear of others, as they may be communist. “It is always with us, this anxiety, sometimes directed towards foreigners, Jews, Catholics, fluoridated water, aliens in space, masturbation, homosexuality,or the Internet Revenue Department” (Miller, 2000, pg 2). Many were in fear of minority groups, as they were seen as a group that could possibly be communist, because they are commonly separated from majority groups their culture is not well understood. Harry Bridges was subjected to trial after trial in an attempt to drive him back to his native land of Australia. (Miller, 2000, pg 2). William Remington, was murdered by an inmate in hopes to reduce his sentence by killing a convicted communist. This “phobia” within the United States is easily comparable to The Crucible as many people were accused of being communist. The legal repercussions are of a lesser circumstance, than in that time