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Comparing Communism In The Crucible And Inherit The Wind

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In the early 1950s, the fear of Communism washed over America. Whether it be the end of Harry S. Truman’s eight years in the Oval Office or the beginning of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s two-terms, the political pendulum in the United States violently swung back towards conservatism. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and Inherit the Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, fear is the driving force of prejudice. Respected political philosopher Thomas Paine made the claim, “It is from a strange mixture of tyranny and cowardice that exclusions have been set up and continued. The boldness to do wrong at first, changes afterwards into cowardly craft, and at last into fear.” Miller’s work, The Crucible, was influenced by contemporary debates. It …show more content…

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee used the Scopes Trial to discuss the contemporary topic of Communism. In the small town of Hillsboro, Christian Fundamentalism is enforced. Reverend Brown and Brady, extreme creationists, scare orthodox views into the townspeople. If the Bible is contradicted publicly at the trial Brady and Reverend Brown will lose their power over the people. Brady says, “My friends of Hillsboro, you know why I have come here. I have not come merely to prosecute a lawbreaker, an arrogant youth who has spoken out against the Revealed Word,” (I. i. 18). Afraid of losing his power over the citizens of Hillsboro, he attacks Bert for imposing the idea that evolution is more important than the word of the Bible. This trial is not about the breaking the law, it is about Brady wanting to maintain control over his community. Brady’s mindset is if individual exhibits intellectual freedom, it must be stopped before religion is discredited. The people of Hillsboro see this trial as a threat to remain conservative with their beliefs. Bert, just like Proctor and Miller, chooses to take a stand for what he believes is the right thing to do. Rachel does not believe that the trial was the right thing for Bert to do. When testifying under oath about Bert’s fondness of Darwinism she blurts, “He didn’t say that! He was just joking,” (II. ii. 70). Fearful of the consequences Bert will …show more content…

Modern day Americans have not learned how much prejudice can dictate their lives. Religious prejudice is currently at an all time high. ISIS, the Islamist militant group, grows in number every day, and so does the American fear of Islam. Donald Trump, the current top Republican candidate for the 2016 Presidential election, has a major influence over the viewpoints of Americans. Just like how Joseph McCarthy inspired an unfounded fear of Communism, Donald Trump pressures Americans to fear and discriminate against all Muslims. Donald Trump, Joseph McCarthy, the town of Salem, and the town of Hillsboro all have their Christian religion in common. Thomas Paine expresses his opinion on Christianity when he says, “There are matters in the Bible, said to be done by the express commandment of God, that are shocking to humanity and to every idea we have of moral

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“This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge! He wishes to think!” (Lawrence & Lee, 1955, p. 94). This quote from Inherit the Wind represents the heart of the controversy known as the Scopes Trial in 1925. This historical court proceeding still affects us today, yet few know much about it.

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and Satan has voted no. Then, the final line says, “A tie! Your vote must decide the issue.” Though this seems funny, it perfectly illustrates the purpose behind Marsden’s book. Proving that fundamentalism has carried on in spite of all the naysayers and opponents, also proves that God has been actively at work in history keeping Biblical truths alive and

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Fear, it causes people to be blinded by the truth. People can’t tell right from wrong. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to show how no one could see what was right. During the 1950’s communism was spreading throughout Europe like a wildfire, then it slowly made its way over to the U.S. This was known as The Red Scare.

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People will do anything to stay alive. The things people will do to survive exist at their clearest during the 1950s with McCarthyism on the rise. McCarthyism, otherwise known as the Red Scare, began when senator Joseph McCarthy accused anyone who was a left-wing “loyalist” risk of being a communist. The threat of losing everything in life; if the case escalated that included taking a llast breath. Arthur Miller sums this up beautifully in a quote describing his experience during McCarthyism, “The more I read into the Salem panic, the more it touched off corresponding images of common experiences in the fifties: the old friend of a blacklisted person crossing the street to avoid being seen talking to him; the overnight conversions of former

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1052 Words | 5 Pages

On July 1925, the Scopes Monkey trial convicted a teacher guilty for breaking the Butler Act. Inherit the Wind, by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence, reflects the Scopes Trial in which Bertram Cates is convicted guilty. Henry Drummond, Cates’s defense attorney, fights for the right to think, while educating the courtroom about science at the same time. With Henry Drummond’s boldness, knowledge, and encouragement, he convinces Cates that he did no wrong, and that the Butler Act is unjust.

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In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses characterization, setting, conflict, and motifs to explore the similarities between the oppressive society of the 1950s and the Salem Witch Trials of 1690. In Act IV of the play, Miller continues to build upon this commentary by demonstrating how the same tendencies of human nature can cause the same prejudice and suffering in both societies. In Act IV, the audience sees how the same human tendencies that drove the Salem Witch Trials continue to cause suffering in the McCarthy era. Miller uses Reverend Hale to demonstrate this.

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“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.

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Reasons Behind The Crucible Arthur Miller’s main purpose in writing The Crucible was to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials and to warn against government propaganda. At the time that The Crucible was published, America had a huge fear of communism. Anyone accused of having ties with the communist party was shunned. It much resembled the Salem Witch Trials in how the government, or leader of the time, used fear against the people to gain power. For example, Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Reverend Parris in how they both lead the people into the belief that there were intruders in their mists that had plans to sabotage the community.

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From the freedom snatching ways of McCarthyism and the “Red Scare” to his troubled marriage and lust for Monroe, everywhere there seemed to be parallels with the play and his life. Millers’ life poured into this story a bit with some of the characters and the way the characters acted and talked and that is how Arthur Miller, and the writing of the play gave us some insight into his life and some of the crazy and heart-breaking stuff Miller had to deal with at that time. McCarthyism led miller to write about this and it gave us a story so deep and thoughtful story for all to read and gave himself a great way to express himself, and that is how Arthur miller’s experiences in his life affected his writing of The Crucible such as his marriage, how he was treated during the “red scare”, and his

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During the years in which Miller was writing The Crucible, the fear of Communism

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Harleen Kaur American Literature Eldridge-6 23 Feb 2023 Textual Analysis- Crucible The play “The Crucible by: Arthur Miller” gives very significant roles to all characters. All have an important role throughout the play.

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Paine, Thomas, and Sidney Hook. Common Sense: The Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin, 1984. Print. Annotated Bibliography Collins, Paul.

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Miller wrote The Crucible as a way to show that letting fear control decisions is a bad

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The issues it dealt with then are much the same as the issues we deal with now. The modern audience can still relate to the issue of corrupting power, or the struggle to uphold the conscience, the issue of society's 'rules' and our condemnation of those woof those who go beyond those 'rules', along with our inherent desire to 'blame someone else', because of this connection. As with many good plays, The Crucible has many timeless facets, which Miller has incorporated, and these can give us valuable insight into many of our own

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The novel displays many decisions made by the people, in which, they are aware that one must be with the court or they are against it. Members of the community know they cannot sneak by interrogations without fully believing in the court or else they will be hanged for witchcraft. Putnam states, "there is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark" (Miller 16), but perhaps the real murderers are right in front of the people the whole time, calling themselves a

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