Examples Of Allegory In The Crucible

The late 1600’s was a difficult time period for all member of Salem, and the neighboring cities that were drug into this mess. The executions of many accused witches had the whole community of edge. They were pitted against each other as the fight to survive was won by accusing others before you could be convicted. The winners of this battle were the children who initiated it including, but not limited to; Abigail Williams. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was used as an allegory to express his feelings of his personal accusation of communist beliefs or practices during the 1940s and 1950s. Miller used The Crucible as a symbol for McCarthyism.

In every good story, there is a strong lead who has to try and fix a terrible problem. John

These wild allegations often had no evidence to support, very similar to the witch trials. Abigail Williams was the young girl in the center of these claims in Salem. She was the niece of Reverend Parris, which gave her the respect of the town, heightening her reliability. Throughout the trials, she blames more and more people for the epidemic and is never questioned because people don’t want to admit their own fault. “There is news, sir, that the court- the court must reckon with. My niece, sir, my niece- I believe she has vanished, ” (1156). After she skips town, everyone realizes her part in the death of many innocent civilians, but it is too late. This relates to the red scare, because even though many people were throwing blame on other, like Abigail, McCarthy was the initiator of this. Without these two, neither event would have most likely ever

Friends would back each other's allegations with lies. When a person was on trial, chances were that more than the original name-caller would buttress the case. The bandwagon effect had a major impact on the afflicted societies. The mob mentality was once again proven correct in Salem and during the cold war. Everyone used the backing of others as a reason to make false accusations for protection, or simply because they could in some instances. “[Mercy Lewis] Mary, do you send this shadow on me? [Mary Warren] Lord, save me! [Susanna Walcott] I freeze, I freeze! [Abigail] it is a wind, a wind! [Mary Warren] Abby, don’t do that! [Danforth] Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?” (1148). In this case, mary was put on the stand, with intentions of telling to the truth after threats from John Proctor, but Abigail's group then made everyone believe Mary was a witch to protect their image. The citizens in America during the 1940s and 1950s live shared similarities is this state of mind with the Salem community. They were pitted against each other and had the group mindset of seeking for the people responsible for all things wrong. All morals were temporarily thrown out the window due to fear and peer