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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

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The crucible by author Arthur Miller, is an allegory of McCarthyism. Miller uses the Salem Witch trials which occurred during the 1690’s to allegorize the red scare caused by senator McCarthy during the 1950’s. Miller perfectly uses the plot, and the characters of the play to symbolize McCarthyism and therefore to draw national attention towards the wrongdoings of McCarthy which is essentially what makes the crucible an outstanding, meaningful play The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. These unbiased accusations led to the ruined reputation of hundreds of people who falsely confessed to witchcraft, and led to the death of several others whom pride did not allow them to falsely confess.This is almost identical to what happened during the Red Scare, where senator McCarthy accused hundreds of people, including Arthur Miller of being communists, ruining their reputations and their lives. For instance during one of McCarthy's speeches, he said “I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five men that were known to the secretary of state as being members of the communist party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the …show more content…

McCarthy once said “There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere -- in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners, in private businesses. And each carries in himself the germ of death for society.” This kind of talk made people fearful and caused them to point fingers at anyone they thought could be a communist regardless if they had evidence or not. McCarthy was not different from Abigail williams which falsely accused people and instilled fear throughout the town of Salem. “ I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!

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Differences And Similarities Between The Salem Witch Trials And The 1950s

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In 1692 there was the Salem Witch Trials and then in the 1950s the McCarthy trials happened, it was like history repeated itself. Both of these trials were very sad and tragic. In both of these events, many bad things happened to very good people. Bad people lived and good people died. Abigail, who was part of the Salem Witch Trials, basically started the whole thing by having an affair, being jealous, and being caught dancing in a forest with some friends.

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Comparing Mccarthy And The Sale Crimes In The Crucible And Mccarthyism

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McCarthyism Echo’s The Crucible “For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” (Nelson Mandela) Freedom and liberty were things that were not honored in both The Crucible and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. It is a fictionalized story of the Salem Witch Trials. It took place in the Massachusetts Bay colony during the year of 1692, which was about a group of young girls in the Salem village who claimed to have seen others with the devil, and accused several innocent women of witchcraft.

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Who Is Joseph Mccarthy Accused In The Crucible

568 Words | 3 Pages

In the movie the Crucible, young men and women were accused and persecuted for supposedly using witchcraft and performing satanic rituals. A very similar concept of accusation was used in the movie Good Night and Good Luck; senator Joseph McCarthy made an attempt to “Abolish” communism from the US Government. However, he was mocked by CBS News. In both situations, the accused either received a death penalty (in the Crucible, they were hung), or faced public humiliation by Joseph McCarthy. Whether the people were really either satanists/witches or communists, both measures of persecution were a bit extreme; it could have been handled in many different ways.

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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

884 Words | 4 Pages

A witch hunt is seen as an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and recounts one such witch hunt. During this time, witches and conspiring with the devil were frowned upon by the Puritan church, and were the cause of much fear and suspicion. The Salem Witch Trials were a product of this fear and uncertainty that eventually overwhelmed the village for more than a year. Miller wrote The Crucible during the time America was concerned about the rising power of Communism in the Soviet Union on the heels of World War II.

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Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism During The 17th Century

1022 Words | 5 Pages

McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. This term was coined to criticize anti-communist pursuits of senator Mccarthy. During the Salem Witch trials, victims were often accused of being a witch based on someone's word no one had actual proof that these victims had actual powers from the spiritual world or so called satanist they were demeaned too. Coming back to the reality of accusing with no tangible evidence.many tactics were also brought upon this idea of fear many civilian and townspeople were burdened with the idea of guilt and fear of what would happen to them if they didn't partake in these so-called “witch hunts” of Mccarthy and the governing court of Salem.

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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

383 Words | 2 Pages

Guilty Even if Not Because of false accusations, many lives have been demolished throughout history. A play written by Arthur Miller,The Crucible, where a group of girls got accused of witchcraft moreover, they were faking it in order to act up as well as accuse people they disliked turning it into a long time wasting uproar, which getting people killed for loathing that person. McCarthyism is when McCarthy starts accusing people of communism for his sake. People made accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. Arthur Miller used The Crucible as a criticism of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his actions by comparing being accused of witchcraft and not confessing to witchcraft from the play to being accused of communism

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998 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

1007 Words | 5 Pages

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”

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When searching for historical lessons on mass paranoia and how it shapes a society, look no further than the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, led to the accusation of witchcraft among over 200 people and the execution of 20. The seed of paranoia was planted in Salem and no one was safe from the village’s extreme behavior. However, the seed of paranoia is not restricted to Salem, Massachusetts. Mass paranoia has been present in other times of United States history.

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Examples Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible

423 Words | 2 Pages

Arthur Miller wrote the play “The Crucible”, during the “Red Scare” era. The “Red Scare” era, also known as the communist scare, was a time period where communists were often unjustly accused of plotting against the Government. Mass hysteria ensued involving these communists and many trials were had regarding these supposed “criminals”. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused anyone and everyone of being a communist or communist-sympathizer, single-handedly lead this hysteria. This label cause some to lose their job, have their homes vandalized, and even worse threats on their life.

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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

541 Words | 3 Pages

There is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark. Parris turns to Betty, a frantic terror rising in him. Let your enemies make of it what they will, you cannot blink it more. Parris, to Abigail: Then you were conjuring spirits last night. Abigail, whispering: Not I, sir - Tituba and Ruth” (Miller 16).

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Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

503 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine pursuing your dreams only to have them taken away from you under false pretenses and against your basic rights as a human being. From 1947 to 1956 this was prevalent due to the communist hunt in America. This hunt provided the proper environment for which innocent people were charged with little to no evidence. Arthur Miller was targeted by HUAC for his play The Crucible because of its correlations between the play and modern events.

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Mccarthyism The Crucible Essay

717 Words | 3 Pages

“We are who are always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom, and a common vengeance writes the law (Miller Act II:389-390) ” This quote, by Arthur Miller in his famous play The Crucible, depicts McCarthyism as the Salem witch trials. Miller shows the resemblance of both events when people are being falsely accused with little to no evidence, and the trails were prejudicial and horrific. Using this approach has its strengths, weaknesses, and ideas that differs between the two. Depicting McCarthyism as the Salem witch trials strengthens the resemblance.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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432 Words | 2 Pages

the crucible by Arthur miller is an allegory for the red scare in the McCarthy Era because of the trials, false accusation and the lack of evidence One of the ways that the crucible can allegorically connect to the McCarthy era is the trials. In the crucible if you confess that you are a witch then you had to give up name of alleged witches. According to “what is McCarthyism? And how did it happen?” By Ellen Schrecker and “Hunting the communist” the same thing happened in the McCarthy era trials, if you were accused of being a communist, then you had to give a list of

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