Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

There is a contagious sort of corruption rife amidst 17th century Salem, as depicted in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Salem, supposedly a pious, saintly township, is represented as everything but, as sanity and control is soon decimated at the hands of said corruption. “Judgement waits...all” once the villagers fall under varying forms of primitive lust - affecting their choices, actions, and moral senses - highly reminiscent of the lust for power that fuelled the McCarthy era. Keeping this context in mind, the rapid spread of lust amongst Salem, whilst not justified, is understandable, as The Crucible is Miller’s direct response to the trials and tribulations of the McCarthy era.

Arguably, the spark that set Salem’s burning rapture alight

Thoroughly titillated by the thrill of the witchcraft narrative currently rife in 17th century Salem, Abigail then seems to channel this passion into something more abrasive. Soon enough, the strange pleasure Abigail derives from brazenly labelling numerous Goodies as nothing but witches extends to the women of Salem. Ergo, making accusations in Salem no longer means solely seeking justice. Now, following Abigail’s influence, the women of Salem accuse others to instead whet their newfound lust for power. “Like one awakened to a marvellous secret insight,” Mary Warren, despite her tearful façade, finds the entire act of naming Goody Good as a witch almost erotic. There are heavily orgasmic connotations in her admittal to Proctor that she felt “...a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air…” directly before accusing Goody Good. “I hear a voice, a screamin’ voice, and it were my voice…” Mary lies, obviously trying to dismiss her actions as the result of some sort of bewitched state, rather than admitting that her morals were, in that moment, corrupted by her lust for power. It’s a thought that brings great shame to her, especially since “...when she [Sarah Good] come into the court I [Mary Warren] say to myself, I must not accuse this woman,” yet, evidently, her rationales were

Miller is wise to balance out the negative lust present in his portrayal of Salem with a positive one: the lust for purity and sanctity. Perhaps best realised in the final act of the play, the sole character that expresses this lust is, surprisingly, John Proctor. Upon agreeing to stand before the judiciaries and confess, Proctor is soon hassled by Danforth and Parris to sign his “honest confession in… hand,” lest he is hung. Proctor, however, is not so pliant. Long ago having made the realisation that “tears pleasure them!” - ‘them’ being the power-hungry people of Salem - Proctor instead “tears the paper and crumples it…” leaving Parris a thoroughly scattered mess, “as though the tearing paper were his life.” Proctor “is weeping in fury,” yet “erect,” an adjective which entices phallic imagery into the reader’s mind, leading them to make the conclusion that Proctor himself practically finds the act of ‘standing his ground’ to be a turn-on. It is remarkable that Proctor is the only resident who regains his sense of sanity, and even finds a lust for integrity within himself, due to the fact that he expressed a lust quite opposite towards Abigail at the start of the play. This becomes less remarkable, however, upon the realisation that the revelation of Abigail’s truly “whore[ish]” nature is what leads Proctor to ‘snap out’ of his carnal lust for her and instead seek a conclusion to the havoc she wrought with her “whore’s vengeance”. While