Pandemonium In The Crucible

Pandemonium can dictate a country’s or settlement’s future when not taken under control. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, perfectly illustrates the downsides of pandemonium, but also a real life event. In 1950s America, the Communist Party was sparking outrage and chaos that soon the United States would face a fascist government. Both situations lead to tension in society and people turning their backs against each other. In “Are You Now or Were You Ever?”, also written by Arthur Miller, the online article discusses the reasons to why Miller wrote the book such as the similarities to the Communist Party in America to the Salem Witch Trials, play scripts, actors, and the paranoia in society. Miller’s argument is that the Salem Witch Trials

During both Salem and McCarthy eras, their moral codes were not exactly used the right way. Long term relationships would come to an end, friends would turn against each other, or others would simply point fingers without having actual evidence. Usually the persecutors would be easily persuaded one was either a witch or a communist member. The search of any suspicion of either being a witch or communist would eventually lead to “ a hunt not just for subversive people, but for ideas and even a suspect language.” (Miller 2). The people’s moral instincts were damaged because of the chaos created from the situation. It will go to the extent of even ruining a person’s reputation. But that was in the McCarthy Era. During the Salem Witch trials, “ Anyone standing up… and denying that witches existed would have faced immediate arrest, ...possibly the rope.” (Miller 25). In the 1690s, no one could express their true thoughts on the situation or they would meet their demise. The ethics for Salem and the McCarthy era were unjustified because of he outrageous trials and terrible assumptions. Miller saw a comparison because both had the people turning their backs on to each other during an unorganized time and the overall

Throughout the article, there are series of questions that would emphasize the idea said in a paragraph. For example, in the Salem settlement, a question was towards the end of the paragraph which said, “ How else could his endless reappearances always come as such a marvelous surprise?” (Miller 52). This question is saying that how could the Devil’s appearances be such a surprise if it is often. In other words, this is asking why is something that recurs often always a surprise despite of it always repeating