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Examples Of Paranoia In The Crucible

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The Crucible was published in the year 1953, during the height of the Cold War. The United States this was the Mccarthy era, which was the period when many feared the spread of Communism in our country. Senator Joseph Mccarthy initiated this whole movement that led to McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee, which sought to put a halt to all Communist activity in the United States. In addition, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an incredible play that gives feedback on Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts not only that, but it parallels the McCarthy “witch hunts” that took place in the mid 1900’s. The play is an allegory, which means that the story holds a much more deeper meaning than what we perceive. It is considered to be based of McCarthyism because both occurrences thrived off paranoia, involved unjust accusations, and ruined lives. …show more content…

For example “All that changed, however, in the postwar atmosphere of fear and contempt for the Soviet Union, at which time HUAC's activities commanded broad popular support and consistently attracted major headlines.” (House Un-American Committee), in the quote it shows how even with the lack of proper evidence the paranoia of citizens increased the popularity of the situation on Communism. In addition during that time period, fear commenced the lack of trust between communities, and citizens. As Arthur Miller himself states that, “My basic need was to respond to a phenomenon which, with only small exaggeration, one could say paralyzed a whole generation and in a short time dried up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse” (The Crucible, The Salem Witch Trials, and McCarthyism), it shows how The Crucible had the purpose to emphasize the paranoia on these

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