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Theme of power in the crucible
Theme of power in the crucible
Theme of power in the crucible
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of power in the crucible
Theme of power in the crucible
Theme of power in the crucible
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the 1940s, America was hysterical over communism with McCarthyism everywhere. Author, Arthur Miller felt that the situation had many similarities to the Salem Witch Trials. In both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism- fear, hysteria, and danger were common. Miller used his play, The Crucible, as an allegory for McCarthyism to tell one story with an even deeper meaning. Miller stated, “Paranoia breeds paranoia, but below paranoia there lies a bristling, unwelcome truth, so repugnant as to produce fantasies of persecution to conceal its existence.”
In the play The Crucible, playwright Arthur Miller protests the Red Scare of the early 1900s, a period of public hysteria in which Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many innocent Americans of Communism. Appalled by this tragic period of modern history, Miller suggests a parallel in The Crucible, in which he attempts to convey “‘the essential nature of one of the most awful chapters in human history’--the trials for witchcraft in Salem in 1692” (Background: About Arthur Miller” 3). In both periods of history, Miller warns that mass hysteria often results from people who claim, that principle motivates their actions, while they may actually have other secret incentives such as greed or revenge. In The Crucible greed motivates some characters and revenge motivates others, creating the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials.
In fact, “The Salem Witchcraft Trials have taken on an iconic role in American history, and an unjust search for scapegoats is now commonly referred to as a “witch hunt”” (Billings). Now, during the McCarthy Era, an author called Arthur Miller wrote The crucible, a story “about witchcraft at Salem in 1692, and it was inspired by the social and political climate in the United States in the 1950’s” (Bloom 66) The 1962 Salem characters in Miller’s play represented the Americans that were accused of being communist or sympathizing with communists (Trevino).
Arthur Miller’s work, The Crucible, was written during the “Red Scare” time period, and many themes and ideas regarding both events are presented through a drama based on the Salem witch trials. In this drama, a lack of justice is shown when some jealous, vengeful characters in Salem are willing to use manipulation and deceit, and sacrifice the reputations and integrity of all involved, in order to empower themselves.
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, he is able to compare the events of the Salem Witch Hunt to the McCarthy period. Miller is able to compare these two because of the very similar events and how they were carried out. Many things are comparable and are very similar, in very different time lines. During the McCarthy period, congressman Joseph McCarthy would use the current events to his advantage.
‘The Crucible’ is an allegory for the McCarthyism Red Scare era of the 1950s. An Allegory is a story that can be interpreted on both a literal and a symbolic level. Arthur Miller uses the Salem witch trials as a symbolic story of what happened to him. The allegory that was created between ‘The Crucible’ and The Red Scare is that people were being accused of something that was false.
The play The Crucible and the rise of McCarthyism as discussed by Fitzgerald in the Red Scare both demonstrate how human nature reacts when confronted with the threat of false accusation and wrong doing. The Crucible is an allegory of the United States during the time of the Cold War in the 1950’s and the rise of McCarthysim under USA senator Joseph McCarthy. The accusations suffered by many characters in The Crucible for witchcraft and the resulting aftermath as the town of Salem reacts to these events. These accusations mirror on how Senator McCarthy, through the FBI, accused many government employees, agents and civilians of being Communists (Fitzgerald 44). In both cases, the accusations were made in the absence of evidence to support them,
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, tells the tale of the witch trials in Salem back in 1692. This story represents an allegorical tale of McCarthyism back in the 1950’s because of the way it correlates directly to the so-called witches accused in Salem to the so-called communists accused in the U.S. Back in the 1950’s, the citizens of the United States feared the growing and spreading of communism all over the country and the world. Much like the citizens of Salem feared that witchcraft took a stand among them. The accused communists dealt with much hate from everyone else who lived in the U.S. because the citizens feared them and their ties to communism.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is a play that depicts the Salem witch trials of 1692. The play is a commentary on the McCarthy era, during which Miller himself was accused of communist sympathies. The play uses propaganda to depict how the Salem witch trials were fueled by fear, hysteria, and the desire for power. This essay will explore the different types of propaganda used in The Crucible and how they serve to further the play's themes and messages.
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller creates an indisputable connection between the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare, the fear and persecution of suspected communists in the USA between the 40s and 50s. The hysteria and paranoia that took America by storm during the Red Scare are effectively criticized through the use of characters and plot. Through the depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, Miller shows how patterns of investigation, accusation, and punishment are correspondent between the trials and the Red Scare. The common themes of fear, hysteria, and dangerous mob mentality are explored through the use of irony, symbolism, and characterization. Arthur Miller successfully creates an allegory of the Red Scare in The Crucible while showing
Have you ever been accused of something you did not do? Unfortunately, this circumstance happened during the second Red Scare of the 1940s-1950s. Joseph McCarthy is the leader of this movement and the founder of McCarthyism. McCarthyism, the act of accusing high government officials of being a part of the Communist Party. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller dramatizes the Salem witch trials through allegory with fearful and miserable tones to illustrate to his audience that hysteria can change one’s actions towards others around them, further explaining the political allegory he creates to show McCarthyism.
In ancient times there was usually inaccurate calculations but with the invention of trigonometry, it allowed for some questions to be able to be answered accurately even if the numbers were very large because all the calculations could be based on ratios where the degree and magnitude are determined. Overall these calculations accuracy is usually due to Pythagoras theorem which has been shown to be the base for all of the trigonometric functions and since the calculations are done with high angled triangles it then solved most of the major issues. References: 1. Pythagoras’ Theorem. (n.d.).
The Crucible, published in 1953 by Arthur Miller is a very popular book written about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. While most people use the book to study the Witch Trials, with closer examination it is easy to conclude that it is a direct allegory to the Red Scare and the McCarthy era of 1950s America. An allegory is an extended metaphor in which the characters or objects in the story represent an outside meaning. The Crucible is an allegory to the Red Scare and the McCarthy era drastically by its plot, characters, and the flow and outcome of the court trials. To begin with, The Crucible is an allegory because the plot of the book closely resembles the events that occurred during the Red Scare.
The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. In Salem people were afraid of not appearing christian enough, meanwhile during the 50’s Americans feared of being accused of communism. Also during the McCarthyism era and the witch trials innocent lives were ruined when people were forced to accuse others or be accused themselves. Though The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism, it focuses some of its attention on the question what is more important, your honor and reputation or your life?
In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.