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Negative Consequences Of Guilt In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

1135 Words5 Pages

Imagine being placed in a situation where if one does not confess to their actions or beliefs, even if they are not true, there will be negative consequences. One would either confess truthfully or not, based the consequence and if they are willing to go through it for the greater good. This theme has been demonstrated through many ways such as in books, mainstream current media, and in the history of the United States. Negative consequences can influence whether or not one chooses to rightly, or falsely, confess as evidenced by characters in the Crucible by Arthur Miller, President Clinton confessing his affair after denying it, and finally, during the McCarthy era when politicians attempted to convince many Hollywood stars to falsely confess …show more content…

This state of tension was called the Cold War and was between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this time, politicians accused and forced people to confess of being communist or “Red”. In “Ted-Ed” on McCarthyism, HUAC, and the Red Scare, it is stated people accused were asked to incriminate their friends and associates. If they retaliated or resisted, they could lose their jobs and/or go to jail if they did not confess. During the Hollywood Blacklist, 10 Screenwriters, actors, directors, etc, did not confess to being communist so they were arrested. The fact that people accused would be forced to confess to being “red” or else they would be arrested or lose their jobs, shows how the people's decisions and choices on if they should confess or not, could be influenced. The idea of losing one's job or getting arrested is a major result that could have influenced how the people thought. Continuing forward, during the Hollywood Blacklist, if people confessed to being communist, the next question asked would be about who else is a communist. People would have to falsely confess that others were communist with them others. People were forced to confess and if they did, they had to face another question of who else is communist. They would still be threatened of the punishment which would influence their decisions of if they should falsely expose other communists. The constant reminder of the punishment is the negative consequence which can influence whether people will exploit others or save people's lives and receive the

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