Similarities Between The Cold War And The Crucible

When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, many people were accusing others of being Communists. This was due to the fact that the United States and the Soviet Union were in a Cold War. Since everyone was paranoid, they would accuse others that they thought were suspicious or competitors or rivals so that they would get a promotion. The characters in The Crucible also accused others just like people did during the Cold War. In both the Cold War and The Crucible, people that were innocent were killed because someone accused them of being a Communist or a Devil worshipper. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many characters lie due to fear, wanting to protect someone, or wanting to accomplish something. In The Crucible, Abigail lies about Elizabeth being a witch to try and get Elizabeth out of

Abigail, Mary, and the other girls pretended to see evil spirits and falsely accused others. Mary started to believe that what they were doing was wrong because they were causing innocent people to die. Mary decided to tell the truth in court to try and save Elizabeth. When she told the truth, Abigail told everyone that Mary was lying and scared Mary into the lie again. When Mary is asked about how she performed the acts, she replies, “I-I cannot tell how, but I did. I-I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I- It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I-I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not,” (Miller 1147). Mary was so wrapped up in her lies that she started to believe them and fear them. Fear is a great motivator to make people do and say things they normally wouldn’t. Mary tried to do the right thing and save Elizabeth but was scared off by Abigail, and everyone was far too wrapped up in Abigail’s lies to realize that what they were doing was