Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthy

Arthur Miller makes many different connections to the acts of Senator McCarthy throughout The Crucible. The Salem Witch Trials display many similarities to the acts of Communism in the 1950’s. First of all, false accusations and accusations made without any hard evidence are seen in both The Crucible and the acts of Senator McCarthy. John Proctor in The Crucible was put accused and put on trial for taking part or concealing witchcraft without any evidence of this actually happening. Just like Proctor, Arthur Miller was accused for being a communist during the McCarthy era, although nothing could prove this. Similarly, neither of these two men were willing to provide names of other possible criminals when asked to. According to 60second Recap, Miller

This can be seen in The Crucible when Hale attempts to convince the accused to confess to their crimes in order to save their lives even if they are wrongly accused. Hale says to Elizabeth Proctor “Goody Proctor, your husband is marked to hang this morning.” (The Crucible, Act IV, Miller, 131) when he initiates his attempt to convince Mrs. Proctor to influence John Proctor to confess. Hale has become frustrated with the court system and is now attempting to convince all of the accused to confess to a crime they didn’t do in order to save all of their lives. Another parallel between the incidents dramatized in The Crucible and the acts during the 1950’s due to McCarthyism is that in both instances, the community was extremely religion based. The Crucible was focused on Puritanism while the acts of McCarthyism were focused on Communism. An example of the strict religion Salem in The Crucible followed can be seen when Hale requires John Proctor to recite his commandments. Hale is recorded saying “Let you re-peat them, if you will.” (The Crucible, Act II, Miller, 66) when he is questioning Proctor’s poor attendance in