McCarthy and a Witch As high schoolers, students learn about the world of politics in their history courses. Makes since, right? Well, there is also a great deal of politics in English, though it is brilliantly hidden in the eloquent writings that are studied. A perfect example of this undercover political lesson can be found in Arthur Miller's, The Crucible; a brilliant piece of work that parallels the historical havoc of the Salem Witch Trials to the Red Scare of the 1950’s.
The Crucible and McCarthyism are not all that different. They were both very dangerous and evil events that have happened, which have ruined many people. In The Crucible, There were many people that were trying to save themselves or another person by using others. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth was accused and sent off to sit in jail until she hangs or confesses. John did not want his innocent wife to be hung for something she did not do.
Miller's play is not only a portrait of the Salem Witch Trials but a criticism of contemporary America where people's political opinions were also put on trial? Consider this view in light of the critical anthology. The Crucible is a play which revolves around the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, yet was written in 1953. When viewed, through a Marxist lens, it is evident this play is a condemnation of McCarthy through the process of allusion.
In The Crucible Arthur Miller compares Salem witch trials to the McCarthy period by showing the unfairness of the McCarthy trials, by showing McCarthy’s accusation was equivalent to the guilt of the accused, and by showing how arbitrary an political it was when people were labelled witches or Communists. . The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism are very much alike. Mccarthy and the Salem trials both accused innocent people doing “ bad ‘ things. In the crucible when a person was accused of witchcraft they were taken to trial, there was never solid proof.
Almost every kid in school has read a passage or a story, and never really understood the purpose of learning the topic in school. The teachers expect us to do the work, and hopefully understand it, but we never truly understand why we learned such a topic or event. The Crucible is a prime example on what students read in school, or why we’re obligated to read the book. The crucible and McCarthyism have many similarities that many people over look, and don’t realize, and connects more than we perceive. Books like the crucible and McCarthy are historical events, many schools have very few books based on historical events, which is why teachers spend more time on them.
People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.
McCarthyism period took place over the years The Crucible has been written and significantly impacted Arthur Miller’s thoughts while writing the book. The Crucible was seen as a modern-day witch hunt story in the McCarthy period. McCarthyism means the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions without any evidence. Joseph R McCarthy made false accusations while being senator and charged people for being communism. Both McCarthyism and The Crucible by Arthur Miller are connected because paranoia is evident and innocent people are accused.
McCarthyism played a major role in the creation of The Crucible and many parallels were made between the play and the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a period of heightened fear of the communists going back to the Cold War. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are similar because they both were fueled by fear. The Salem Witch Trials were fueled by fear because everyone thought they would be punished or killed. McCarthyism and the Salem witch hunts had the ability to ruin one’s life through a simple accusation.
McCarthyism is the term that came to be in 1950 when Joseph Mcarthy accused 205 people that were in the State department of being Communist. McCarthyism is falsely accusing someone of treason without proof or much reason. At the height of anti- communism Aruthur Miller wrote a play called “The Crucible”. The play was set in 1692 based on the Salem witch trials. Salem witch trials in his play was a time where everyone was falsely accusing someone else of being a witch just like McCarthyism is falsely accusing someone of treason.
In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.
The Crucible was a work of fiction, by Arthur Miller, that weaved real events of the Salem Witch trials. Within the narrative of the play, adultery and jealousy lead to false accusations of the community of Salem. In relation to The Crucible, two non-fiction events that carry the same theme is the Patriot Act and McCarthyism. The Patriot act is a law that was passed after the events of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2011, and McCarthyism is the paranoia and invasive suspicion that followed suit. All three occurrences have similarities between the power of the government and the separation of the people.
Throughout the course of American history there has been many two persecutions that have been very similar to one other, but they were separated by almost 3 centuries. One of these events was the “witch hunts”, Salem Witch Trials, and the other was McCarthyism. Because of these controversial topics, Arthur Miller wrote his play called The Crucible, in which he uses the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to exhibit the dangerous McCarthyism, the bystander effect, and mass hysteria. Another intention of writing was the hope that society would learn and grow from the past, instead of ignoring and repeating it again.
When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.
In the beginning of The Crucible, John Proctor is presented as a contradictory and an unfaithful man, whose sins from the past still haunt him. If so, why did the playwright Arthur Miller use Proctor as an advocate to convey a deeper idea about McCarthyism? John Proctor is skillfully employed as the play’s protagonist because he not only displays character development, but he also represents the play’s, and in a way, the Red Scare’s central struggle: confess and calumnize neighbours, or stand up for what they believe is right but confront death in doing so. John Proctor’s disposition, character development, and fate play an important role on the grounds on which Miller chose him to make a commentary on the Red Scare of the 1950s.
In 1692, the hysteria of what is now known as the Salem witch trials begun. It all started within the minister’s household when his daughter and niece started to act outlandishly. Witchcraft was blamed for their behavior and actions, which resulted in the madness of accusing almost every woman in the village of Salem. About 20 were eventually executed (Blumberg 1). This delirium ended when minister Cotton Mather and his son pleaded to cease the use of spectral evidence, the “testimony about dreams and visions” (Blumberg 2).
