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The Crucible Allegory Essay

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In literature alone, there are many stories that are categorized as allegories due to messages or lessons that are implied in the writing. By definition, an allegory is a something that has a hidden or symbolic meaning. Of course they are not just limited to stories; allegories are also expressed in the form of a poem, a picture, or a movie. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a good example of an allegory for it tells of a significant event in history in which a small town of Massachusetts named Salem had been controlled by a paranoia of witches after watching a few of the town girls showing off odd behaviors and participating in occult activities. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for Subversive Activities Control Board, …show more content…

According to Senator Smith, the American people were terrified of speaking out their mind in fear that they would become suspected as a Communist and that the Freedom of Speech was being used in a terrible manner that it could not be used by some. Unfortunately, after speaking out against McCarthy, Senator Smith was removed from the Senate was replaced with Senator Richard M. Nixon. Meanwhile, in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Rebecca Nurse took on a role similar to the role that Senator Margaret Chase took. In Act 1, when Parris acknowledges the idea that his daughter, Betty, and the other sick girls might be bewitched, Rebecca Nurse assures him that it is just a phase in which the children want some attention. As Parris insists that the odd behavior of the girls is a result of witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse excuses herself and refuses to take part of the witch hunt just as Senator Smith had refused to take part in the movement to look for Communists. In the end, Rebecca Nurse is accused of witchcraft by Thomas Putnam’s wife for the death of her children and is hung for refusing to confess of being a

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In doing so, the court believed this and she was found guilty of witchcraft. She was put to jail and is now serving a sentence. Rebecca Nurse is not the only character who was judged unfairly in this play. In my lifetime, I have been judged unfairly many times.

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553 Words | 3 Pages

The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.

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This happens for a lot of the men and women that were accused. Mrs. Putnam automatically assumes since one person has been accused of witchcraft that Rebecca, though they have

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372 Words | 2 Pages

At the time when Arthur Miller wrote the play “The Crucible”, he was coming from the position of a victim. Arthur Miller was accused of being a member of the communist party in the McCarthy era better known as The Red Scare. “The Crucible” is an allegory to The Red scare that was going on when Arthur Miller wrote the play. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. “The Crucible” contains many similar events to what had been happening during the Red Scare, with some events being very similar, making “The Crucible” a perfect allegory for Arthur Miller to write a play about.

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608 Words | 3 Pages

In history there have been many major events that have shaped the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the "witchunts" of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a drama and fictional story of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-1693. Miller wrote the play as a parable for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.

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925 Words | 4 Pages

“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.

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Rebecca is accused for murdering the seven children of Ann Putnam who have died long before any questioning arose. Following this accusation, which is one of many that are false, Rebecca would go through the court process of either admitting to her actions as a witch or

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624 Words | 3 Pages

Reasons Behind The Crucible Arthur Miller’s main purpose in writing The Crucible was to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials and to warn against government propaganda. At the time that The Crucible was published, America had a huge fear of communism. Anyone accused of having ties with the communist party was shunned. It much resembled the Salem Witch Trials in how the government, or leader of the time, used fear against the people to gain power. For example, Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Reverend Parris in how they both lead the people into the belief that there were intruders in their mists that had plans to sabotage the community.

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Although, many people that were condemned weren’t actually apart of the Communist Party, (under McCarthyism around 1950-1954) they got blacklisted or lost their jobs. This social injustice is also portrayed in The Crucible as its characters face the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as his own reaction to the injustice of McCarthyism. Miller’s purpose was to show how people accused each other with false denunciations because of their fear, jealousy and solely hatred of one another under McCarthyism.

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This monologue will take place towards the end of Act 4 before John gets hung and he’s reflecting upon his actions. The themes that will be highlighted throughout the monologue include corruption, reputation and guilt. (Shakes head in disappointment with hand on head while seated) What has the world come to! Salem, is now just a town filled with evil and corruption so thick you can feel it in the very air!

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847 Words | 4 Pages

The threat of Communism and the Red Scare put fear of group mentality into many people during the late 1940-50s.   The authors of 1984 and The Crucible used their respective works to comment on the social injustice going on in their own lives, which connects to injustice the exists throughout time anywhere in the world. Miller wrote his play, set in 1692, about Puritans and the Salem witch trials because he believed that, similar to his trial for HUAC in the 1950s, the trials in Salem were caused by false accusations and mass hysteria led by powerful individuals. In 1984, Orwell creates a world in the near future that shows group mentality and its threat to conform society with the government.

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Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.

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907 Words | 4 Pages

Scapegoating: Taking Heat From Someone Else's Flame In an interview on Faith and Religion with Bill Moyers from PBS, Margaret Atwood once said, “Under stress, society will always scapegoat a person or a group of people.” This belief is shown in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the cartoon “It’s okay -- We’re hunting Communist” by Herb Block, and her own poem “Half Hanged Mary”.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

A successful allegory takes a writer skilled enough to create a three dimensional character out of an idea. A symbol. A very common allegory topic is society. This is due to the fact that there are many different layers of society. There are the rich and the poor, the old and the young, even the mentally stable and the mentally disabled.

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1674 Words | 7 Pages

According to (Dirks, 2014) fantasy film is unlike scene fiction films that base their content upon some degree of scientific truth, take the audience to netherworld, fairy-tale places where events are unlikely to occur in real life. In mythological or legendary times, they transcend the bounds of human possibility and physical laws. Fantasy films are often in the context of the imagination, dreams, or hallucinations of a character or within the projected vision of the storyteller. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary. They may appeal to both children and adults, depending upon the particular film.

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