The Crucible Allegory

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The Crucible is a play about the Salem witch trials, written as an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the 1950s America. It follows characters through lies, hypocrisy, and false allegations of witchcraft, and explains how human nature caused a witch hunt. The Abigail’s attempts to save her own reputation is contrasted with Elizabeth’s desire to save her husband’s reputation after their affair. In the end, both efforts to uphold reputations have detrimental results. Arthur Miller is criticizing the outrage an unnecessary obsession with one 's reputation can cause, including lies, deceit, and