The Crucible And The Red Scare Analysis

Today, in the world there are so many different types of societies that unite for numerous reasons. They can either be big or small, but no matter what, a society is a society that stays united. However, one of the many things that can destroy millions of a united group in a matter of seconds is the compelling emotion also known as, fear. People who are power hungry individuals, see fear as an easy and beneficial tactic to gain power. In both the Crucible by Arthur Miller and the Red Scare, it is clearly evident that fear does not unite but rather splits both of these societies. Considering that witchcraft and communism were unsuitable practices during these times, it caused people to go insane because of the growing hysteria and accusations

In the Red Scare, there were a lot of corrupt leaders who would use fear in order to gain power, one of them being McCarthy. Joseph McCarthy was indeed corrupted by power since he had accused two-hundred and five innocent people of being either communists or connected to communism. In the article, McCarthyism the author explains, “McCarthy used hearsay and intimidation to establish himself as a powerful and feared figure in American politics. He leveled charges of disloyalty at celebrities, intellectuals, and anyone who disagreed with his political views…” (“Red Scare”). Whether people were from a higher or lower class, it did not matter to McCarthy because he was not afraid to use his power against society. Being the corrupted and immoral person that McCarthy was, he manipulated a lot of people since he was a powerful leader. By him obtaining so much power, it caused him to be a feared figure of this time because he could do whatever he pleased. Another example of fear destroying a society because of corrupted leaders is, towards the end of the Crucible, Danforth, one of the most corrupted leaders in the town explains, “If retaliation is your fear, know this--I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statue” (Miller 123).

In the beginning of the play, Abigail from the start is a power hungry individual that only seeks to benefit herself with power. When Paris claims Abby was conjuring spirits the night before in the woods she quickly objects and states, “Not I, sir, not I--Tituba and Ruth” (Miller 10). Abigail targets Tituba and Ruth because they are of a lower class. By doing this, she gains power along with protection but in a cruel way because she turns against the town and blames innocent people for her wrongdoings. “Just like in the play, the Red Scare had the same motivating force which was fear. Since communism was not accepted back then just like witchcraft it ultimately had destroyed both societies. This led to people blaming others out of fear in order to protect themselves” (“Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics”). In both of these events, the leaders that were extremely corrupted and used fear to gain power, were too foolish enough to realize that society would conceal the truth and blame others because they did not want to be subjected to death. Since there was a lot of lying that arose from these accusation and confessions, it caused a sense of bewilderment to go on within these groups. Lastly, in the Crucible, the Putnams scapegoat Rebecca Nurse because none of her children or grandchildren have died while all