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Salem witch trials encyclopedia britannica
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Various components of The Crucible may be related to the Red Scare, more specifically McCarthyism. Senator McCarthy condemned communism and black-listed many famous actors and actresses as communists. When one was blacklisted under Senator McCarthy’s reign, they would never be hired again thus ruining their career and livelihood. This concept may be related to The Crucible as when people were accused as being witches during the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England, they would be shunned from the community and ultimately hanged. These women were hanged for being evil, thus connecting to the theme of human wickedness.
In response to the second Red Scare, prompted by the accusations of Senator Joe McCarthy, Arthur Miller felt it necessary to express his political feelings through an author’s medium. Similarities are shown between McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials in the way Senator McCarthy gained power and control by inducing fear and hatred of communists in America, comparable to the fear and hatred of witches in the late 1600s. Miller shares that themes of paranoia and vengeance continue on even as society progresses, and presents The Crucible as an example to shed light on issues inherent with using accusations to gain power. With its ability to relate to a number of political situations in many countries, even as far as 50 years past its creation,
Can the fear of people control the way certain things and events are looked at? In 1950 a nationwide historical campaign called McCarthyism took place. The campaign was against alleged communist in the U.S government and other institutions and accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence which was carried out by Joseph McCarthy. The primary targets were usually union activist, government employees, educators, and entertainment industry. Many people people lost their trust in others, causing a new outlook on life while relationships were destroyed. McCarthyism was caused by the fear of the people due to past events.
In the 1940s, America was hysterical over communism with McCarthyism everywhere. Author, Arthur Miller felt that the situation had many similarities to the Salem Witch Trials. In both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism- fear, hysteria, and danger were common. Miller used his play, The Crucible, as an allegory for McCarthyism to tell one story with an even deeper meaning. Miller stated, “Paranoia breeds paranoia, but below paranoia there lies a bristling, unwelcome truth, so repugnant as to produce fantasies of persecution to conceal its existence.”
“The term ‘"McCarthyism’" has passed into general usage as a synonym for the anticommunist political repression of the early Cold War”. (Schrecker 3) The Crucible shows the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare. The Crucible displays a relationship between the Salem Witch Trials and the fear of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Like The Crucible, with people terrified of witchcraft, people during the Red Scare feared communism and feared the punishment that came with an accusation.
Arthur Miller, the writer of the play The Crucible, made a story that is based off of real events in 1692 that draws comparisons to McCarthyism. The characters of Salem are quick to follow behind people in authority even if what they are saying might not be a smart decision in most circumstances. People such as Danfourth, Parris, and Putnam all have a significant amount of power in the town. Danfourth, the judge, seems to have the opinion that anyone that is called out as a witch is most likely a witch.
Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.
Cameron Oldfield Mrs. Brincks English III 15 November, 2015 The Crucible and Red Scare Imagine being thrown in jail, blamed for something that you didn't do .The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a story about how certain propaganda and false accusations can ruin lives, just like in the case of the Red Scare. Although 1692 the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare were over 200 years apart, The similarities are striking. both trials used intimidation, fear, hatred, and false accusations to ruin innocent lives. Both trials resulted in terrible outcomes, with both ending with innocent people being put to death and shunned from society.
For many, The Crucible was just the next powerful and dramatic venture of Arthur Miller's work, but for Miller himself it was an urgent political and social statement. In the 1940’s and 50’s the cold war led many americans to fear and suspect that communism has taken over the United States. Senator Joseph Mccarthy was a famous activist of the Red Scare. The Red Scare was when people accused of being communists were blacklisted, One person who was accused of being a communist was Arthur Miller, a famous playwright. As a result of these events Miller was inspired to write The Crucible, which was during the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s.
She’s a witch! He’s a Communist! Two very famous accusations that pivoted the lives of many Americans throughout history. The Crucible by Arthur Miller paints a picture of the 1690’s Puritan settlement in Salem, Massachusetts who conducted witch trials to rid the town of people who had been taken over by the Devil and accused anyone who had ever wronged them, and without any evidence they were hanged for equating with the Devil. Arthur Miller, who was a famous author living during the 1950’s, wrote this play to allegorize the Communist Red Scare when the government and paranoid citizens hunted for Communists in America and without much evidence thousands of Americans were deported.
Throughout history, there have been major events that have taken place and have shaped the days we live in. Two of these events are the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. Arthur Miller addresses the Salem Witch Trials in his book "The Crucible", but many can argue that, due to what was happening during the time he wrote the book, he wrote it to refer to McCarthyism as well. Some might say that he was "blind to the world" when he wrote the book, but it is more commonly thought that he wrote it for McCarthyism, rather than for human motivation. There is much proof for this, in Miller's autobiography "Timebends", as well as "The Crucible: Act One".
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.
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.
Arthur Miller states that The Crucible was an act of desperation and that much of desperation had branched out from a desperation- era trauma. Although The Crucible and The Red Scare happened in different time periods, The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism were connected
The Red Scare was a movement during the Cold War in America. Communism was spreading throughout the world, and hysteria spread all over the United States that communist were among them. McCarthyism was a fierce campaign carried out by Joe McCarthy against alleged communist in the U.S government and other institutions. In response to McCarthyism, Arthur Miller demonstrates through his play, The Crucible, that lies are used to avoid consequences, too much power can become corrupt, and innocent people will suffer for crimes they have not committed even with a lack of sufficient evidence.
