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The Crucible Comparative Essay

635 Words3 Pages

The Puritans arrived in America in the 16th and 17th centuries hoping create a purified version of the church as they believed the Church of England had still had too many components of catholicism. Humans are also invertly evil and this wickedness is displayed throughout many stories. Finally, moral values are also a central conflict to many stories. Puritanism, the evils of all humans, and moral conflict are a central themes to all three of The Crucible, “Young Goodman Brown”, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Although these stories are seemingly unrelated stories on the surface however when considering the under-the-surface meanings of these stories many similarities appear including the impact of Puritanism, the wickedness of all humans, and moral conflict. …show more content…

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. Furthermore, many people during The Crucible such as Francis Nurse struggled with moral conflict over how best to proceed with accusations of witchery. Although The Crucible is an allegory to a specific event in history, “The Minister’s Black Veil” is an allegory to a moral

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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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152 Words | 1 Pages

The Crucible is an allegory to the Red Scare for many reasons, but one is that they are both run by lies spread by people to put themselves out of harm's way. The Crucible was written and used to express what was going on during this period with the Red Scare. “They were hounded by law enforcement… and fired them from their jobs” because of what they believed in their rule of terrorism, in The Crucible where people were hung because of their beliefs. Another example of The Crucible being an allegory to the Red Scare is how in The Crucible, Abigail Williams was over exaggerating her statement that she could see and talk to the devil. Just like how “McCarthy and Hoover… exaggerating that possibility” in the Red Scare.

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749 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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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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906 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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467 Words | 2 Pages

In the story “The Crucible” and the article “Puritan Religion and Beliefs” There are many similarities and differences. The main similarity that is found in both literary works , was during this era anyone who sinned and was found guilty of the crime faced public humiliation. The difference in the works comes from paragraph two of the article, it states that we are either “born sinful” or “destined to be saved”. In “The Crucible” knowing your commandments and respecting God means that you know better and acting out of the ordinary means that you are possessed by an evil spirit. The article that was written gave a clear description of how Puritans thought in the beginning and towards the time when “witches in Salem” were discovered.

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Abigail and the other girls got away with accusing several people of witchcraft, securing their downfall, because they did so by saying that it was the will of god and that they were protection the town from the devil, convincing the town that the accused had sent their “spirits out to attack [her]”. This theme also applies to McCarthyism and how, because so many americans believed communism was the devil’s work, people began taking advantage of the paranoia and accused people they did not favor and were able to get away with it, because they said that they were working under God to protect democracy. The universal theme of religion and the great lengths people are willing to go to follow it is applicable to not only the two time periods surrounding The Crucible , but also to modern times. Along with the beginning of “the war on terror” with the attacks on 9/11 came a new wave of mass hysteria which is accompanied with the illusion religious justification.

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In the play, “The Crucible”, author Arthur Miller uses the play as an allegory to connect the accusations of witchcraft to the politically motivated accusations and subsequent trials of suspected communists in America during the 1950s. The Crucible has drawn connections to events like the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare, and the HUAC trials that show that these events are all similar. The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller that resembles the period of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote this play as an allegory for McCarthyism, which was a political witch-hunt against supposed communists in the United States during the 1950s. The Red Scare was a period of political persecution and

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The human mind is far more complex than humans themselves realize. The concept of free will and its limits can alter either the person or their life. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller presents the idea that misguided motives lead to decisions that wrong others by fearing what they don’t understand. The fear of the worst to occur is what fuels these people to encourage unreliable reasons for misinterpreted conduct.

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876 Words | 4 Pages

Many authors are influenced by what’s going on in the world around them. Historians will often examine literature from previous eras to give insight into what that time was like. Authors like Arthur Miller are often affected by whatever controversy is ailing the world at that period in time. Authors often will also write about the problems in their own personal lives. Therefore, Arthur Miller’s arguably most famous work, The Crucible, was influenced by the paranoia of communism in the 50s and his personal relationships.

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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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854 Words | 4 Pages

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,

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2875 Words | 12 Pages

The Crucible by Arthur Miller details the cause and effects of the debilitating witch hunts of 1690 on the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. Through his intensely brutal storytelling, Miller weaves a tale of agony and faithlessness, equivocating the hatred and prejudice present in 1692 to the then current issues of communist finger pointing seen in the 1940s. Through this profound play, Arthur Miller uses chaotic character interactions and insidious descriptions to highlight the complexities of the intricate power structures present in Salem, revealing the distinct motivations each character has for their rise to, or fall from, power. This characterization displays the effects power can have on an individual, and the ultimate destruction

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388 Words | 2 Pages

To purify metal you have to melt the ore in a crucible, or a container that can resist great heat. A crucible, such as a steel container, clay, and some ceramics can withstand great heat. Crucifixion, the SAT’s and Mr.Maloney's class are all examples of a crucible. Where everyone who enters or gets chosen is severely tested.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.

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