Finally I am now able to write freely without any fear of conviction, I wrote The Crucible, in the context of the historical Salem Witch Trials, which shows many innocent people being accused indiscriminately of crimes and sins they did not commit. Throughout history, society has been blinded to similar occurrences, or "witch hunts." I wrote The Crucible in response to one of those "witch hunts" that took place in my time period-McCarthyism. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950's and 1960's, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee (HUAC) and the "Red Scare." Though the play provides an approximate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues I had to deal with in my era.
             The underlying message throughout The Crucible was the conflict between duty and conscience I depicted myself through the protagonist John Proctor who was a strong highly principled man. John however through his moment of weakness with Abigail betrays both himself and his wife this is because he compromised his integrity by committing adultery with Abigail which consequently could have resulted in losing his good name in the town Abigail Williams shows how people are willing to abandon their firmly established values in order to conform to the majority and protect themselves just as was happening during the McCarthy era. The Salem witch trials raise a question of what justice really was. During this time in the late 1600's, people were preoccupied by a fear of the devil, due to their severe Puritan belief system they were governed more or less under a theocratic style. Within the Crucible nineteen innocent people are hanged on the signature of Deputy Governor Danforth, who has the authority to try, convict, and execute anyone he deems appropriate just like the members of HUAC destroyed and brought down many people susp...