The Crucible and McCarthy Trials
The Crucible, essentially an allegory, uses the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials to symbolize the 1950s anti-Communist purges (Bloom). Arthur Miller's Crucible was first presented in New York on January 22, 1953, when Senator Joeseph McCarthy's House Committee on Un-American Activities was casting a pall over the arts in America (Masterplots). Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many American leaders of being communists, which lead to many unfounded accusations that others were also communists. McCarthy was, in effect, conducting "witch hunts" (Bellmore). If you opposed to the Salem Witch trials, you were accused of being a witch. If you opposed the McCarthy investigations, you were accused of being a communist. Those accused suffered great consequences in both the Crucible and the McCarthy trials. Miller's theme is the politics of fear and the persecution of dissidents. The victims in the Crucible and the McCarthy trials have many similar aspects. The accused were not fairly tried and were convicted on limited evidence. During the witch trials the girls would point at someone they disliked, and accuse them of practicing witchcraft. It did not matter whether they were innocent or guilty, since they were accused, they would be convicte
He saw the fear of communism that the United States was having during the Cold War as an opportunity to gain a reputation with the citizens that showed he cared about their welfare. The victims all suffered great losses; whether it was having their name blacklisted and career ruined, sent to jail, or hung. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time- we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world" (94). Hale viewed the witchcraft situation as a battle requiring tremendous strength and courage: "God's instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil's agents among us. " She began accusing others by saying: "I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" (48). Abigail, Putnam, Hathorne, and Parris were the power seekers in the Crucible. When John Proctor faced the problem of whether or not he should confess to save his life parallels the instance when Julius and Ethel Rosenburg could confess and save their lives (Warshaw). Giles Corey was pressed to death because he refused to give names of those who signed the petition: "He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property. He believed the court and government of Massachusetts belonged to God, therefore anyone who opposed the court's activities could not be an honest opponent. He refused to give names and was held in contempt, fined $500, and given year's suspended sentence. Others, such as John Proctor, Goode Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Giles Corey were convicted because others were jealous of their fortunes. Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth were the true believers in the Crucible. Judge Danforth believed that they were not wrongfully accussing anyone: ".
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Acceptance Essays
