Arthur Miller’s The Crucible vs The Red Scare

967 Words2 Pages

In life, there are a lot of historical events people learn about, but not many people can relate to them. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is based on The Salem Witch Trials, many people can relate to it, it has drama. Drama is a key element in helping people understand things, because we all have drama in our lives. The Salem Witch Trials and The Red Scare both had a lot of drama in them. Miller’s story of The Salem Witch Trials closely parallels the Red Scare and communist “witch hunt” of the 1950s.

The Red Scare was a time when people were so afraid of communists. Some even suspected friends and neighbors of being communists. This fear is mostly Senator John McCarthy’s fault. McCarthy started this fear by stating, “I have in my hand the names of 205 cases of individuals who appear to be either card carrying member or certainly loyal to the communist party,” (Shmoop). McCarthy was falsely accusing a lot of innocent people of being communists, because of this there was a word named after him: McCarthyism. “The term McCarthyism refers to an accusatory campaign based on unfair allegations, fear tactics, innuendo, and sensationalized threats of guilt by association,” (McCarthyism). Arthur Miller’s The Crucible took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 (Summary). It was a time when people were paranoid that there was evil in the village. People accused others of witchcraft because of old grudges, they wanted their land, or they were jealous. The accusations started when a group of girls got into trouble for dancing in the woods (Miller). A few of the main characters are Abigail, John Proctor, and Mary Warren (Summary). Abigail is accused of witchcraft, she starts the accusations by blaming Tituba (Miller). Abigail...

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The Crucible." Bright Hub Education. Bright Hub, 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

"Mccarthyism." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.

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Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible.” Literature. Ed. Janet Allen. Evanston: McDondgal Littell,

2008.132-208.Print.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "McCarthyism & Red Scare: People." Shmoop.com. Shmoop

University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

“The Crucible By Arthur Miller Play Summary.” Play Summary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

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