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Summary of the Crucible by Arthur Miller
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Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in direct response to the communist “witch hunt” of the 1940s and 1950s. Although, the events in Salem, Massachusetts, can also be directly compared to the modern day persecution that occurred during The Holocaust. The group of girls in The Crucible can be directly correlated to the Nazi Party during the Holocaust. Hitler wanted control and to “clean” the people of the “sin” of Jews, much like Abigail wants to do of the “witches” and the people whom she does not like. When Abigail is questioned about whether she sold her soul to the Devil her response is, “I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!”(Miller 5). After being questioned Abigail tries to convince John Hale that she only cares for the well being of the citizens of Salem, much like Hitler tried to persuade the people of Germany to follow him. The girls accuse innocent people of a major sin, much like Hitler blamed the Jews for the all of the misfortunes that had fallen on Germany. The girls are the leaders of the witch hunt in Salem, much like Hitler was the leader of the hunt for Jews. Therefore, the acts of the Nazi Party are very similar to the acts of the group of girls in The Crucible. …show more content…
The people of the holocaust did not necessarily agree with what the Nazis were doing, but they did not do anything to stop them. This can be compared to the people of Salem do not do anything about the innocent who are accused of being witches. John Proctor is questioned about his wife being involved in witchcraft and he replies, “I have made my bell of honor! I have rung the doom of my good name-you will believe me. My wife is innocent!”(Miller 116). The people of the Holocaust continued their daily lives much like the people in Salem during the witch
In conclusion Arthur Miller saw the similarities in The McCarthy Era and The Salem Witch Trials, and portrayed them in “The Crucible.” The lives of many people were destroyed during these times in history.
Many people look back on the events of the Salem witch trials and laugh at the absurdity of the allegations. It seems crazy that society could be fooled into believing in things like witches and deal with the events in such an extreme manner. It is a common belief that witch hunts are things of the past. Many people would agree that they no longer exist today; however Arthur Miller, author of the play, "The Crucible", points out that society has not come very far from the days of the Salem witch trials. In his play, he used the Salem witch trials to represent the McCarthy Era because he saw that the nation was facing the same events that Salem went through back in the late 1600's. Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" in an attempt to create moral awareness for society. He did so by making a few small changes to the history and creating parallels in the play with racism, human tendencies, and H.U.A.C.
Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
Events have played out in history that made people realize the inhumane acts of people and the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era were two of them. The Salem witch trials in 1692 were almost 260 years before the McCarthy “witch hunts” in the 1950s yet there are similarities between them. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is about the Salem witch trials and is an allegory to the practicing of McCarthyism during the Second Red Scare in the United States, which Miller was a victim of. Although there may be differences between “The Crucible” and McCarthyism, ultimately the anger, lack of evidence, and the people were alike in both events.
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. 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 and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
There are many examples in history where the evolution of an idea has been recorded throughout writings of the time. Examples include sexism, racial superiority, and ideas involving Geocentrism. However, the word “witch” particularly represents an idea with multiple historic texts mapping out the changes in definition. Originally witch, or ‘wicca’, was a respected term derived from wise one, however with the progression of time, it evolved into becoming the unreasonable fears and prejudices of society incarnated.
Both events created chaos by stirring up people's crazy fears. The "Red Scare" refers to the fear of communism in the 1950s. This was actually the second "Red Scare." This first took place earlier and referred to the fear that a Bolshevik revolution would take place in America. The second "Red Scare" was also known as "McCarthyism" due to its most famous supporter, a man named Senator Joseph McCarthy. After World War II, many people feared communism.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller in the Early 1950’s. It was written during the “Red scare, when McCarthyism was established. Many anti-communists wanted to prevent communism from spreading just like in The Crucible many wanted to get rid of witchcraft. Many would accuse others of witchcraft in order to not be accused just like many would accuse people of communism. In The Crucible witchcraft would be punishable by death. Many were scared to be accused; therefore many would admit practicing witchcraft in order to save their lives. The Crucible is considered a good play because it is based on real life events during the Salem witch Trials and shows how fear played a role in the individual’s life just like during the “Red” scare.
McCarthyism Within The Crucible As stated in a 1952 New York Times article, “if we lose our freedom in the effort to guard our security, then security is useless” (Oakes 5). The United States of America is a country with a history of always protecting its citizens’ rights and liberties, but it also contains a past where other matters have been interfering. There are many contributing factors that can alter a person’s perspective on a particular idea, such as religious views, or fear. In 1692, Puritan Salem, Massachusetts believed there were witches within the town after girls in the town confessed they had been victims of witchcraft. A few centuries thereafter in the 1950’s, the United States had just retreated from World War II and feared the rise of communism in the country when Senator Joseph McCarthy declared to know the names of 204 alleged communists.
Maybe a person who lived during the 1940’s and 1950’s would better understand the Red-Scare and McCarthyism and see how The Crucible is symbolic of those things, but that could be hard to extract without an understanding of the McCarthy period. Just like the townsfolk’s hunt for witches in The Crucible, America was on the hunt for Communist and out of their fear and paranoia many were found to be guilty of communism who weren’t at all involved. Communism was a rising threat to the American life, or at least that’s what Americans thought. The case being was probably only a little true, but certain people took advantage of the heating paranoia, people like Senator McCarthy. McCarthy is represented by the character Abigail, because they both capitalize on their people’s emotions in order to obtain their specified goals. McCarthy’s campaign against the communist was solely for the purpose of attaining office, a selfish attempt instead of focusing on deeper problem in America. Abigail’s sole goal was to subdue John Proctor and receive his hand in marriage, but this wasn’t easy since Proctor was already married to Elizabeth. To achieve her goal Abigail began to claim Elizabeth as a witch just as McCarthy did so to any opposition claiming them to be
Although Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, the play was presented in the 1950s as a commentary on McCarthyism throughout America during the Cold War. In many instances, the events that take place during the Salem Witch Trials are equal and very similar to those by McCarthyism. After conducting research, reading articles and finding sources, the conclusion can be made that the events that took place during the Salem Witch Trials were very similar to those of McCarthyism, in terms of people, events and mass hysteria. This statement can be supported because evidence presented during the events were not credible, both events led to mass hysteria in surrounding areas and last, being innocent or guilty would
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, which refers to the fear of communism that permeated American politics, culture, and society from the late 1940s through the 1950s. Similarities between The Crucible and A Decade of Fear pertain to the bombshell dropped by the accusers and their fame that grew from their accusations. In both The Crucible and A Decade of Fear the accuser both dropped a bombshell with the accusations they made towards people. According to Sam Roberts, author of “A Decade of Fear,” “McCarthy dropped a bombshell.” McCarthy had accused The State Department of being
The Crucible is a play based upon the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the early 1960s. Arthur Miller ,during the time he was writing the play, was accused of communism. That accusation of communism sparked an idea within the