The Crucible And Mccarthyism Essay

The Crucible is a four-act play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and the action is based on the witchcraft trials of that time. A group of girls had been caught performing a pagan ritual and accused of witchcraft. One of the girls, Abigail, had previously had an affair with a local farmer, John Proctor. It is revealed that she asked a negro slave, Tituba, for a charm to kill John’s wife, Elizabeth. She ‘confesses’ having pact with the Devil and “names” the first people. Thus starts the witch hunt, with the girls as chief witnesses. 9 days later, Abigail accuses Elizabeth and she is also arrested. Proctor, in order to save his wife, admits his adultery and denounces Abigail as a fraud. But when Mary Warren is

accused by Abigail and the other girls, she accuses Proctor, calling him the devil’s man and he is arrested. 3 months later, John is brought before the court to confess. He finds out that Rebecca Nurse and Giles and Martha Corey decided not to confess. Proctor first signs the confessions but then tears it apart and rather dies than to blacken his name and that of his friends.
Although some critics call Miller’s play ‘linguistically insufficient’, most critics tend to agree that the dialogue ‘feels’ historically accurate. Miller uses idiosyncratic expressions used by the Puritan community. Taken from the records of the trials and other writings of that period, Miller uses these to suspend our disbelief, without being linguistically and historically accurate. He uses expressions such as ‘Goody’ (Mrs.), ‘open with me’ (tell me the truth), ‘pray’ (please), and others. The grammatical usage of the verb ‘to be’ is also used differently (‘it were’ instead of’ it was’), and ‘do’ as an auxiliary verb is often omitted (e.g.

‘what say you’). Characters such as Tituba, Sarah Good, Mercy and Mary, very often drop the letter ‘g’ at the end of such words as ‘goin’ or ’beatin’, which gives the impression of lower-class speech.
When writing The Crucible, Miller was mainly influenced by the rise of McCarthyism, and he used the Salem witch trials as an analogy to convey his contemporary political message. Despite it being a reactionary play, describing The Crucible purely as a “political propaganda” would be an oversimplification. As the title suggests, the central theme of the play draws an analogy to the purification of a substance by heat . The Play’s main character, John Proctor, undergoes similar process of “purification” or “trial by fire” and eventually has to accept some responsibility for his past mistakes. It is therefore Proctor’s conscience, or “doing the right thing” that plays an important part in the story. During the play’s climax, Proctor is supposed to be brought before the court to confess. His entrance is signaled by the off-stage sound effect of “the sibilance of dragging feet on stone”

Reverend Hale pleads for Proctor to be left alone with his wife and wishes for the others to leave. After signing so many death warrants, he has become more cynical and more direct. The only way for him to do away with his guilt is to save the lives of those who are still alive. He faces a moral dilemma – the only way he can save them is by getting them to confess to things they had never done. He believes that Elizabeth could convince Proctor to confess and this is why he pleads for them to be left alone. Hale no longer has faith in himself and he is one of the tragic figures of the play, serving as Proctors foil. When alone, Elizabeth tells proctor about those who didn’t confess. This information is crucial for Proctor, since it will give him the necessary strength to not confess. Elizabeth tells him she has nothing to forgive him for, but he should forgive himself and be his own judge. It is her refusal to make any decisions for John and her ability to forgive him, as well as being able to admit her own coldness towards John, that makes her strength come out. This scene brings out the tragedy and tenderness “as though they stand in a spinning world”; “He reaches out his hand as though toward an embodiment not quite real, and as he touches her, a strange soft sound, half laughter, half amazement, comes from his throat” . The tender and loving humanity of Elizabeth and John is in direct contrast with the inhumanity of Danforth and Parris’ own self- interest. When Proctor is brought before the judges, he confesses (The tragic irony is that the audience do not want him to confess). It is the presence of Rebecca that gives him strength, her “Oh John- God send his mercy on you!'” and her refusal to confess. He finds the strength to speak the truth and, although he did sign the confession, he snatches it from Danforth and tears it apart. In his final speech as an answer to Danforth inability to understand his predicament, Proctor cuts him of and yells “with a cry of his whole soul”:
Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!
For Proctor, his name is synonymous with identity. It is something he cannot give up. If he was to give that up, he would become a different man. Proctor could only “remain himself” by dying.