Similarities Between Witch Hunt And The Crucible

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The Internet, one of the greatest inventions in mankind’s history, has facilitated a massive rise in globalisation. So much so, one person can release information about a person and millions can read it on the other side of the world in seconds. It is more likely to be misinformation. It can be much like McCarthyism, spreading the good news of democracy by eliminating the apparent threat of communism. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in response to highly personal accusations, crystallises the cyclical nature of witch-hunts and the dangers inherent in allowing them to recur. The uncanny similarity between the witch-hunt depicted in The Crucible and the witch-hunt that occurred over the internet following the Boston Bombings is …show more content…

According to the Pew Research centre, 7% of US adults use Reddit. Of that portion, 78% of them use it as their primary news source. Following the attacks, hundreds and thousands of people flooded onto Reddit to pay tribute to the victims but also to fulfil their duty to find the bombers. Their warped mindset came as a result of the unreasonable fear of them carrying out another attack if Reddit could not find them. A subreddit or a forum dedicated to a specific topic on Reddit was created called ‘/r/FindTheBostonBombers’. It grew to 272,000 people constantly browsing it almost overnight. This is evidence that a fanatical desire to eliminate the dangerous enemy captivated the minds of the people of Reddit, beginning the …show more content…

One example is Rebecca Nurse; previously a respected member of the Salem community, imprisoned and hanged simply because of the girls’ unfounded accusations. It is this irrational fear of the Devil destroying the Puritan lifestyle of Salem that controls the minds of the townsfolk, forcing them to conform to the Court’s agenda. The overpowering ideology of Puritanism compels them to condemn anybody who shows any sign of deviation from the strict path that their religion

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  • Rebecca Nurse: Fact Vs. Fiction

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    Today, most people know witch hunts as something that happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1693, but what most people do not know is that they are still happening today and causing major violence in communities around the world. The Crucible is a book that shares the events that happened during the time of the Salem witch trials; although centuries have passed by, qualities of modern witch hunts can be seen throughout this book. Which brings us to the question, how do modern day witch hunts compare to the witch hunt shown in The Crucible?

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