The Sociological And Political Impact Of The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Written in a time of mass hysteria and civil unrest Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is a play that prompts its readers to comprehend the dangers of widespread lunacy. While the setting takes place during the Salem Witch Trials it is well known that Miller was writing about The Red Scare of 1950’s in which Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House of Un-American Activities falsely accused and investigated many individuals of supporting communism successfully destroying their careers and spreading dismay among the general public. The sociological and political impact of The Crucible is remarkable as being written in a time of persecution The Crucible enables the reader to understand the distribution of fear and the mentality of those who participate in the spread of paranoia.

Arthur Miller is an American playwright who fought against the oppression brought upon entertainers and other prominent figures by McCarthy false accusations.

More specifically, “When he wrote it, Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities were prosecuting alleged Communists from the State Department to Hollywood; the Red hunt was becoming the dominant fixation of the American psyche.”(https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible) this is significant as many individuals who attempted to fight back were blacklisted from Hollywood and publicly humiliated. In many instances, individuals who did not comply with McCarthy or The House of Un-American Activities were permanently barred from work in the entertainment business. Consequently, the method in which Miller expressed his frustration with the current government was exceptionally thorough in regards to exploring the notions of mindess deceit and frantic incrimination. Furthermore, by writing The Crucible not only was Miller able to resist censorship and successfully captured a shameful moment in The United States history through his literary

work.
The aftermath of World War II led The United States into a severe confrontation with the Soviet Union and the rise of communism; a key event that allowed for the sincere alarm of the growing communist sentiment was when the Soviet Union tested its first set of nuclear capabilities which demonstrated its new found influence as a pristine global power. More specifically, “In August 1949, for instance, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. Later that year, Communist forces declared victory in the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China.” (https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy) this time period is of paramount importance as it sets the tone and metality that allowed McCarthy to gain the amount of unchecked authority that he did. The dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only illustrated The United States’ superior industry and military capabilities yet, it officially ended WWII thus, to the eyes of many The United States became the heroes of the war. When the Soviet Union began revealing their nuclear potential it became very clear that any direct military interference could lead to a nuclear engagement. From this point on any progress made by the Soviet Union was heavily televised thus, the fear of nuclear annihilation began to set upon the American citizens. Fear is a very prominent in human psyche as it removes logical reasoning in favor of emotional response which allowed individuals and organizations like McCarthy and The House of UN-American Activities to flourish in uncontrolled chaos.