Comparing The Crucible And Mccarthyism
Why am I being accused?
McCarthyism had a profound effect upon the American society, much as the witch trials did upon the people of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600's recounted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The manner of the interrogations is extremely similar in both situations. In McCarthy's interrogations, everyone is treated roughly in the same manner and accused wrongfully. Similarly in The Crucible, the accused are questioned repeatedly until they are broken. In Langston Hughes' interrogation, some of the questions he is asked are as follows: “Have you ever been a Communist? … Have you ever attended a Communist party meeting? … Have you ever believed in Communism?” (k-state.edu). The interrogator asks the same questions over and over by just rephrasing a few words all the while frantically searching for a slight variation in the answers he receives. Similarly in The Crucible, John Proctor …show more content…
In the McCarthy Trials, that would be the Communists. In The Crucible, it is the witches. In David Ayman's interrogation by Roy Cohn, a certain question is asked that stands out, that defines what they are looking to blame something on: “Were any of those persons Communists?” (Ayman). The government is only searching for the Communists at this point so it looks like they've found the enemy, and that the public will have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately this will end in some persons getting falsely accused of Communism so that the government has a scapegoat to fall back on. Similarly shown in Act 4, Danforth asks Proctor a question that parallels the one before: “Did you ever see anyone with the Devil?” (140). The court is looking for more people to accuse. This can get out of hand and cause a spiderweb of falsely accused people which all have to die for a lost cause, which will in turn destroy the city from the
McCarthyism had a profound effect upon the American society, much as the witch trials did upon the people of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600's recounted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The manner of the interrogations is extremely similar in both situations. In McCarthy's interrogations, everyone is treated roughly in the same manner and accused wrongfully. Similarly in The Crucible, the accused are questioned repeatedly until they are broken. In Langston Hughes' interrogation, some of the questions he is asked are as follows: “Have you ever been a Communist? … Have you ever attended a Communist party meeting? … Have you ever believed in Communism?” (k-state.edu). The interrogator asks the same questions over and over by just rephrasing a few words all the while frantically searching for a slight variation in the answers he receives. Similarly in The Crucible, John Proctor …show more content…
In the McCarthy Trials, that would be the Communists. In The Crucible, it is the witches. In David Ayman's interrogation by Roy Cohn, a certain question is asked that stands out, that defines what they are looking to blame something on: “Were any of those persons Communists?” (Ayman). The government is only searching for the Communists at this point so it looks like they've found the enemy, and that the public will have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately this will end in some persons getting falsely accused of Communism so that the government has a scapegoat to fall back on. Similarly shown in Act 4, Danforth asks Proctor a question that parallels the one before: “Did you ever see anyone with the Devil?” (140). The court is looking for more people to accuse. This can get out of hand and cause a spiderweb of falsely accused people which all have to die for a lost cause, which will in turn destroy the city from the