Miller's Intentions In The Crucible And Communism

What were Millers Intentions in his writings? What was the message he was trying to convey? Well, Miller had intended 'The Crucible' to be a gateway in which he could share his view point on Communism; he wanted to let the world know the extreme numbers of people that were accusing each other of being Communist in the later part of the 1950's. However, Miller was aware that if he wrote directly on Communism it would not be published, due to people’s views on the subject, therefore he chose another event which had many parallels, for example, the extremity of accusations. This led him to write his views based upon the events of the Salem witch trials.
McCarthyism was the fear of communism which spread across America in the 1950's. The hysteria of the American citizens was due to the threat that communism would spread across the globe. This is when the paranoia began to start. During this period the FBI accused many people of communism, meaning that the accused suffered from job loss, and many of their lives, as they knew them, were destroyed. The movement took the name from the anti-communist leader Joseph McCarthy. Hence, McCarthyism. The late 1940s & 50s saw the increase of anti-communist sentiment throughout America which created a Red Scare, in which McCarthyism exploded, leading to the loss of many jobs particularly in the
entertainment industry. Here is where some of the Parallels I mentioned earlier come into play- McCarthy was delusional, as were the girls; with both sets of people making unsupported claims regarding the existence of evil without any solid proof to back up these claims. McCarthy's claims ruined lives and caused tension throughout America, similarly, the claims which the girls made in Salem increased hostility in the village. In both cases those accused were assumed guilty, put on trial and expected to confess leading to serious punishment; such as death in Salem and being blacklisted in 1950's America.
The media was unwilling to stand up to McCarthy for they feared being accused of being communists themselves, this links to Salem as the towns people lacked courage with regards to standing up in court as they also feared accusation. However, in this case it was the accusation of being named a witch and compacting with the devil, writing names in his book.
In the play ‘The Crucible’, Reverend Hale said that if the devil was amongst them, then it was their duty to get rid of him.
During the Second Red Scare, Senator Joseph McCarthy said, “Our job as Americans and as Republicans is to dislodge the traitors from every place where they've been sent to do their traitorous work (US History).” Apparently both the Reverend from ‘The Crucible’ and Senator Joseph McCarthy had the same idea of eradicating the evil and or traitors out of their societies, unlike the monstrous intentions of the girls in ‘the Crucible’ Reverend Hale and McCarthy both genuinely believed there was an evil amongst
themselves.
Going back to Miller, Arthur Miller was called before the House of Un-American Activities Committee, having been accused of being a communist, he was subsequently blacklisted, leading him to live in England where later this event would lead him to pen 'The Crucible'. A truly historic American relic. In a way, this all comes to play in our modern day society…well, kind of modern, kind of historic society… back on topic, this sounds very similar to the Modern Day Witch Hunt KKK. These people hold resentment towards people because they are insecure about their place in society, therefore, this insecurity is transferred into hatred towards people who are visually different to them, or hold beliefs which could be seen to go against their own, therefore they are perceived as a threat and must be taken out before any damage can be done. Like Abigail towards anyone around John Proctor that wasn’t herself.
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, was not just about the awful events that took place in Salem, and it definitely wasn’t just an expression. It was a tool used to show us Americans the mistakes of our ancestors, in hopes of preventing another relapse of the past, of how many lives were destroyed/obliterated over the hysteria that took place during those few horrid months.
Not only was Miller trying to express the similarities between the events that occurred during the Salem Witch Trials and the trails that happened during the Communist party hunt, The purpose behind ‘The Crucible’ was to open the eyes of those who have been blinded by the adrenaline induced panic of hysteria, he wanted everyone to know/ be made known to the truth behind the blacklist matter. It was all because some crazed maniac preached his insanities to the weak minded and gullible, pulling them to buy into his lies, convincing them to give up their brothers and mothers, even if wrongly accused, to keep their name clean. A man’s word was as good as his name back then, same as in ‘the crucible’ and if a man’s name is blushed, what good is his word to anyone?