The Crucible Research Paper
The Crucible Research Paper “I remember calling a person [in infectious diseases] to describe what was occurring. He said - and this was a theme very early on - 'I don 't know what you 're making such a big deal of it for. If it kills a few of them off, it will make society a better place”(“History of HIV & AIDS in the U.S”.). This was how many people felt about homosexuals during the AIDS breakout in the 1980s. Society has not treated the homosexual minority with the same respect that they would treat any other person. There was a lot of discrimination against homosexual people at the time. This discrimination was due to the views of public and authority figures, along with the fear of the unknown and outsiders. Many times fear causes
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In The Crucible, the unknown was the unexplainable evil happening in the town of Salem. People could not determine some of the illnesses, so they were automatically associated with witchcraft. The witches were the outsiders in The Crucible. Many people of the town had a fear of the witches who were the outsiders; for example, in The Crucible, characters like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse were separated from their families after they were accused of being witches. This separation was because of the fear of the outsiders. Witches were considered the devil’s children, and people thought that being around a witch could make them also turn to the dark side; therefore, witches were separated from the rest of society. Just as witchcraft was the outsider and the evil was the unknown in the Salem witch trials, during the AIDS breakout in the 1980s, AIDS was the unknown. At the time, AIDS was a new disease that had spread quickly. “By 1982 the condition had acquired a number of names - GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), ‘gay cancer’, ‘community-acquired immune dysfunction’ and ‘gay compromise syndrome” (“History of HIV and AIDS in the U.S.”). Most people at the time who were getting AIDS were homosexuals, so people automatically assumed that it was a gay disease. Doctors had theories of how this disease was spread and where it came from, but they had no proof. The people were fearful of the disease, especially because there was no cure and people were dying fast. Homosexuals were the outsiders, and many people feared them. At the time, homosexuality was considered abnormal in society, causing people in society to fear homosexuals even more. Obviously, the way people automatically connected witchcraft with all the evil in Salem and AIDS with homosexuals shows that the people fear the outsider, and look
In The Crucible, the unknown was the unexplainable evil happening in the town of Salem. People could not determine some of the illnesses, so they were automatically associated with witchcraft. The witches were the outsiders in The Crucible. Many people of the town had a fear of the witches who were the outsiders; for example, in The Crucible, characters like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse were separated from their families after they were accused of being witches. This separation was because of the fear of the outsiders. Witches were considered the devil’s children, and people thought that being around a witch could make them also turn to the dark side; therefore, witches were separated from the rest of society. Just as witchcraft was the outsider and the evil was the unknown in the Salem witch trials, during the AIDS breakout in the 1980s, AIDS was the unknown. At the time, AIDS was a new disease that had spread quickly. “By 1982 the condition had acquired a number of names - GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), ‘gay cancer’, ‘community-acquired immune dysfunction’ and ‘gay compromise syndrome” (“History of HIV and AIDS in the U.S.”). Most people at the time who were getting AIDS were homosexuals, so people automatically assumed that it was a gay disease. Doctors had theories of how this disease was spread and where it came from, but they had no proof. The people were fearful of the disease, especially because there was no cure and people were dying fast. Homosexuals were the outsiders, and many people feared them. At the time, homosexuality was considered abnormal in society, causing people in society to fear homosexuals even more. Obviously, the way people automatically connected witchcraft with all the evil in Salem and AIDS with homosexuals shows that the people fear the outsider, and look