The witch Trials
The Witch Trials and McCarthyism
There is little symbolism within The Crucible, but, in its entirety, the play can be seen as symbolic of the paranoia about communism that pervaded America in the 1950s. Several parallels exist between the House Un-American Activities Committee’s rooting out of suspected communists during this time and the seventeenth-century witch-hunt that Miller depicts in The Crucible, including the narrow-mindedness, excessive zeal, and disregard for the individuals that characterize the government’s effort to stamp out a perceived social ill. Further, as with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess their crimes and to “name names,” identifying others sympathetic to their radical cause. Some have criticized Miller for oversimplifying matters, in that while there were (as far as we know) no actual witches in Salem, there were certainly Communists in 1950s America. However, one can argue that Miller’s concern in The Crucible is not with whether the accused actually are witches, but rather with the unwillingness of the court officials to believe that they are not. In light of McCarthyist excesses, which wronged many innocents, this parallel was felt strongly in Miller’s own time.
Miller created sympathy towards Proctor by effectively portraying Proctor’s Character development. Initially Proctor felt extremely guilty as he viewed him self as an unfaithful and an immoral sinner and tried to hide his past and his flaws. This was shown when he confronted Abigail about their affair and said “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of my mind. We never touched.” Miller also illustrated Proctors feelings through fire imagery when Proctor said to Danforth “God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!” These dialogues both portrayed Proctor’s regret and feelings about his evil actions and created sympathy towards him. Slowly Proctor began to change. He
There is little symbolism within The Crucible, but, in its entirety, the play can be seen as symbolic of the paranoia about communism that pervaded America in the 1950s. Several parallels exist between the House Un-American Activities Committee’s rooting out of suspected communists during this time and the seventeenth-century witch-hunt that Miller depicts in The Crucible, including the narrow-mindedness, excessive zeal, and disregard for the individuals that characterize the government’s effort to stamp out a perceived social ill. Further, as with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess their crimes and to “name names,” identifying others sympathetic to their radical cause. Some have criticized Miller for oversimplifying matters, in that while there were (as far as we know) no actual witches in Salem, there were certainly Communists in 1950s America. However, one can argue that Miller’s concern in The Crucible is not with whether the accused actually are witches, but rather with the unwillingness of the court officials to believe that they are not. In light of McCarthyist excesses, which wronged many innocents, this parallel was felt strongly in Miller’s own time.
Miller created sympathy towards Proctor by effectively portraying Proctor’s Character development. Initially Proctor felt extremely guilty as he viewed him self as an unfaithful and an immoral sinner and tried to hide his past and his flaws. This was shown when he confronted Abigail about their affair and said “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of my mind. We never touched.” Miller also illustrated Proctors feelings through fire imagery when Proctor said to Danforth “God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!” These dialogues both portrayed Proctor’s regret and feelings about his evil actions and created sympathy towards him. Slowly Proctor began to change. He