Unmasking the Iron Veil
Unmasking the Iron Veil
The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are two very different time periods in which the persecution of others, based on religion or party affiliation, happened. These two eras occurred two centuries apart, yet both are very similar. The constant fear and chattering of rumors induced hysteria and paranoia within both societies. It makes you wonder if we, as a society, can accept others who are not described as normal? Or can we even accept those who are different and not judge them at all? In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, you can see the resemblance between two time periods. The historical content within the book presents two different time courses that caused plenty of trouble for many people because of hysteria and paranoia that spread through society. Through the literary devices theme, characterization and symbolism, we can see the parallels between the two historical ages, within the book The Crucible. The Crucible was written in 1953 as a play to disguise the political message of McCarthyism. Miller was the scapegoat like many others during the Salem Witch Trial; he was accused of being a communist during the time of the Cold War. Thus, this was his reasoning to hide the message of persecution, due to his party affiliation within the book.
Lust, greed, envy, gluttony, pride, anger, and slot; sounds familiar? It should; those are the seven deadly sins. The theme of sins and secrets is manifested throughout The Crucible. The sins are what drove the people of Salem to accuse their neighbors and people they had known for years. However, sins alone did not influence the paranoia; the addition of secrets induced the hysteria and paranoia. In The Crucible, John Proctor and Abigail Williams commit a very grave sin, adultery. Adultery is considered to be lust because you are lusting for another person other than your significant other. Proctor and Abigail do just that, both committed adultery and caused the entire hysteria to
The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are two very different time periods in which the persecution of others, based on religion or party affiliation, happened. These two eras occurred two centuries apart, yet both are very similar. The constant fear and chattering of rumors induced hysteria and paranoia within both societies. It makes you wonder if we, as a society, can accept others who are not described as normal? Or can we even accept those who are different and not judge them at all? In the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, you can see the resemblance between two time periods. The historical content within the book presents two different time courses that caused plenty of trouble for many people because of hysteria and paranoia that spread through society. Through the literary devices theme, characterization and symbolism, we can see the parallels between the two historical ages, within the book The Crucible. The Crucible was written in 1953 as a play to disguise the political message of McCarthyism. Miller was the scapegoat like many others during the Salem Witch Trial; he was accused of being a communist during the time of the Cold War. Thus, this was his reasoning to hide the message of persecution, due to his party affiliation within the book.
Lust, greed, envy, gluttony, pride, anger, and slot; sounds familiar? It should; those are the seven deadly sins. The theme of sins and secrets is manifested throughout The Crucible. The sins are what drove the people of Salem to accuse their neighbors and people they had known for years. However, sins alone did not influence the paranoia; the addition of secrets induced the hysteria and paranoia. In The Crucible, John Proctor and Abigail Williams commit a very grave sin, adultery. Adultery is considered to be lust because you are lusting for another person other than your significant other. Proctor and Abigail do just that, both committed adultery and caused the entire hysteria to