What Are The Similarities Between Mccarthyism And The Crucible
In a way, McCarthyism is similar to the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Although the actions taken against suspected communists were not as strict as those during the Salem witch trials, they were still vicious and shattered many reputations of well-liked men and women. This also occurred during 1692 and 1693, the years of the witch trials. There were many differences and similarities between these two topics. The death penalty was the number one difference, along with the after effects of these events and their logic during the time of the occurrences. The similarities were greed and self-preservation. It also gave many an excuse to act on personal grudges bore with one another. The death penalty was highly popular during the
witch trials. Twenty people were killed during this time. Nineteen of the accused were hanged, while one man was pressed to death for refusing to confess or make false accusations against others. While McCarthyism had the same basic layout, it did not involve the killing of suspected communists in contrast to the trials. It did, however, publicly shame those who were convicted and confessed. Similarly, many of the accused gave names of others, often those irrelevant to the crimes to take a large portion of the attention off of themselves and sought revenge towards their rivals and enemies. During the time of the trials, they were strictly religious. They also did not have the experience, nor understanding of the world around them. Their court systems were not fully developed, and their community was shadowed by mostly loathing, greed, and self-preservation. In The Crucible, when the Proctors learn Elizabeth has been suspected of witchcraft by Abigail Williams, Elizabeth tells John, “Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now—I am sure she does—and thinks to kill me, then to take my place.” (Miller 921) Abigail envies Elizabeth’s marriage to John and believes if she can get her out of the picture, she may take her place.
witch trials. Twenty people were killed during this time. Nineteen of the accused were hanged, while one man was pressed to death for refusing to confess or make false accusations against others. While McCarthyism had the same basic layout, it did not involve the killing of suspected communists in contrast to the trials. It did, however, publicly shame those who were convicted and confessed. Similarly, many of the accused gave names of others, often those irrelevant to the crimes to take a large portion of the attention off of themselves and sought revenge towards their rivals and enemies. During the time of the trials, they were strictly religious. They also did not have the experience, nor understanding of the world around them. Their court systems were not fully developed, and their community was shadowed by mostly loathing, greed, and self-preservation. In The Crucible, when the Proctors learn Elizabeth has been suspected of witchcraft by Abigail Williams, Elizabeth tells John, “Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now—I am sure she does—and thinks to kill me, then to take my place.” (Miller 921) Abigail envies Elizabeth’s marriage to John and believes if she can get her out of the picture, she may take her place.