The Crucible and McCarthyism Arthur Miller lived through the Red Scare‚ also known as McCarthyism. After living through this era and being one of the accused communists Miller wrote the book titled The Crucible in 1952. This book told the story of the Salem witch trials with some modifications to make it more relevant to the current situation. The book ultimately became an allegory devoted solely to McCarthyism. In The Crucible uses situations such as the actual trials‚ direct comparisons from
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The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692‚ the seventeenth century and McCarthyism took place in 1948 between 1956‚ the mid twentieth century. These two proceedings are known as two of the greatest mass tragedies in America. The Crucible is an allegory of McCarthyism or in other words the second Red Scare. During McCarthyism the United States was petrified of Communists influence. Many people in both the Crucible and McCarthyism who feared the court provided names of suspects in an attempt to save
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McCarthyism and the Salem Witch trials. Mrs. Tolins March 2‚ 2013 During the 1950’s McCarthyism arose as paranoia about communism in the United States. McCarthyism named after Senator Joseph McCarthy is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty‚ subversion‚ or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative
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The world at the present is always the inspiration of a work. This idea is manifested in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He incorporates the political drama of the era into the play about the Salem Witch Trials. Therefore‚ The Crucible is a mirror image of the McCarthyism that occurred during the 1950s. This fact is reflected through the various connections in characters‚ themes. First‚ there are characters in the play which represent the actual people involved and affected by the McCarthy era.
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McCarthyism is defined as the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques‚ especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism." This was used in the Cold War by U.S. Senator McCarthy to try and eliminate communists in the United States. It was used with little evidence‚ and it was in itself a witch hunt like those described in “The Crucible”
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as “The political practise of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insignificant regard to evidence.” Arthur Millers ‘The Crucible’ is an extended metaphor representing the parallels between the Salem witch-hunts and accusations of communism during the McCarthyism era. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in response to the unwarranted persecution of many Americans‚ who were accused of communist ties or associating with Communist
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an arms race‚ cryptology‚ and national efforts by the civilian population. One of the national efforts was the creation of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings into the depth of the American Communist Party. Arthur Miller uses his play The Crucible as an allegory for the McCarthy Hearings through characters‚ and events that take place in the play. Much like the persecution that perceived communists endured during the McCarthy investigations‚ the people in the town of Salem‚ Massachusetts endured
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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the audience is supplied with an array of varying characters. Arthur Miller effectively categorizes the characters of the play into two juxtaposing categories; the accusers‚ and the accused. The accusers are led by the antagonist of the play‚ Abigail Williams‚ whereas the accused are led by the protagonist of the play‚ John Proctor. The audience sympathizes with John Proctor not only because he has been falsely accused‚ but also because he is a representation of the
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Vivien Fletcher Mrs. Wagoner English 11 Block 2 3 October 2012 Fear Makes People Crazy Fear can cause people to overreact and lose all rational thinking. The evidence for this statement is found in the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism. The 1692‚ Abigail Williams and a group of girls turned the town of Salem upside down in a fear driven witch hunt. The girls accused innocent people of being witches in order to avoid getting in trouble for dancing in the woods. Fear of being accused of witchery
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period of time was known for McCarthyism--a time of extreme anticommunism‚ lead by Senator Joseph McCarthy (McCarthyism). The United States pledged to contain the spread of communism globally‚ as well as locally‚ and did what it could to keep this promise. Americans began to fear that communism was leaking into the media‚ government‚ arts‚ schools‚ and other areas. This was called the "Red Scare" (Brinkley). One writer that used this era as a basis for his play‚ The Crucible‚ was Arthur Miller. He was
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