Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible? Arthur Miller was a playwright and a political activist speaking up addressing societal issues. The Crucible, published in 1953 by Arthur Miller is a very popular book written about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Miller was tried and accused of being a communist sympathizer. The new decision led to a cyclone of accusations because people realized the possibility of their condemnation regardless they were guilty or innocent. At the beginning of the play, experts of witchcraft and holiness are brought into question the cause of the girls in the state of comas. To begin with, The Crucible is an allegory because the plot of the book closely resembles the events that occurred during the Red Scare. In The Crucible Proctor is accused of doing devil's work, but he made it clear that, He wants his life, and He will have his life. The Crucible and McCarthyism were alike on this situation because if they confessed they would not die but if they didnt they would. One example of Abigail's villainy is the scene where her cousin, Betty Parris yells about Abigail having drank blood in the forest. Pay the writer only for a finished, plagiarism-free essay that meets all your requirements. Another example of allegory in the play is the lives ruined in the book by the trails are similar to the people whose lives were also ruined due to McCarthyism. The Crucible is an allegory to the Red Scare and the McCarthy era drastically by its plot, characters, and the flow and outcome of the court trials. As people in Salem were accused of witchcraft and brought before the tribunal, they were asked to confess their guilt and name the other people in town who also participated with them in dark rituals. Our writers can help you with any type of essay. However, in the end of the play, the audience should feel pensive about, The Crucible, a phenomenon play, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory to the McCarthy Trials of the 1950s. All rights reserved. Many helped that system by untrue confessions to save their lives. The crucible was a tragedy because almost the whole town was accused of being a witch or having dolls in their homes which made then think they were doing something with the dolls to harm someone else. The Crucible Study Guide 2022-10-26. I have no tongue for itI have three children, how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?Because it is my name! The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the true events of the Salem witch trials. US Senator Joseph McCarthy entered the spotlight by accusing members of the State Department to be communists. 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. Arthur Miller was soon later accused by the McCarthy led HUAC. In the 1940s to the 1950s, America was extremely concerned about the rise of Communism throughout Europe and China. Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Similarities are shown between McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials in the way Senator McCarthy gained power and control by inducing fear and hatred of communists in America, comparable to the fear and hatred of witches in the late 1600s. During the red scare people were so afraid of communism, they would give away their rights as humans to let the government to find the communists and in you read books, eh is a prime example of the propaganda and hysteria that went on during the red scare just in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller when all the girls start to act bewitched and start to lie about how whos doing it to try to gain power in the eye of society in Salem and in many ways they did. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. The Crucible, published in 1953 by Arthur Miller is a very popular book written about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. An allegory refers to the story that possesses an obvious meaning but with other hidden connotations. In 1956, when Miller applied for a new passport, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify about his activities related to communism. Slideshow 3196964 by amber Specify your topic, deadline, number of pages and other requirements. Miller explains the McCarthy trials through The Crucible by teaching peoples fears, faults, and politics, making the text both a metaphor to the trials and an allegory. I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (Abigail, Act 1, pg 45) This quote exemplifies how Abigail just used the townspeoples beliefs and a backed expert of the situation to convince everyone that she was innocent. Explore how Arthur Miller's play ''The Crucible'' is an allegory for McCarthyism and accusations of communist sympathies. In The Crucible, people assumed guilty if someone said they were guilty of witchcraft. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. What is a quote said by John Proctor in Act 3 in which he reveals his sin of adultery? In an allegory the character,events, and instances(Definition of Allegory R104). lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. The varying intensity of this emotion can cause people to act or react in ways that may be unusual. Miller wrote The Crucible as a symbolized declaration of his feelings during the period of McCarthyism. Arthur Millers purpose of writing The Crucible was due to the close resemblance between the Salem Witch-trails and McCarthyism. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. Miller published this play in 1953, after feeling the effects of McCarthyism during the 1950s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Miller expresses important messages Make sure your essay is plagiarism-free or hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. Miller, among others, refused to surrender to questioning. Various forms of propaganda advertised fears, causing panic to spread throughout the country. Some reputations were never repaired. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. The McCarthy Hearings that took place in the 1950's are a good example of this. There are many proven facts that some of the story is not true to the real life events and this confuses many people because Arthur Miller makes his characters so vivid and actually used the real names of the people that were in the trials(Salem Witch Museum). I feel like its a lifeline. [Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism]. I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus!I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! In the play John Proctor questions why the accusers were not suspected, Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, when Senator Joseph McCarthy accused dozens of people who worked for the US government of being communist infiltrators, without any evidence. I dare not step outside at night! This quote shows that Parris is not concerned with the hanging of the accused individuals who are not as respected, nor is he concerned with his supposed mission to banish all evil from Salem. A famous man once said, There is nothing to fear but fear Miller felt a state of depression as he wrote in the New Yorker, The Crucible was an act of desperation. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! (Proctor, Act 2, pg. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in the Cold War. One of the plays main antagonists, Deputy Governor Danforth, oversees the witch trials and refuses to end them until everyone who he believes is guilty is punished. The novel can also be classified as an example of an allegory. The Crucible was written as an allegory to McCarthyism, a US government-backed campaign to uncover alleged Communists spearheaded by Senator McCarthy. The belief of the integration of Communist spies into the country made the government question the loyalty of Americans. In the early 1950s, Americans became fearful that their friends, neighbors, or co-workers might be communists attempting to undermine American democracy and spread communism throughout the world. In 1951, as playwright Arthur Miller watched these communist "witch hunts" play out in the government and even among his friends in the entertainment industry, he felt compelled to write a play that captured the hysteria of the moment. I have given you my soul; leave me my name! (Proctor, Act 4, pg 130-133). Women are able to attain this power through using their intellect to express manipulation, and lying in order to receive attention that translates into power. Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Although, many people that were condemned werent actually apart of the Communist Party, (under McCarthyism around 1950-1954) they got blacklisted or lost their jobs. When Miller wrote The Crucible, it was his way of expressing himself and how he felt during the McCarthy Era. Similar to Arthur Millers book, the Red Scare was a period of time in the late 40s and 50s in which United States citizens were intensely paranoid of an opposing threat of communism in Eastern Europe and Asia and ultimately communists infiltrating the United States. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy Era because, The Crucible and McCarthyism 45) This quote shows how Abigail took advantage of the position she was placed in and used hysteria to fuel suspicions. This expresses how much a good reputation is for this time as one mistake that may not even be true can soil (Reverend Parris Act1 P.20). However, we have not only repeated it on various occasions, but through Arthur Miller's The Crucible, we also see the parallel of the event with the Salem Witch hunts that took place years before the hearings. In addition. People were left questioning their rights and safety due to the second Red Scare, which threatened the coming of power of communism within America. The hysteria induced by the thought that witches were in Salem spread throughout the community like a disease. Events like the people who were hanged, and people were accused of being witches were similar to blacklisted, The Crucible Analysis Paper Shortly after the beginning of the Red Scare, a phenomenon which is known as McCarthyism appeared and shaped American politics. The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. An overwhelming fear of the an insidious influx of communist doctrines, hidden beneath the very fabric of the U.S. society, made people fearful and paranoid: none more than Senator Joseph McCarthy. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, John Proctor dealt with the corruption of power in his town when Abigail Williams and many other girls accused those, who were innocent, of witchcraft. A type of government based on religious believes. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the witch hunt for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. Although Miller literally wrote about the Salem witch trials, his purpose was to describe the McCarthy trials which teaches many ideas about human life both generally and regarding politics. WebThe Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism. This began the McCarthy Era, where government workers, artists/actors, and innocent people were accused. Evidence suggests that Miller contributed articles to American Communist Party publications and some of his political beliefs were evident in his plays. This essay was written by a fellow student. His investigation, which came to be known as McCarthyism, whipped people into a frenzy, lobbing accusations at anyone who disagreed with his conservative viewpoints. Intolerance is closely tied to communism and witchcraft, leading to the arrest and sentencing of innocent people. He is just concerned about his well being. The practices were paralleled in what is known as McCarthyism, which did much the same thing, except this time, children did not control the madness: Senator McCarthy and his "minions" carried on a twentieth century witch hunt. When Abby tries to tell her to never say that, Betty replies by saying, "You did, you did! McCarthyism in the 1950s was a panic-driven search for communists and communist sympathizers in America. This fear, known as the Red Scare, led some Americans to believe that communists would take over America and replace its government with communism. Senator McCarthy accused many people of being part of the communist party. Allegory: a story that is used to represent specific ideas or principles. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically being either moral, used in The Crucible is allegory. By definition, an allegory is a something that has a hidden or symbolic meaning. The characters of Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris both symbolize choosing good for one as opposed to choosing the good for the group. An allegory is an extended metaphor in which the characters or objects in the story represent an outside meaning. WebEssay SampleCheck Writing Quality. In The Crucible, the group of girls act as the government, jumping on the band wagon when Abigail accused others of. The Crucible as Allegory. To conclude, in the 1940s to the 1950s, the Red Scare prompted US Senator Joseph McCarthy to accuse people to be communists. So some people will do anything, by any means, to be reputable, this allows their word to be trusted and true. McCarthyism, as Miller himself said, is the backdrop for the play, but is not its theme. How may I live without my name? One way in [] Find Free Essays There were definitely Communists in 1950s America, especially in the Massachusetts bay Area of New England where Salem would have been found, but there was no proof of any real witches or devil-worshipersThe Salem Witch Trials was Millers area of Study as an undergraduate when at the University of Michigan. A Major Role in the Crucible John Proctor, John Proctors Pride in the Play the Crucible, The Crucible as an Allegory to McCarthyism, The Crucible as an Allegory of the Witch Trial, Differences between the Crucible Movie and the Play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller: how Abigail Williams Abused her Power, One of the Main Characters in the Play The Crucible. In salem the accused were communist and the accusers are McCarthyists. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. One particular element from the historical account caught Miller's attention and led to the conflict between the central characters in the play. Miller's use of the Salem witch trials to highlight the panic of the Red Scare is an allegory. Rough Draft Arthur Miller experienced many hardships through the 1950s where he was accused by the HUAC and McCarthy to be a communist sympathizer. Kerry has been a teacher and an administrator for more than twenty years. This allowed people to get rid of a person and take their job or property. Characters like John Proctor, Abigail William and Hathorne represent Arthur Miller, Joseph McCarthy, and J.Edgar Hoover. Specifically, Miller drew a connection between the unsubstantiated accusations of communist sympathizers under McCarthyism and the accusations thrown around during the Salem witch trials. This quote shows how when Proctor was asked to confess and name others to save his life, he confessed himself but refused to accuse others so he could live, his wife understood his noble sacrifice and fulfilled his wish to be an honorable man. [See this link for an example of an extended metaphor in the epitaph Ben Franklin originally wanted on his gravestone. Miller, creator of The Crucible was blacklisted, and accused of being a communist along with many other entertainers (Arthur Miller). Abigail and a number of the other girls in town are seen common dancing as the girls claim, when they were actually casting spells and love potions. An allegory is an artistic work or piece of writing that tells one story on the surface but represents a different set of events and teaches a moral or political lesson about those events. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. Abigail has a growing jealousy and rage toward John's wife Elizabeth. The Crucible is about the Salem Witch Trials,show more content This act, written by Senator Pat McCarren, one of McCarthy's supporters, required that any organization that was determined to be communist had to register with the Justice Department, made it a felony to try and establish a dictatorship in the United States, and gave the government the ability to arrest anyone whom the president believed to be a spy or a saboteur. 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