Compare And Differences Of Mccarthyism And The Crucible
analytical Essay
968 words
Niam Mohseni Ms. Sussman English 2 October 26, 2014 McCarthyism and The Crucible Events have played out in history that made people realize the inhumane acts of people and the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era were two of them. The Salem witch trials in 1692 were almost 260 years before the McCarthy “witch hunts” in the 1950s yet there are similarities between them. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is about the Salem witch trials and is an allegory to the practicing of McCarthyism during the Second Red Scare in the United States, which Miller was a victim of. Although there may be differences between “The Crucible” and McCarthyism, ultimately the anger, lack of evidence, and the people were alike in both events. Anger …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the salem witch trials and the mccarthy era made people realize the inhumane acts of people. the crucible is an allegory to the practicing of mccarthyism during the second red scare.
- Analyzes how anger played a huge role in both mccarthyism and "the crucible." anger was used to get the other person in trouble.
- Compares how the crucible and mccarthyism thrived off of having no evidence to support the cases. the lack of evidence was why so many innocent people were convicted when it was obvious no harm was done.
- Analyzes how arthur miller wrote "the crucible" to criticize mccarthyism and everything happening with mccarthy. abigail williams has a distinct connection to joseph mccarthy as both are the main starters of both events.
- Analyzes how "the crucible" was written as an allegory to the era of mccarthyism and also to make fun of the system during the mccarthy period. it allowed for comparisons of anger, lack of evidence, and the people.
The lack of evidence was why so many innocent people were convicted when it was obvious no harm was done. Everyone who were “accused in The Crucible and those accused during the McCarthy hearings were found guilty with such little evidence” (Comparing the Crucible and the McCarthy Hearings). In “The Crucible” many false accusations can be seen throughout the play, but the major ones are at the beginning of play with numerous characters being accused including Sarah Good and Goody Osburn. The accusers are no other than the little girls who are accusing others for their own personal gain. The girls’ “unsubstantiated claims about the existence of witches in Salem” not only led to their own downfall but it also “[ruined] lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem” (Similarities between McCarthyism and The Crucible). The same lack of evidence plays out in McCarthyism. Joseph McCarthy came in during the 1950s when “it [was] obvious that America’s position in world affairs [was] seriously weakened” because it allowed him to gain people through peoples’ fears (Pg. 7 McCarthyism - The Fight for America). Since there were rumors of communists of America it “sparked a hunt that many backed because they were scared” and so even with the lack of evidence “everyone was willing to support it” just out of fear (Comparing the Crucible). McCarthy’s use of fear on the people also led to unsubstantiated …show more content…
Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” to criticize McCarthyism and everything happening with McCarthy. Miller made sure people who read the play can make a connection to the Salem witch hunts. Major characters in “The Crucible” have connections to major people during the McCarthy era. Abigail Williams has a distinct connection to Joseph McCarthy as both are the main starters of both events. Abigail went to accuse many people without any proof because she disliked them for her own personal gain. McCarthy also went to accuse many people without any proof which led to his personal gain, but it was off of anger towards the communists and not individuals. John Proctor and Arthur Miller are also two major people who are alike, as both of them criticized the court and were accused for being a witch or a communist. The two were convicted on false accusations but most importantly Proctor did not want to sell out his friends to the court, which Miller did the exact same with the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). Miller not selling out his friends to the HUAC was the reason for his conviction while Proctor not selling out his friends helped him see the truth in
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- Arthur Miller's Comparing of Similarities in The McCarthy Era and The Salem Witch Trials Illustrated in The Crucibleargumentative essay“She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it, I set myself entirely in your hands.” John Proctor says this to Danforth in the movie “The Crucible,” which is a fascinating, and disturbing story based on an important event in history. This event was the Salem Witch Trials. The author Arthur Miller wrote this story in response to the major event the McCarthy Era. The Crucible showed the similarities between the McCarthy Era and the Salem Witch Trials.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the movie "the crucible" shows the similarities between the mccarthy era and the salem witch trials.
- Explains that arthur miller was subpoenaed by the house un-american activities committee and refused to identify writers believed to hold communist sympathies. mccarthy's committee had so much power that just knowing someone suspected of having ties to the communist party was a danger.
- Describes the mccarthy era as a period of history that began in the late 1949s and ended in mid-late 1950s.
- Explains that people who cooperated with huac were cleansed from being called communists and cold return to their respectable society. invoking the fifth amendment allowed people to refuse to name names.
- Describes how the salem witch trials took place between 1692 and 1693 in colonial massachusetts. over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were executed.
- Describes how governor william phipps established the special court of oyer and terminer for the counties of suffolk, essex, and middlesex on may 27, 1692.
- Compares the crucible and the mccarthy era. both had people being accused for actions they did not commit. people were under pressure to reveal the secret sins of their friends and neighbors in both.
- Compares the similarities between "the crucible", salem witch trials, and the mccarthy era.
- Concludes arthur miller saw similarities in the mccarthy era and the salem witch trials, and portrayed them in "the crucible."
1005 wordsRead More - Parallels Between The Crucible and McCarthy Eraanalytical essayMany people look back on the events of the Salem witch trials and laugh at the absurdity of the allegations. It seems crazy that society could be fooled into believing in things like witches and deal with the events in such an extreme manner. It is a common belief that witch hunts are things of the past. Many people would agree that they no longer exist today; however Arthur Miller, author of the play, "The Crucible", points out that society has not come very far from the days of the Salem witch trials. In his play, he used the Salem witch trials to represent the McCarthy Era because he saw that the nation was facing the same events that Salem went through back in the late 1600's. Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" in an attempt to create moral awareness for society. He did so by making a few small changes to the history and creating parallels in the play with racism, human tendencies, and H.U.A.C.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft and signing on with the devil after being accused. the court believed that they would expiate their wrongdoings by confessing to the accusations and begging for forgiveness.
- Analyzes how miller made the events of the salem witch trials parallel to those that occurred during the 1950's.
- Analyzes how arthur miller created moral awareness for society through his play, "the crucible" by paralleling events from the past to those in the present.
- Analyzes how arthur miller used the salem witch trials to represent the mccarthy era. he created parallels in the play with racism, human tendencies, and h.u.a.c.
889 wordsRead More - Connecting McCarthyism and The Crucibleanalytical essayThe horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. People look back on these times and are appalled at how horrendous the times were; yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator from Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To express his outrage at McCarthy’s actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. mccarthy, a senator from wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists, paralleling the salem witch trials.
- Analyzes how miller targets mccarthy through the character of abigail williams in the crucible.
- Explains that abigail and mccarthy were not the only ones who lied during the salem witch trials.
- Explains miller, arthur, and kinsella's the crucible. prentice hall literature: timeless voices, themes.
- Opines that the red scare: mccarthyism is a free online article on health, science, education, and more.
- Analyzes how the salem witch trials and mccarthy hearings were an example of history repeating itself.
1363 wordsRead More - How The Crucible Is an Allegory for the McCarthy Eraanalytical essayA very famous man once said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933). This is certainly true when it comes to Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. 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 it uses situations such as the actual trials; direct comparisons of the characters in the book to those that participated in the McCarthy trials and, the atmosphere of the two events were almost identical.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how arthur miller's the crucible was an allegory devoted solely to mccarthyism. it told the story of the salem witch trials with some modifications to make it more relevant to the current situation.
- Analyzes how the crucible is an allegory to the mccarthy era because of the similarity in the way people were accused.
- Analyzes how proctor's innocent attempt to free his wife was a failure, and ultimately led to his arrest and death. people were accused based on here-say and often fake or irrelevant documents.
- Compares the mccarthy era and the crucible where the accused were forced to give names of the people who were participating with them.
- Analyzes how arthur miller wrote about a character in his novel named john proctor, who attempted to rebel against the courts that were persecuting all of the innocent people.
- Analyzes how arthur miller's play the crucible is a perfect allegory to the mccarthy era. the basis upon which the victims were persecuted, the strategy to lessen sentences, and the driving factor behind both conflicts are similar.
1001 wordsRead More - Tituba Crucibleanalytical essayArthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” in 1953. Miller wrote “The Crucible” because one of the most common issues in society is when an individual's freedom goes against the conformity of others. In “The Crucible” there were similarities to several investigations that had created fear and suspicion in American society. During the play there were several who were investigated because they created fear and suspicion among those who accused them of witchcraft. Many consider the play to be an attack on Joseph McCarthy, who had led all the series of investigations held in search to find communists that created fear and suspicion. However, “The Crucible” not only referred to the time period. Only because it has been a universal conflict. Witchcraft
In this essay, the author
- Explains that arthur miller wrote "the crucible" in 1953 because freedom goes against the conformity of others. the play was similar to investigations that created fear and suspicion in american society.
- Analyzes how reverend parris was responsible for the confusion situation in salem. he had been stalking his daughter and niece abigail long enough to come to a belief that they were part of the witchcraft ritual.
- Argues that tituba was the person most responsible for the confusion of witchcraft situation in salem by the end of act one in "the crucible".
796 wordsRead More - Mass Hysteriaanalytical essayThe play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller was written in response to McCarthyism in the 1950’s. In 1692 and 1693 the Salem witch trials took place in Salem Massachusetts. Girls believed to be involved in witchcraft were responsible for these trials. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s senator McCarthy came to office. Senator McCarthy and some of his allies were responsible for hysteria in the United States of America in the 1950’s. The scare was also in result of a communist scare after World War II and leading to the cold war. The behavior of the people of the Salem witch trials and Americans in the 19050’s resulted in a big scare in reaction to hysteria.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the play "the crucible" by arthur miller was written in response to mccarthyism in the 1950's.
- Analyzes how mccarthy was elected to the senate after becoming a lawyer in wisconsin. his list of communists was investigated by the fbi and his friend j. edgar hoover.
- Analyzes how the house of un-american activities committee created black lists of people who were believed to be communists based on no solid information that the us government really had.
- Explains that hysteria in salem massachusetts was created by young girls who believed that they were under the influence of witchcraft.
- Analyzes how hysteria broke apart families like the family of john proctor. mccarthyism and the salem witch trials both resulted in corruption and destruction of people's lives.
1218 wordsRead More - Hysteria in The Crucible by Arthur Miller and in the Red Scareanalytical essayThe Crucible is paralleled directly to the Salem Witch Trials and indirectly to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950’s. The story of The Crucible takes place against the background of the Salem Witch, trials but the themes lie much deeper. The main themes expressed in The Crucible relate to the events that occurred at both the Salem Witch Trials and during the McCarthy era. At the Salem Witch Trials, one hundred fifty people were accused of practicing witchcraft and nineteen of those were convicted and executed. The evidence against these people was hardly substantial. At the McCarthy hearings, thousands of people were “blacklisted.” Anyone who tried to oppose the accusations was also viewed as a Communist. No one was convicted due to the more advanced legal system; still, that did not erase the fear that was instilled by the allegations.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that hysteria is a state of intense agitation, anxiety, or excitement manifested by large groups or segments of society.
- Analyzes how the crucible parallels the salem witch trials and the mccarthy hearings of the 1950's. the main themes expressed in the story relate to the events that occurred at both.
- Explains that salem, massachusetts was in a state of unrest in 1692. the farming families in the western part wanted to split from the town, creating individualism and taking away from puritanism.
- Explains that the children of salem did not have many forms of entertainment, especially during the winter. they formed a circle led by tituba, slave of reverend parris.
- Explains that witchcraft was frowned upon in the puritan code. it was a grave sin because it denied the supremacy of god. betty and abigail wished to take the focus off themselves.
- Explains that the first three to be accused were tituba, sarah good, and sarah osborne. they were easy targets because of their low social status and lack of church attendance.
- Opines that a little fear, panic, and wild teenagers can create widespread hysteria and make this society cause its own downfall.
- Compares the mccarthy hearings to the salem witch trials, in which americans abhorred communism and the possibility of them overthrowing the american government.
- Describes the people who ingrained dread and antipathy towards communists in the minds of americans.
- Explains that mccarthy, and all others involved in the anticommunist movement, believed that all communists act a certain way. this stereotype broadened the horizons and made it much easier to seek out and accuse
- Narrates how mccarthy was desperate and scrambled for names. he accused anyone who supported the war effort or was involved with china.
- Analyzes the themes of the salem witch trials and mccarthy hearings. proctor's strongest moment is when he denies his confession and refuses to give in to hysteria.
- Explains that hysteria can take over a society in seconds and there is hardly anything anyone can do to stop it.
- Cites miller, arthur, robinson, enders a. the devil discovered: salem witchcraft 1692, new york: penguin books, 1991.
1670 wordsRead More - Few people are willing to stand up to the overwhelming power of authority, especially during a time like the Red scare. Hardly any authors are able to recognize meaningful similarities between the present times and an event that happened many years ago—and write about it effectively. Only one has had the courage and intelligence to do both. Arthur Miller was an American author who wrote plays, essays, and stories and has published works dating from to 1936 through 2004. The Crucible, one of his most famous plays, premiered in New York on January 22, 1953 (InfoTrac). It is a historical-fiction story set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The witch hunt described in this play is similar to the Red Scare, an anti-communist movement led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1950s (Broudin). During both time periods, most people respected high authority while a few dissenters challenged conformist views. The public was censored in what they could say because of the fear of being accused of witchcraft or communism. The hysteria of the times triggered a mob-mentality to emerge among the citizens, which influenced nearly everyone to join the terrible movements. Miller presents all of these ideas in The Crucible using his own experiences as influences. He incorporated many of his own traits into the characters’ dispositions. He also described many situations in the play that were similar to the ones he was in, including how he was censored by the Red Scare. Many people will often conform while only a few will challenge authority, will use censorship to prevent others from expressing their views, and are easily affected by hysteria; these characteristics influenced Miller’s life and are reflected by him in Th...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how arthur miller's the crucible is a historical-fiction story set in salem, massachusetts in 1692. he incorporated many of his own traits into the characters' dispositions.
- Explains that miller's traits are similar to those of john proctor, a major character in the crucible.
- Compares miller, proctor, and giles corey in the crucible. miller was expelled from a script-writing project in new york because he had communist relations.
- Analyzes how proctor confessed to witchcraft to save his own life, but did not name others whom he had seen with the devil.
- Explains that most people living during the mccarthy era or witch hunts respected their superiors, but rebels were willing to challenge the powerful regardless of the consequences.
- Analyzes how miller and the people of salem were limited in what they could say and do because of the situations they were in. miller wrote a screenplay called the hook, which featured communists as the protagonists.
- Analyzes how the people of salem were censored by the witch hunts. only a few characters spoke out against them because the consequences were too great.
- Analyzes how miller and the nonconformists of salem lived in a frenzied environment. the people around them were not willing to listen to their ideas, beliefs, or opinions.
- Explains the similarities between the mccarthy era and the crucible. hysteria was prominent during both times. the mob mentality during the red scare caused the unyielding spread of anticommunists in america.
- Analyzes how jealousy drove both the witch hunts and the red scare. in the crucible, abigail grew jealous of john proctor's wife, elizabeth, and worked up a charm to kill her.
- Explains that spectral evidence was used to accuse and convict suspects in both time periods. in the crucible, projected fear and hidden guilt prevented characters from drawing simple and logical conclusions.
- Compares how the salem and huac courts were similar. both courts encouraged an accused person to name other offenders.
- Analyzes how miller's life paralleled the crucible in many ways. the red scare affected miller in the same way the witch hunts affected the people of salem.
1501 wordsRead More - At one point in time, it was socially acceptable to accuse someone of a crime of act of social intolerance, without evidence for any selfish need desirable. McCarthyism began, and ended in the 1950s, in which people practiced events of accusing people for selfish motives; the phenomenon lead by the senate Joseph McCarthy. No one dared to speak against him, because if they did they were suspiciously silenced. An event that corresponds McCarthyism previously happened in the 17th century in American history. The Salem Witch Trials depicted in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible parallel McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the 1950s because of seizing of personal belongings, paranoid accusations, and the individuals
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mccarthyism began and ended in the 1950s, when people practiced events of accusing people for selfish motives. the salem witch trials depicted in arthur miller’s the crucible parallel mccarthy and the red scare.
- Analyzes how mccarthyism was a corrupted system as were the salem witch trials, and how giles corey chose to be crushed to death and still have his property.
- Compares how mccarthy manipulated the fear of the red scare to favor him, while proctor created a paper that just said things without proof that could be validated.
728 wordsRead More - Free Essays on The Crucible by Arthur Milleranalytical essayArthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, lived during the Red Scare, which was anti-Communist as the Salem witch trials were anti-witches. The whole book is a symbol of two events that happened in history. The Red Scare and McCarthyism both serve as symbols of the Salem witch trials, which makes it an allegory. Although the play is based off of the witch trials during seventeenth century New England, the author meant for it to address his concern for the Red Scare in an indirect way. For example, just like the witch trials accusing people of witchcraft, Americans during the Red Scare accused others of being pro-Communist. The same widespread paranoia occurred as a result.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the salem witch trials were a time in history where mass hysteria resulted in role-reversals in all parts of society.
- Explains that women did not gain suffrage rights until the twentieth century. the witch trials showed that in the middle of hysteria and an inverted society, the unthinkable could happen.
- Explains the meaning of a crucible in the play. it signifies the people of salem that were being pressured by hell, or the devil.
- Analyzes how elizabeth proctor and abigail serve as foils for each other in the crucible.
- Analyzes how arthur miller, of the crucible, lived during the red scare, which was anti-communist as the salem witch trials were antiwitches.
- Analyzes how john proctor experiences a moral dilemma at the end of the book when he must decide whether to lie and live, or tell the truth and die.
600 wordsRead More