The Witch Hunt in The Crucible and During the Time of McCarthyism

‘The Crucible’ is written about the witchcraft trials in Salem in 1692, it is a story full of many emotional themes, these are fear, redemption, hysteria and a choice between what is believed to be good and bad. In 1692, Puritans in Salem were in a period of suspicion and fear. People were making accusations of people conducting witchcraft due to a group of people seen dancing in the woods, this is seen as worship to the devil. These witch hunts destroyed the innocent and corrupted the accusers, the law made it impossible to find justice. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy had a frenzied leadership in America.

The Red Scare led to people being accused of communist beliefs being fired with no proof (Schrecker 1051). The scariest part was that communism was illegal so those people falsely accused would go to court and the Supreme Court would go along with the accusations (Schrecker 1053). This scare led to an anti-communist movement, or McCarthyism as it is sometimes referred to as. McCarthyism was in the 1950’s and was calling out communism (Decter 54). A senator named Joseph McCarthy came into the light of the anti-communist movement in 1950 (Schrecker 1050).

McCarthyism as Modern Witch Hunts McCarthyism: The Real "Witch Hunts" Some people nowadays may consider the government, or some of its agencies, corrupt. Today's scenario is nothing compared to that of McCarthyism in the 1950s. During McCarthyism, the nation was being torn apart. Their loyalty to one another was crushed and common human decency went down the drain (Miller, Crucible xiv). These Communist hunts were eerily similar to the witch hunts and trials of Salem Massachusetts in the 1600s.

This play describes the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 and the irony of a terrible period of American history. Arthur Miller intended to break the fear of the cold war and respond to Senator McCarthy and Communism. The play was a metaphor for the red scare. The red scare was during 1947-1956 and is also called McCarthyism. The author compares the unjustness of the Salem witch trails and the McCarthy trials were in both, people were accused and executed.

Due to McCarthy’s witch-hunt many victims’ reputations were destroyed and their families ... ... middle of paper ... ...I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” Besides similarities between “The Crucible”, Salem witch Trials, and the McCarthy Era there are differences.

When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the early 1950’s, the United States was experiencing a modern “witch hunt” of its own. Senator Joseph McCarthy, provoked by the Cold War, became fearfully convinced that Communists, or “Reds,” were polluting American government. He intended to hunt them out, force them to confess, and make them name their associates, almost as the Salem judges had done. In fact, the character of Danforth is based on McCarthy himself. There is a great parallel between the witch trials and the “Red Scare.” Both created a frenzy among the public, involved people going against each other to prove their innocence, and sought to hunt out those who rebelled against the dominant values of the time.

Milton is able to do this because it is always worse, and more shocking to see a liked individual reveal himself to be bad, than to always know a bad individual to be bad. Thus, the initial support that Satan gains from readers is designed to alienate him further when his evil side prevails. As the character of Satan progresses, the reader becomes less willing to accept Satan’s goal of freedom of choice. This is... ... middle of paper ... ...n. Satan’s goal of freedom of choice has been lost in his hate. This aspect of Satan serves as the final stage in a reader’s transition from viewing Satan as the brave leader of a just cause, to viewing him as a lowly coward.

The Crucible The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play published in 1953 during the time of McCarthyism and anti-communist fear. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered a speech that shocked America; he accused the Truman administration of being involved with communists. McCarthy’s paranoia led to the questioning of citizens and even public trials that caused panic among Americans. McCarthyism is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges.” Miller ensures that

During the 1950s, America was involved in the Cold War, and when United States Senator Joseph McCarthy announced that there were communist spies in America, it created mass hysteria among its citizens. This lead to the ruined lives of many innocent Americans. Similar events occurred during the Salem witch trials in 1692. During this time period, it was thought that witches were infiltrating the religious Puritan societies. The suspicion of witchcraft in Salem caused hysteria among the townspeople, which lead to the destruction of many good Christian people and their families.

The people that were accused of being communist, were persecuted by other people in the community. Then they were put to death. The U.S. senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy was the man who was against the rising of communism. His revolts against communism gave birth to the term McCarthyism. The Salem Witch trials took place in the seventeenth century in Salem, Massachusetts.