The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism in Arthur Miller´s The Crucible

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Recommended: Analysis of the Crucible by Arthur Miller

Telling lies, making false accusations, having suspicion, betraying others and creating fear in others are just some of the factors that caused McCarthyism in the United States. Named after Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism is the false accusation of someone being a communist. Numerous playwrights are recognized as an allegory for McCarthyism. Arthur Miller, born in 1915, was one of America’s greatest writers for his diversity, his courage, and the influence that he has made on readers all around the world. Arthur Miller is well known for his play “The Crucible” as well as other plays. One may believe that Giles Corey from “The Crucible” is very like Arthur Miller. This is because they have a similar attitude against false accusations. Miller uses McCarthyism and The Salem Witch Trials not only in “The Crucible”, but in other works too. The McCarthy era, The Salem Witch Trials, and “The Crucible” all have similarities between each other.
One may believe that “The Crucible” is an allegory for McCarthyism because back in 1956, Arthur Miller and other townspeople were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and a lot of them became blacklisted. Senator McCarthy suspected many people of being Communist Party Members and the accused would have had to defend themselves against the HUAC. Miller refused to name the suspected communists and because of that he was convicted for contempt of court. “In 1957, four years after the play's premiere, Miller testified before the House Committee; although he admitted that he had attended a meeting of communist writers, he denied ever having been a member of the Communist” (Contemporary Literary Criticism Select). Miller wrote this play during the McCarthyism era and the plays theme invol...

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...away the name of the person. Arthur Miller acted the same way by Miller didn’t tell the names to the HAUC of the alleged communist writers.
The Salem Witch Trials resulted in 19 executions, over 200 people were jailed, and at least 4 died in prison. This all started with accusations made by the daughter of Samuel Parris. “The Crucible” was not the first play Arthur Miller wrote that reflected the Salem Witch Trials. He has also written “The Devil in Boston” that has a connection to The Salem Witch Trials. Some critics even labeled the book as, “Another Play on Salem Witches” just because there were numerous plays based on the Salem Witch Trials. “The Crucible” definitely contains messages about McCarthyism. Arthur Miller was both influenced and impacted by the McCarthy era while writing this play, and The Salem Witch Trails were very similar to “The Crucible”.

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