There are many similarities between the Crucible, McCarthyism, The Kniffens child molestation case, and the David McCallum/ Willy Stuckey murder case. In every case each subject of the story was falsely accused, based on no facts and were subjected to a “witch hunt” based on fear and deception. In each case there were facts that were produced that were false in order to frame someone. One of the biggest factors was the lack of evidence and witnesses being coheres. Even though the Salam witch trials can’t happen today, it happened countless times in history. The lack of concrete evidence, and the lack of investigation were a major factor in all 4 of these cases. In the 1940’s and 50’s, America feared communism. The Soviet Union was growing …show more content…
The Crucible had Abigail, who wanted revenge on John Proctor because he slept with her and then dismissed her. “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I‘ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind” (Miller 1246) McCarthyism starts period on investigation about people being members of the communist party during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This was all because people didn’t agree with McCarthy. He assumed that you were a communist if you didn’t believe in the same thing as him. The Kniffen molestation case sent innocent people to jail based on accusations from a step mother who had a history of mental illness, trying to prove a point. And in the David McCallum/ Willie Stucky case, the police thought they had two murder suspects in custody based on incomplete police work, lake of investigation, and coursed …show more content…
If anyone was suspected of communism, they were interviewed and put under investigation, forced to give up names of other communists or they were imprisoned or “black listed.” Both situations are the same in that there was fear factor. There was also the mindset that to just go with the crowd to “jump on the bandwagon.” In both cases those accused were found guilty with very little evidence. You would think that if there was such a lack of evidence, the charges would be dismissed. Our country was in fear of communism and was afraid that it would spread. The rumors sparked a witch hunt that many people supported because they feared it. Whether they thought it was communism or being a witch, they thought they found the root to their problem so they supported it. In both cases if you didn’t support the hunt then you were accused of being one of them. For example, “My face? My face?! But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary” (Miller 1329) This shows when Mary Warren went in front of the judge and claimed that she has never seen a spirt and Abigail immediately started accusing her of being a witch. Saying the Mary was sending her spirit on the
The Crucible and McCarthyism are not all that different. They were both very dangerous and evil events that have happened, which have ruined many people. In The Crucible, There were many people that were trying to save themselves or another person by using others. John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth was accused and sent off to sit in jail until she hangs or confesses. John did not want his innocent wife to be hung for something she did not do.
In the 1950s McCarthyism was the act of falsely accusing of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism, and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner which is exactly what happens in “The crucible” Social allegory is shown in the crucible between Mrs. Putnam and Rebeca Nurse. This occurred when Mrs. Putnam accused Rebecca nurse of killing Mrs. Putnam's babies. This shows a social message which is shown when Mrs. Putnam said “how may we "How may we blame ourselves? I am one of nine sons; the Putnam seed has peopled this province. And yet I have but one child left of eight-and now she shrivels!”
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “the term McCarthyism is applied to the persecution of innocent people using powerful but unproved allegations”. This very idea is prevalent throughout the Crucible, even more so within the court gatherings. An example of this is found within ACT IV of the novel,
History repeating itself:The Crucible and McCarthyism The Crucible and McCarthyism is like history repeating itself. Both events are very parallel in many ways! The Crucible consists of how people were treated during the Salem witch trials in the 1690s and McCarthyism took place in 1940s/1950s it consists of how people were accused and treated as a threat to the government. The Crucible and McCarthyism both are parallel by accused people making sacrifices to prove innocence,abuse of great power and the effects of hysteria in both events. Looking back, One similarity on how the Crucible and McCarthyism are parallel is because of the sacrifice people made because they did
This is a completely backwards rule of law compared to today. Instead of being innocent until proven guilty, the accused witches were guilty until proven innocent. Many people accused in both McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials had no form of defense against the claims made against them because most of them had no actual logic or reasoning behind
McCarthyism resulted in Americans turning against each other because of fear of communist takeover, overbearing political power, and protecting their reputation. Clearly, Americans feared the idea of a communist takeover. One reason Americans were filled with anxiety about communist infiltration was because, “... in 1949 when Communists led by Mao Zedong took
Witch Hunts in the Past and Present The Crucible, although set in the Puritan era, has a theme that can be seen throughout time: fear causes people to turn into monsters. Throughout the years of our existence, the human race has been capable of horrific act of self destruction, and fear is often the motive. From the infamous witch trials, the McCarthy trials and today's anti Muslim agenda, these events have all occurred or is currently occurring because of fear induced hysteria. Arthur Miller’s depiction of The Crucible warns not only of the terrors of Salem but the pattern of hysteretic “witch hunts” that occurred while Miller was alive and that is happening again today. Salem during the Puritan era was both highly religious and highly
The times back then were terrible. 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. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.
People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.
When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.
McCarthyism and The Crucible caused a feeling of hysteria and paranoia in all the people that were accused and others that were not accused. Abigail Williams and McCarthy had no evidence on the people accused except rumors that were
McCarthyism period took place over the years The Crucible has been written and significantly impacted Arthur Miller’s thoughts while writing the book. The Crucible was seen as a modern-day witch hunt story in the McCarthy period. McCarthyism means the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions without any evidence. Joseph R McCarthy made false accusations while being senator and charged people for being communism. Both McCarthyism and The Crucible by Arthur Miller are connected because paranoia is evident and innocent people are accused.
In the 1940s and 1950s Americans trepid the encroachment of communism. Which plays a huge roll on McCarthy and the Crucible. The Crucible is seen all throughout in internet. Both are equally about personal crucibles.
McCarthy had always had edited and fake evidence. He continued to hold unfair trials against those who were accused. In the crucible, John Proctor, a real victim of the Salem witch trials
Period4 The Crucible Essay Communism and Witchcraft have the same effect on humans, that effect is fear, when you hear fear you think of your worst nightmare or someone hiding in your closet, during the McCarthyism era and the salem witchcraft people had fear about whether their life is on the line or not. It all depended on one person in their community whether or not they choose to save their life. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era because the girls feared Abigail just like everyone feared J.McCarthy, Elizabeth being accused is similar to McCarthy accusing the US Army, they are innocent just like Elizabeth.