The Crucible, unlike other plays of Arthur Miller, has a large number of characters. Using literary devices such as pathos, tone, and hyperbole, Senator McCarthy manipulated the minds of the American people . Specifically, three of the townspeople showed their sins the most; Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Thomas Putnam. The Crucible combined with evidence from the era of McCarthyism demonstrates how a frenzied society can influence authority. Miller was called to the House of Committee on an un-American activities which triggered him to write about the witch trials. Why did Senator McCarthy become a powerful figure? When he appeared before HUAC, Miller refused to name anyone else who was involved in "subversive" political activities. While at first glance you may wonder how McCarthyism and The Crucible are intertwined. The correspondences we find between Miller's world and that of Salem have more to do with group identities, with Parris, Hathorne, and Hale parallel to people holding strongly anti-communist beliefs, the girls similar to those who were caught up in the McCarthyite hysteria, and Corey, Proctor, and Nurse parallel to innocent victims persecuted by McCarthy. 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! The Stones: Giles Corey refuses to make an official plea in court. We too have been known to prefer plot over truth; to dent the evidence before us in favor of the ideas behind us; to do insane things in the name of reason; to take that satisfying step from the righteous to the self-righteous; to drown our private guilt in a public well; to indulge in a little delusion. (Schiff 9). In 1996, director Nicholas Hynter released a film adaptation of Miller's play. Latest answer posted December 16, 2019 at 7:31:02 AM. Choose the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject, and write it in the blank. A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Distinguishing Between Action Verbs and Linking Verbs. When it looked like he might not be reelected in 1950 after a few unremarkable years of service, he decided to try a new political strategy: targeting communist subversives. Which commandments did John Proctor break? This warrant's vengeance! -Abigail blames Tituba; Tituba blames the devil, Sarah Good, and Mrs. Osborn; the girls blame many others, Two unlike things that are compared using "like or as" Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community. Corey has enough courage to accuse Thomas Putnam of "reaching out for land" in court (Miller III,1074). This number is a sign of the huge number of victims, executed in the play. Salemites considered the forest the domain of the devil. Need some quotes to fill out your essay for English class? Can an innocent person be guilty? The Crucible: Salem established itself as a religious community in the midst of evil. The Witch Trials: In addition to the similarities between McCarthyism and The Crucible already discussed, the trials symbolize the effect of intolerance, extremism, and hatred. Accessed 5 Mar. To avoid death, Tituba accused others in the town causing each of the accused to place blame on others. After Proctor is accused of witchcraft, he runs into a small pond and with arms spread shouts, God is dead. Proctor is in water, symbolic of baptism, and his arms are spread, symbolic of the Biblical Christ on the cross. Here, Giles Corey is being pressured by the court to provide the names of others in Salem who have practiced witchcraft, but he refuses to do so. We help you compare the phenomenon and the play. He was initially in an affair with his servant, Abigail William, and once his wife learned of his infidelity, she proceeded to fire the help. Although The Crucible is fictitious, the story depicts the historical information of the Salem witch trials, and blends them with fictitious characters to create a very realistic plot and conflict in the story. ", The McCarthy era, which took place during the 1950s in the United States was a time people was afraid of communism. This represents hope that the future may be different. Senator, made unsubstantiated claims that more than 200 "card carrying" members of the Communist party had infiltrated the United States government. Abigail represents the government and Joseph McCarthy who initiated the Red Scare because similarly she started the Salem Witch hunt by accusing Tituba and all the other innocent people as witches. . These connections are important because they demonstrate that The Crucible is not merely a (highly adapted) retelling of historical events but also an allegorical reference to the timelessness of certain central human flaws. Why? They were brought in if anyone even suspected they were a communist; they were ratted out by fellow workers, friends, and brought in for any tiny communist-esque slants in their work. "Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small", Language that appeals to the any of the 5 senses Photo of Joseph McCarthy by United Press (Library of Congress) [Public domain]. The Crucible and 12 Angry Men are two plays with the same theme of justice that is expressed differently throughout each play. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar. McCarthy was able to use this fear to his advantage. Therefore, the three townspeople mentioned in Arthur Millers, The Crucible, will be punished for their sins whether they seek penitence or not., One of the first life lessons a child is taught growing up is that lying can only ever make a situation worse. After reading playwright Arthur Millers The Crucible, my interest in the social, cultural and religious context of the time was enhanced. He had become fascinated with the environment of paranoia and how it affected society as a whole. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Paris, is a key figure. Anyone deemed suspicious was issued a subpoena by the committee and subsequently questioned about their political activities and the activities of other potential subversives. Arthur Miller wrote this play as a commentary on the Red Scare that happened in the United States where people engaged in a "witch hunt" of communists. What does John Proctor mean when he says, "common vengeance writes the law" in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Giles's wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones. The play starts with the Girls being question by Reverend Parris. Some people believed him because they had fear of communism. Reverend Parris's black slave from Barbados. The Crucible is a play by the American playwright Arthur Miller, it is a dramatized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in 1692. Weak, insecure, paranoid, wants to be the leader in Salem, preaches by scaring people, he didn't care of the well being of his daughter, and everyone who's against him he tries to accuse him of some type of crime. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 10th Grade English course. The Army sent inside information about McCarthys abuses of power to his critics, and a storm of bad PR finally led to the loss of his position as chairman of the investigatory committee. Having taught 'Crucible' many times to 11th-year students, I would surmise that the character most like McCarthy is Putnam. The minister of Salem's church. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. The Red Scare is the promotion of a potential rise of Communism in the United States. Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Putnam is the single most narrow-minded, self-serving guy in the story. The HUAC thought he had Communist ties and stopped him from getting a passport to see the premiere of the opera adaptation of the Crucible in London. The Crucible was composed during a time when a similar hysteria was sweeping through America. Arthur Miller had great distaste for McCarthy's investigations in the early 1950s, and he claims to have written The Crucible in 1953 largely as a reaction to this tense political climate. Mary Warren's poppet that was found inside the Proctor house with a needle inside it. Danforth also insists that "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between" (pg. This was right after World War II had ended and America feared of Germans and Japanese. The 17-year-old niece of Reverend Parris. So, in "The Crucible" the courts and the judges would represent Senator McCarthy (who led the red scare in the senate) and the others in government who questioned people and blacklisted them from working, just like Danforth and others jailed "witches". Communism was increasing around the world, and many Americans were in fear that the communists in the Soviet Union would take over the United States. In The Crucible, Abigails character is similar to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the biggest practitioner of political McCarthyism. eNotes Editorial, 9 June 2017, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/who-represents-whom-in-the-crucible-and-why-69913. Why, as individuals, do we fear others? Copyright 2022 Bright Hub Education. With the red scare, the accused were given a chance to give up names of other suspected communists to lessen their sentence as well. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine Parris's daughter Betty. She was controlling, crazy, wild, vindictive when crossed, , smart, good liar Rev. It took place in the Massachusetts Bay colony during the year of 1692, which was about a group of young girls in the Salem village who claimed to have seen others with the devil, and accused several innocent women of witchcraft. McCarthyism and The Crucible: What to Know, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, "Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Authors Answer to Politics", Read this article for a list of all the most important quotes in the play, Learn who Aleister Crowley was and what influence he had on counter-culture with this article, Fear of terrorism in the past 15 or 20 years and how thats affected US views and policies, The many rumors perpetuated by gullible people on social media. Local farmer who lives just outside town and is a stern, harsh tongued, smart and had an affair with Abigail Williams. Characters like John Proctor, Abigail William and Hathorne represent Arthur Miller, Joseph McCarthy, and J.Edgar Hoover. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Corey represents courage perfectly in The Crucible. Originally, all Abigail wants is a man, John Proctor. In The Crucible the children of Salem were running the courts as said by John Proctor Ill tell you what's walking in Salem - vengeance is walking in Salem. The ones who said yes were on the list. Parallels of McCarthyism and The Crucible led people to introspect on the McCarthy hearings . All rights reserved. Where does "fear" come from? Which character do you find the most intriguing? The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. In order to persuade him to make a plea, officials of the court stack concrete stones on him and eventually crush him. Why, as a nation, do we fear others? In The Crucible, the character Abigail Williams represents Joseph McCarthy. The abandonment of reason in the face of hysteria is a clear common theme. Is this a timeless cautionary tale. The accusations would not have lead to any consequences without a leader to oversee the proceedings., McCarthyism in The Crucible In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. The period of time play was written in was troubling at some senses for the USA. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a partially fictionalized play that depicts the Salem witch trials, is similar to the "Red Scare," a series of government's actions which were provoked by Senator McCarthy's paranoia about the presence of communists within the American government. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692 in a village shrouded with chaos. Today, scenarios like this can be even more insidious because "witch hunts" are conducted for types of people that really do exist. Deputy governor of Massachusetts and presiding judge of the Witch Trials, thinks he's honest and scrupu-lous and is convinced that he is doing right by convicting witchcraft even though there is no strong evidence suggesting that it even exist. Might you be a witch and not know it? Here we may find an umbilical link to Miller's own context, particularly in considering Senator Joseph McCarthy's own persecution of Communist sympathisers to deflect from America's grander issues. This is shown as abuse of power. Joseph McCarthy was born on November 14, 1908, near Appleton, Wisconsin. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 is a political allegory, based on the Salem witch trials. She uses threat and violence to get her ways and does not stop until she achieves her goal. Feel free to read this review of The Crucible, which contains critical analysis of the play. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. The Crucible: The girls unsubstantiated claims ruin lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem. In comparison, McCarthyism was a post-WWII investigation of Communists in the United States Government that involved blatant lies given by Joseph McCarthy that can relate to the lies shown by the townspeople of Salem during the Witch Trials. They would probably be executed if someone had doubted the ruler or questioned them. These lies ultimately destroy the community of Salem. The Crucible is a metaphor for the accusations made in the 1950's during the McCarthyism era. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice. Some people (including his former friend Elia Kazan) predictably complained that Millers analogy between the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism was bogus. The practice of Senator Joseph McCarthy, in which he accused people of disloyalty, persuades the accused to incriminate friends and associates. Failure to do so led to sanctions. To be fair, Miller had less at stake than many others who were called before HUAC to testify. He had become fascinated with the environment of paranoia and how it affected society as a whole. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. In The Crucible, Abigails character is similar to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the biggest practitioner of political McCarthyism. Abigail Williams is presented as one of the main antagonist in The Crucible. As a result of McCarthyism Arther Miller, wrote The Crucible because people was falsely accused of communism like how in Salam that was accused of witchcraft., The Crucible is a novel which was written by Arthur Miller in 1953. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined. In The Crucible, Arthur Millers message is that public hysteria based on fear destroys peoples lives. Explain. Abigail Williams (born c. 1681) was an 11 or 12-year-old girl who, along with nine-year-old Betty Parris, was among the first of the children to accuse their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692; these accusations eventually led to the Salem witch trials. The Crucible represents a male-dominated world where the women have little power and are treated lesser and are most likely to be associated with the devil. ~ Adultery Throw in China and Americans began to feel they were surrounded by a Communist threat. Miller saw these sorts of irrational thought processes (weeding out officials associated with China in the US government with the goal of diminishing Chinas power overall) as corollaries to the supernatural beliefs of his characters. She's 17 but, in real life is 11 to 12. It's not too much to ask. In act 4 of The Crucible, why does John Proctor decide to confess but refuse to sign a written confession? Parris's niece, had an affair with John and was fired by his wife. 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., The Crucible, a play written by famous author Arthur Miller, was inspired by Army-McCarthy Hearings. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. It seems crazy that society could be fooled into believing in things like witches and deal with the events in such an extreme manner. The Crucible: Those who are accused are assumed guilty, put on trial, expected to confess, and expected to accuse others of being witches. He was a target for Senator McCarthy. stice. He agreed but asked if the committe didnt ask him to name people involved. He was suspected (not incorrectly) of possessing close ties to the American Communist Party. Scholar, dynamic character, comes to cleanse Salem but realizes there's no witch and is against the hanging or imprisonment of people, his arrival set the hysteria in motion, tries to save John, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. He asked everyone in Congress if he could borrow a pen. He writes, "But by 1950, when I began to think of writing about the hunt for Reds in America, I was motivated in some great part by the paralysis that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitors' violations of civil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of being identified as covert Communists if they should protest too strongly." November 14, 1908- May 2, 1957 Joseph McCarthy was born and raised in Wisconsin to devoted and protective Catholics. At first glance Senator McCarthy and Abigail Williams, the antagonists during McCarthyism and throughout The Crucible respectfully, seem very different, however, their actions and mannerisms are mirrored in many aspects. The Second Red Scare happened between 1947-1954 and Sen. Joseph McCarthy feared that Soviet, Korean and Chinese communist spies occupied the federal government which later turned out to be false. Lastly, Thomas Putnam is a greedy man with gluttony for land and shows it in his attitude towards some townspeople. Both times, decisions were made without any evidence. The main themes in The Crucible include the destructive power of lies, the importance of reputation, and hysteria and corruption. Conservatives in the US feared that anyone who had any affiliation with the Communist Party was a potential threat to national security because they couldnt be trusted to remain loyal to the US. During the 1950's Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many American leaders of being communists. He worked behind the scenes to discredit McCarthy. Images Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe (scroll three-quarters down the page). Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed. In another relevant quote, Miller writes, "The Soviet plot was the hub of a great wheel of causation; the plot justified the crushing of all nuance, all the shadings that a realistic judgment of reality requires." This type of harmful attitude remains an issue in the US to this day. From the outset of the play, Abigail's self centred personality is shown. The Red Scare was a witch hunt where the US government was searching for "dangerous communists." Literature Study Guides and Chapter Summaries, Similarities between McCarthyism and The Crucible, This post is part of the series: The Crucible Study Guide, Characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, A Summary of Arthur Millers, The Crucible, Symbolism in The Crucible & Similarities to McCarthyism. McCarthyism: Those who were accused were assumed guilty, put on trial, and expected to divulge the names of other Communist sympathizers. NOBODY WINS! This is very similar to what happened in The Crucible. The Crucible: The girls unsubstantiated claims ruin lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. the characters and plot developments in THE CRUCIBLE symbolize the individuals and events that took place during McCarthy's anti-communist campaign (e.g. 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). Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. The Crucible is a metaphor for the accusations made in the 1950s during the Red Scare era. (B) one who gives professional or technical advice He warned the citizens of the United States that we had lost to China and Communism would spread to Europe too. Marauding Native Americans killed Abigail's parents when Abigail was young. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? From the apartment building_____ the sounds of the band practicing. A Comprehensive Guide. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor's husband. In both situations, there were people who confessed even though they had no relation to the crime at all. The church, the legal system, and the togetherness of the community died so that the girls and their families social status might be protected. Puritans were a strict religous group that tolerated no devious behavior. Francis Nurse's wife. A virtually unkown senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy was propelled into infamy when while at a speaking engagement at thee Republican Womens Club of Wheeling, West Virginia he charged 205 persons in the U.S. State Department of being members of the Communist Party (Martine 8). Abby and Mercy ran away and took all of Parris' money. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'brighthubeducation_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_4',137,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-brighthubeducation_com-medrectangle-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'brighthubeducation_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',137,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-brighthubeducation_com-medrectangle-3-0_1');.medrectangle-3-multi-137{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}McCarthyism: Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Court is backwards, Conflicts are "resolved" and they may be a win or loss with the antagonist A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam's brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. This resulted with the death of 19 people including John Proctor and several other highly respected members of Salem., The Salem witch trials and the Red Scare both involved ongoing accusations that led to numerous innocent people being accused. The crucible what character represented joe mccarthy. In 1956 Miller was subpoenaed to appear before HUAC. Failure to do so leads to death. In The Crucible, the doll (as well as Rebecca Nurse) symbolizes the transformation of good to evil: dolls, in a normal society, represent childhood innocence and bring happiness. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? To see why this was even an option, you have to understand the political climate at the time. Learn who Aleister Crowley was and what influence he had on counter-culture with this article. A wealthy, influential man in Salem. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land. The Crucible By Arthur Miller 1355 Words | 6 Pages. In Millers play, Abigail and all the other girls used the mass hysteria to their advantage. Elizabeth does not expose Abby and John claims God is dead, An entire work (play, short story, novel) represents something else on a symbolic level It was also published in 1953, at the height of the Second Red Scare, or the heightened fear of Communist influences in America. ~ Working on the Sabbath Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night. John Proctor's wife. -When the Judges call Elizabeth into court to ask why she fired Abby. Miller closes his essay by saying, "I am not sure what The Crucible is telling people now, but I know that its paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive warning that it did in the fifties." For example, John Proctor hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he fears repercussions from the court, and Parris is eager to turn on others to preserve his reputation. It is said to have. Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1953 Internal In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy brash and ill mannered but to many authentic and true (Article page 1), was very convincing in his supremacy.