The Crucible Allegory Analysis

The Crucible was written as an allegory for the McCarthy era in 1953 by Arthur Miller; an American playwright. The McCarthy era was epitomized by the fear of Communism that Senator McCarthy whipped up. He fostered a witch hunt against anyone who disagreed with his views. Miller’s intention was that the play would be a parody of his own context (himself) with John Proctor quite evidently being a reflection of Miller. The witches in the play symbolized communism. A ‘Crucible’ can mean both; "a container for melting or purifying metals by heat" and "a severe test." Miller describes the village of Salem as ‘the container’ and its contents; the God-fearing residents of Salem along with their emotions. This ‘purification process’ is exactly what

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a tragic play set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, where Miller uses the Salem Trials as a metaphor for the 1950s McCarthy hearings. In Salem, people value their good names. The Puritan community acts as a theocracy in which there appears to be no right to privacy, and people must conform to a strict moral code. The theme of reputation, lying, and deceit are shown in Abigail, John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and other characters. In the play’s dialogue, Miller uses Biblical allusions, situational irony, and dramatic irony to develop these themes.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a play about the Salem witch hunt trials. Accusations of witchcraft made by townspeople against their neighbors led to confessions, by the accused, in order to save their own lives. As a result, hysteria ensued because the townspeople were suspicious of one another. Miller tried to point out the similarity between the fear during the Salem witch trials and the fear of communism in the 1950’s. John McCarthy, a politician, falsely accused government officials of supporting communism and, as a result, American citizens became afraid that communism was corrupting the US government. Both events were characterized by hysteria. Abigail Williams, a townsperson in The Crucible, contributes to the spread of

In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” it tells the tale of the Salem Witch Trials. At the time of the play, the McCarthy trials, named after Sen. Joseph McCarthy, were underway. Though, instead of hunting for witches, they were hunting for communists. These two trials may have happened at different points in history, but were in many ways the same. Whether it was death to job loss a lot of lives were changed on account of these trials. “The Crucible” and the McCarthy trials have become historically important because they show the process of power, fear, and turmoil.

The Crucible is the fictional story of the Salem witch trials in which many women were accused of being witches. The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, who was recorded as the greatest American playwright (“Arthur Miller” 1). The scene for the play is based in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. McCarthyism was the act of accusing people of treason without evidence, attacks on a person's character, and attack on their patriotism by accusing many Americans of being communist (Ortega). Lisa Martin says, “Communists control led the two world superpowers, China and the Soviet Union Americans feared a takeover in their own country” (Martin 1). Many people tried to accuse the men and women who were spreading the fear. One man named Joseph McCarthy was a senator that charged communists that interfered with the U.S. State Department (“Joseph McCarthy” 1). The accusations lead to investigations, questioning and finding people guilty without evidence,

The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court

The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism because Senator Joseph McCarthy and Abigail Williams from The Crucible were the leaders in the courts, they both ruined many lives, and made false accusations. In the first place, Senator Joseph McCarthy was very crafty and manipulative during the court hearing while he accused people of being Communist becoming a leader. Abigail quickly realized she needed to convince the girls to follow her commands to increase her power, which eventually led to more hangings of innocent people. For example, Abigail threatened the girls to side with her when she stated, “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about

Greetings to you all; thank you all for taking the time to hear my arguments and for considering my suggestion for the inclusion of The Crucible in the 2013 play season of the Queensland Theatre Company. My understanding is that the company's intent is to pursue the culture of fear as the overarching theme for this year's selection of plays. This is an ideal theme because we are, unfortunately, living in a time of great fear and distrust, with good reason considering the rates of crime and international violence. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is an ideal work to complement the theme of this year's play cycle. Although set in the time of the 1692 Salem witch trials during the colonial period, the play was intentionally written by Miller as an allegorical work used to represent the dangers of McCarthyism in the United States in the 1950s. Miller himself said, "It was not only the rise of 'McCarthyism' that moved me, but something which seemed much more weird and mysterious. It was the fact that a political, objective, knowledgeable campaign 安as capable of creating not only of terror, but a new subjective reality, a veritable mystique which was gradually assuming even a holy resonance" (Lavanture 2007). Its message of the dangers of fanaticism and the horrendous acts human beings can perpetrate upon each other in the name of fear, particularly when that terror is backed up by the government and system of justice, is a universal one which still

The Crucible is similar to the Red Scare, but is The Crucible an allegory for the Red Scare? Here is why I think The Crucible is an allegory for the Red Scare. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare on the McCarthy era because in The Crucible multiple people were incorrectly blamed for being witches just like in the Red Scare where people were incorrectly blamed for being communists, in both The Crucible and the Red Scare approximately everyone believed the outrageous accusations to avoid being killed, The Crucible is an allegory is an allegory for a Red Scare because is exposed another example of a time period in which fake accusations led to forced confessions.

In the 1950’s, communism runs rampant in America, people are getting accused left and right for being against America and those who are caught have to name names of those who are also supposed to be communists. The House Of Un-American Activities Committee (H.U.A.C)officials would say, “Tell me who was with you and confess yourself as a communist, or else.” Reflect back to 1692 in Massachusetts, when witches scorn the town of Salem and it seems as if everybody is a witch. Judges would order, “Tell me who you saw with the devil, confess your sins to God and tell us who was with you or be hanged!” There are several parallels between Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and The Red Scare of the 1950’s due to the

The Crucible allegory for the McCarthy hearings The Crucible, in a literal sense, signifies that because of the amount of tension and jealousy in Salem at the time, hysteria arose and accusations of witch craft began. That, of course, is only scratching the surface of what Arthur Miller was actually trying to depict in this play. During the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials by using allegory. The accusations and fear, the conditions of the hysteria, and the courtroom procedures are similarities between the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings. Both, the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings, left a deep impression in the world today.

The Crucible displays an allegory that compares the Salem witch trials to the Hollywood 10.  In the 2010 article, “A Decade of Fear”, Sam Roberts writes, “McCarthy dropped a bombshell: ‘The State Department is infested with Communists . . . a list of names that were made known to. . . being members of the Communist Party.’”  Before saying this, McCarthy’s low status led no one to listen to any of his ideas.  However, after this he took the lead role in the Red Scare.  In this way, McCarthy relates to the girls in The Crucible.  Many of the girls had low eminence in Puritan Salem, but their status grew after they cried witch on the members of their society.  Another comparison can be drawn between the witches of Salem and the Communists in the

In life, one may make many mistakes due to bad decisions, but the way you handle it and what you do to redeem yourself is what counts the most. The Crucible, a story by Arthur Miller, which later was made into a play, is a rendition of what occurred during the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. This practice has a great involvement throughout the entire story when the young group girls accuse random townspeople of witchcraft without any evidence to back their stories. John and Elizabeth Proctor are two of the main characters. They are a married couple that is going through a very difficult

In this allegory, several characters represent real people during the McCarthy trials. Both Proctor and Miller, weren’t fond of the idea of sacrificing someone’s name; therefore they didn’t mention any names. For example, John Proctor, the protagonist, is a representation of Arthur Miller. Proctor

It resembles any Van Gogh painting; having a single overarching statement which is beautiful and complex at a distance, but nothing but brush strokes of human emotion up close. In writing his political allegory, Miller wanted his audience to understand the situation at hand, to let go of their hysteria, and to come to their senses. Writing The Crucible as a play allowed Miller to institute a dramatized version of the events, conveying how sensationalized both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism was. The Crucible applied a dramatic style throughout itself. Yet through all of Miller’s words the true message shows through; the true witch is not the victim, but rather the societal opinions that drive the individuals to persecute in the name of whatever it is