‘The Crucible’ as an Allegory for McCarthyism Essay

girls did or they will go against her. Mary is not only scared of the girls, but she is also scared of what the judges would do if they found out what she did. Mary has to hide the truth about what really happened with the girls in order to not get killed or hurt.

The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. People look back on these times and are appalled at how horrendous the times were; yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator from Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To express his outrage at McCarthy’s actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials.

When Mary Warren is in court she also tries to blame someone. On page 195 Mary Warren says to John Proctor “Mr. Proctor, in open court she near to choked us all to death.” Even though Mary Warren knows this is a lie, she says it so she doesn’t get blamed anymore. But this isn’t the end of the girl’s similarities.

In the play, Mary Warren was one of the girls that was seen in the woods by Reverend Hale. When they go caught she told him that she was not participating she was just watching. In the book she felt guilt for the poppet, and it causing suspicion on Elizabeth. She was also scared of Abigail, because of the things that she did and she she wanted John Proctor to love her the way she loved him. ( Miller 2)

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible focuses on the Salem Witch Trials along with the pointing of fingers that went along with it. Miller wrote this to reflect upon what was occurring during the Red Scare in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The Crucible is written in an ironic and cynical tone mocking the Red Scare.

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

Mary Warren is a good person but she changes her mind too much which can cause chaos. In the beginning of the book, Mary was hesitant to be involved with Abigail and the other girls: “They’ll be calling us witches”(Miller,17). But that soon wears off and Mary is quick to accuse the people of Salem of witch craft, along with the other girls. John Proctor catches on to the the girls’ scheme and forces Mary to confess in court. In court Mary seems as though she is willing to repent, she wants to be good again. But when the court doesnt believe her and the girls decided to turn against her, she panicked and turned on John: “You’re the devils man!” (Miller,110). So, Mary wants to be good but she also doesnt want to be hanged, this is why she changes her mind so much.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible, depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 but is analogous to the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. In both situations, widespread hysteria occurs, stemming from existing fears of the people of that particular era. The Salem witchhunt trials parallel the McCarthy era in three major aspects: unfounded accusations, hostile interrogation of numerous innocent people and the ruination and death of various people's lives.

Mary Warren is a girl who is faced with this inner turmoil throughout this play. At the outset of the play she is perceived to be a very shy girl who will never speak her mind as shown when

     Abigail William’s aggressive personality easily persuades the other girls to follow her footsteps, and back up anything and everything she says. This personality also frightens people in the courtroom to question her truthfulness, or her relation with John Proctor. Due to her forceful behavior, the girls support Abigail, and therefore become entangled in her web of lies, sins, and murders.

The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller written in the 1950’s. It was set in the 1690’s in Massachusetts. The play is about the witch trials and how something like a group of girls in the woods could lead to about 200 people being hanged and accused of witchcraft. The people of Salem were new to Massachusetts as they were puritans who went off to America to set up a new religious colony . The people were new to their surroundings had the Native Americans as enemies because they took their land. Although the Crucible is about the witch trials, it is thought to be a metaphor for the McCarthy Communist trials

She goes and tries to tell the court the truth, but the other girls turn on her and say she is a witch, and that she is coming after them. She then figures it is easier to lie than to tell the truth, and once again falls to peer pressure. Mary Warren is not a strong character in the book at all. Whoever she is with and whatever they tell her to do, she does it. Mary is definitely a victim of peer pressure.

The playwright, The Crucible, is a political allegory which follows the plot of the Salem Witch Trails and the various characters that were affected by it. Arthur Miller, the author, uses The Crucible to voice his own opinion on what he saw as the modern-day witch trails, McCarthyism. Through the story of the Salem Witch trails Arthur Miller denounces his era of injustice, fear, and discrimination.

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