Power hungry men often use fear and paranoia to gain their positions. In The Crucible, Abigail's character is similar to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the biggest practitioner of political McCarthyism. Why does John Proctor say he does attend church/dislike Reverend Parris? Draw a line under the subject. These investigations went on for two years, during which the questioning spread to numerous government departments, and there was a continued proliferation of communist panic. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community. Arthur Miller explained that one discovery he made while digging into the actual history of the Salem Witch Trials set his imagination on fire: Abigail Williams, the mover and shaker of the witch-finding craze, had been the Proctors's house servant for a short time. With the help of media and his power as chair of a Senate subcommittee, McCarthy proclaimed that different parts of the United States government, such as the army and parts of Congress, were pervaded with Communist traitors. Nuance cannot be tolerated because the people in charge feel that the stakes are too high. He tried to regain his passport but, the HUAC subpoena him to appear before them. Being isolated from any other, Throughout Arthur Millers The Crucible, there are a series of prevailing questions: Who was conspiring against you? McCarthy was able to use this fear to his advantage. We help you compare the phenomenon and the play. What is a quote said by John Proctor in Act 3 in which he reveals his sin of adultery? When we read The Crucible its important to know about Senator Joseph McCarthy. Written in the early 1950s, "The Crucible" served as an allegory for Miller to criticize McCarthyism - a veritable "witch-hunt" of the Cold War era. After reading playwright Arthur Millers The Crucible, my interest in the social, cultural and religious context of the time was enhanced. 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. Miller used Proctor and others like him to symbolize the ulterior motives that many people had for labelling people as witches, or as communists; for example, Abby was jealous of Elizabeth and so labelled her a witch. Many were subsequently denied employment opportunities in their industries because they were universally "blacklisted" or shut out by employers who feared that hiring them would be a public relations nightmare. Many believe The Crucible's high profile as a criticism of McCarthyism partially led to Millers own investigation by HUAC. In his memoir, Timebends, Miller sees a connection between the Salem witch trials and McCarthys campaign. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice. On February 9, 1950, he claimed to possess a list of the names of 205 people in the US State Department who were members of the American Communist Party. eNotes Editorial, 9 June 2017, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/who-represents-whom-in-the-crucible-and-why-69913. A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor's husband. The start of chaos and the implant of fear in the peoples mind was started by , which character in the crucible represents joseph mccarthy. The Crucible By Arthur Miller 1355 Words | 6 Pages. I've included a few different types of questions on this topic that you might encounter in your English class: Check out our full book summary of The Crucible so you can see for yourself how the play fits into its historical context. This number is a sign of the huge number of victims, executed in the play. I find Abigail to be the most intriguing character in the "The Crucible" because I feel she is manipulative and a home wrecker. Giles already regrets mentioning that his wife, Martha Corey, read books, a statement that led to her imprisonment because it was assumed she was reading books about witchcraft and spells. ~John Proctor experienced internal conflict when deciding to tell the court about the affair, A reference to a famous work or famous literacy or historical character or event (bible references) -The theory was created by Joseph R. McCarthy-Occurred during the Cold War (1950s) . Yet, one life lost in the result of millions after that seems like a sensible thought., The McCarthy Era and The Crucible can relate in many ways, in both of these times people were accused for wrong doings. Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" in an attempt to create moral awareness for society. Fear caused the American people to succumb to the preposterous charges brought forth by McCarthy displaying resemblances to that of the Salem community in 1692 (Carey 51). Get the latest articles and test prep tips! (A) any person who buys a manufactured product Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Some people believed him because they had fear of communism. In Arthur Millers play The Crucible, there is evidence of parallels between the Salem of 1692 and America of the 1950's, the American Government of the 1950's and its misuse of power, and the high court depicted in the play, using its power to impose a misguided ju! The crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. Specifically, three of the townspeople showed their sins the most; Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Thomas Putnam. Martha's reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft. This was a time of much hypocrisy in the people of the town of Salem. 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. Miller wrote The Crucible because he had a story to tell. McCarthy was a Republican from Wisconsin who rose through the political ranks in the 1940s and was elected to the Senate in 1946. 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." An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Putnam is the single most narrow-minded, self-serving guy in the story. The stones symbolize the weight of Salems sins that are crushing the good in its society. Today, scenarios like this can be even more insidious because "witch hunts" are conducted for types of people that really do exist. The Crucible: Townspeople are not willing to stand up to the court for fear of being accused of being a witch. As a socially conscious writer, Miller intended this play as a comment on McCarthyism. The Crucible, unlike other plays of Arthur Miller, has a large number of characters. People who are viewed as "other" continue to be persecuted out of fear and ignorance. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. Americans believed the Soviet Union going to take over the government of the United States and Americans can lose their freedom. Might you be a witch and not know it? In both situations, there were people who confessed even though they had no relation to the crime at all. Most of the accused in "The Crucible" can be tied back to greed, hatred, insecurities, grudges and hatred-not to actual witchcraft. "Who represents whom in The Crucible, and why?" Miller was found in contempt of Congress for refusing to betray his peers, but the ruling was overturned two years later as HUAC lost power and relevance. Arthur Miller wrote an essay in 1996 entitled "Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Authors Answer to Politics" that provides insight into his view of the plays connections to the communist panic. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? These questions are evidence of the hysteria that swept through Salem, Massachusetts during the winter of 1692 and again during the peak of the anti-communist revolution in the 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy led the series of allegations with a list of people he felt were related somehow to communism. The sins of wrath and lust were shown by Abby during the Witch Trials that she started. In both cases the antagonists influence their trials greatly. This claim can easily be proven through Arthur Millers The Crucible. She is a strong, well-known rep for being honest. Witches were just as real to people in the 1690s as communists were to people in the 1950s. McCarthyism: In the 1940s and 1950s Americans feared the encroachment of Communism. "An everlasting funeral marches round your heart", The opposite of what is expected occurs What happened to the city during the war in Fahrenheit 451? In act 4 of The Crucible, why does John Proctor decide to confess but refuse to sign a written confession? While Miller did take some poetic license, combining characters and slightly altering their biographies, in fact, the characters in his play are all based on real characters who actually lived in Salem. In order to persuade him to make a plea, officials of the court stack concrete stones on him and eventually crush him. What happened to Abigail Williams at end of the play? 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." Synopsis. Salemites considered the forest the domain of the devil. Explain. 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. How does Abigail turn the court against Mary Warren in The Crucible? Photo of Joseph McCarthy by United Press (Library of Congress) [Public domain]. Everybody was afraid to speak up, tell their opinions in public, they all were afraid of being suspected to be against the truth which was the idea what leaders believed at the time. Failure to do so leads to death. McCarthyism: Those who were accused were assumed guilty, put on trial, and expected to divulge the names of other Communist sympathizers. Senator Joseph McCarthy led the series of allegations with a list of people he felt were related somehow to communism. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'brighthubeducation_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_3',143,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-brighthubeducation_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0');To help better understand some of the deeper meanings in The Crucible, below are a list of significant symbols found within the play. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The period of time play was written in was troubling at some senses for the USA. If patriotism is taken too far, it can transform itself into a hatred of "outsiders" rather than a love of political freedoms. Some people (including his former friend Elia Kazan) predictably complained that Millers analogy between the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism was bogus. He had no proof. the characters and plot developments in THE CRUCIBLE symbolize the individuals and events that took place during McCarthy's anti-communist campaign (e.g. He asked everyone in Congress if he could borrow a pen. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller alludes to this period of time by using Abigail Williams to represent Joseph McCarthy and by using the General Court of Salem to represent the Division of Security. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Feel free to read this review of The Crucible, which contains critical analysis of the play. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Those are just a couple ideas; I hope they helped. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. A fire, a fire is burning! ~Elizabeth and John experienced external conflict in Act 2 when they were arguing over their estranged relationship Many people believed anything they heard or saw. -The entire play symbolizes the Red Scare in the 1950s Need some quotes to fill out your essay for English class? The danger lies in assuming that purely because someone holds a political or religious belief, he or she must pose a threat. Miller's Daughter With Daniel Day-Lewis Arthur Miller's daughter, Rebecca, with her husband Daniel Day-Lewis. Unfortunately, nobody actually doubted or suspected any of their mannerisms, and people were also scared of Joseph McCarthy and Thomas Danforth. 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. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Weak, servant to the Proctor's she makes dolls and people believe she makes vo do dolls , is easily influenced, timid, and tried to expose the hoax but ultimately recanted her confession.
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