Have you ever had to lie in order to save your life? For most people the answer would be no but unfortunately here in the U.S in the 50’s and in 1692 the answer could have been yes. During these times McCarthyism took place and Salem witch trials. People were falsely accused of being communists or witches, and frankly it was poor evidence. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the McCarthy era because innocent people were being accused using poor evidence, feared being put on biased trials, and were punished for crimes not committed.
The first reason that The Crucible is an allegory for the McCarthy era is during both times there were accusations that were backed up with poor evidence. People in the McCarthy era were being accused and deported, this was violating people’s rights, especially since they were only suspected of being communists. As stated in the article American Communism, “However many people had their civil liberties violated, and approximately a thousand people were deported by the government for being suspected communists.” McCarthy was accusing people and they were being deported when the accusation did not have strong evidence proving they were communists. This connects to how the girls’ accusations were accepted without question when the proof was not supported, this is shown in Act 1 of The Crucible. “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Miller 1). These accusations were made by Abigail Williams and were accepted without questioning them. Another issue with the accusations was they weren’t credible, but were still believed. …show more content…
As told in the excerpt from Arthur Miller’s essay Are you now or were you ever, “I saw there was something of the marvelous in the spectacle of a whole village, if not an entire province, whose imagination was captured by a vision of something that wasn’t there.” This applies to both the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era; the suspected communists and witches were accused with evidence that really wasn’t there but imagined. It wasn’t exactly imagined, but it was evidence that was being twisted to be something that it wasn’t; an example being if they threw a supposed witch into water and they floated they were a witch for sure. Another way that The Crucible mirrors McCarthyism is that both situations the accused did get trials but they weren’t the most fair. People had very few options in terms of The Crucible, they could lie and say other names, confess to witchcraft, or remain silent; this mirrors the options of McCarthyism except instead of witchcraft its communism. In The Crucible “We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are as definite as stone.” (Miller 1). This time was hectic, but there was people that were thinking the situation through, such as Hail in the play and Senator Humphrey in the McCarthy era. Stated in the article Communist control movement by Senator Humphrey, “The prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an accused individual was a knowing and willful member of the Communist party.” This was the start of someone making a change in the way things were going, and trying to make things more fair. During these times people endoured punishments that weren’t justified. During the McCarthy era people’s careers were at stake as well as their reputations, simply being accused could have drastic consequences. The Hollywood industry was impacted the most, mentioned in the article Un-American Activities Committee “Over 320 people were placed on this list that stopped them from working in the entertainment.” This list was the Hollywood blacklist and the actors and actresses on this list were not permitted to work in entertainment anymore which ruined their careers, people that refused to name off other individuals were added to this list. The McCarthy era had a huge impact, but the penance in The Crucible was worse, they were left in prison to die or confess and be hanged. Arthur Miller brings this up in act 4, “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for
The first reason that The Crucible is an allegory for the McCarthy era is during both times there were accusations that were backed up with poor evidence. People in the McCarthy era were being accused and deported, this was violating people’s rights, especially since they were only suspected of being communists. As stated in the article American Communism, “However many people had their civil liberties violated, and approximately a thousand people were deported by the government for being suspected communists.” McCarthy was accusing people and they were being deported when the accusation did not have strong evidence proving they were communists. This connects to how the girls’ accusations were accepted without question when the proof was not supported, this is shown in Act 1 of The Crucible. “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Miller 1). These accusations were made by Abigail Williams and were accepted without questioning them. Another issue with the accusations was they weren’t credible, but were still believed. …show more content…
As told in the excerpt from Arthur Miller’s essay Are you now or were you ever, “I saw there was something of the marvelous in the spectacle of a whole village, if not an entire province, whose imagination was captured by a vision of something that wasn’t there.” This applies to both the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era; the suspected communists and witches were accused with evidence that really wasn’t there but imagined. It wasn’t exactly imagined, but it was evidence that was being twisted to be something that it wasn’t; an example being if they threw a supposed witch into water and they floated they were a witch for sure. Another way that The Crucible mirrors McCarthyism is that both situations the accused did get trials but they weren’t the most fair. People had very few options in terms of The Crucible, they could lie and say other names, confess to witchcraft, or remain silent; this mirrors the options of McCarthyism except instead of witchcraft its communism. In The Crucible “We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are as definite as stone.” (Miller 1). This time was hectic, but there was people that were thinking the situation through, such as Hail in the play and Senator Humphrey in the McCarthy era. Stated in the article Communist control movement by Senator Humphrey, “The prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an accused individual was a knowing and willful member of the Communist party.” This was the start of someone making a change in the way things were going, and trying to make things more fair. During these times people endoured punishments that weren’t justified. During the McCarthy era people’s careers were at stake as well as their reputations, simply being accused could have drastic consequences. The Hollywood industry was impacted the most, mentioned in the article Un-American Activities Committee “Over 320 people were placed on this list that stopped them from working in the entertainment.” This list was the Hollywood blacklist and the actors and actresses on this list were not permitted to work in entertainment anymore which ruined their careers, people that refused to name off other individuals were added to this list. The McCarthy era had a huge impact, but the penance in The Crucible was worse, they were left in prison to die or confess and be hanged. Arthur Miller brings this up in act 4, “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for