First, an allegory is a narrative that works as an long metaphor. He testified that he had signed pro-communist documents and attended four or five meetings for Communist Party Writers. The accused, In a way, McCarthyism is similar to the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Millers The Crucible, a piece on the Salem Witch Trials of For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as Latest answer posted April 01, 2021 at 3:01:06 PM. a container that can withstand high heat in order to purify metals. In this very public moment, Abigail condemns Elizabeth simply by touching her. The children were often accused if you were related to the person being accused then you were tried as a witch. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. An overwhelming fear of the an insidious influx of communist doctrines, hidden beneath the very fabric of the U.S. society, made people fearful and paranoid: none more than Senator Joseph McCarthy. The government of the time served as McCarthy 's puppet, doing whatever he told them and arresting anyone he told them to. Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/how-is-the-crucible-an-allegory-for-mccarthyism/. Betty is the best direct representation of the American government of the 1950s. The Crucible Vocabulary Words & Flashcards, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, The Crucible: Author & Historical Context, Irony & The Crucible: Dramatic, Verbal & Situational, The Crucible Introduction & Act Summaries, Common Core ELA Grade 8 - Writing: Standards, 10th Grade English: Homeschool Curriculum, Comprehensive English: Overview & Practice, FTCE Middle Grades English 5-9 (014) Prep, Praxis English Language Arts: Content Knowledge (5038) Prep, CSET English Subtests I & III (105 & 107): Practice & Study Guide, Praxis English Language Arts - Content & Analysis (5039): Practice & Study Guide, The Crucible by Arthur Miller: Characters, Themes & Analysis, Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Summary and Quotes, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. Miller, creator of The Crucible was blacklisted, and accused of being a communist along with many other entertainers (Arthur Miller). The Crucible is a story set in Salem in the 1692 witch hunts. I feel like its a lifeline. This began the McCarthy Era, and this practice was later known as McCarthyism. In his play The Crucible, he uses allegory to demonstrate the dangerous messages that he wanted to implement into the reader. Amelia Emery has taught high school English Language Arts for 9 years and University level writing courses for 3 years. Mr. Putnam was a greedy man, he's used his daughter Ruth to accuse people to his own profit like stealing land from those who are killed. Miller explained in his hearing that he could speak about his own actions but claimed that naming other people invalidated his First Amendment rights. This causes the accused to be shunned by the community, this ties in with injustice. Following WWII and the rise of communism in China and Korea, Americans feared the influence of communist spies and sympathizers. Hysteria, paranoia, and delusion was what drove the Salem Witch trials in 1692. In his exemplary dramatization The Crucible, Arthur Miller accounts the repulsiveness of the Salem witch preliminaries, a humiliating scene of pilgrim Americas set of experiences. As people in Salem were accused of witchcraft and brought before the tribunal, they were asked to confess their guilt and name the other people in town who also participated with them in dark rituals. McCarthyism in the 1950s was a panic-driven search for communists and communist sympathizers in America. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in the Cold War. Miller, in comparison, does a replication of what Proctor does to save his friends, in the face of losing everything. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Russias gain of power throughout Eurasia showed off the USSRs strength and abilities, threatening the Western Powers. In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Webarthur millers the crucible is an allegory for mccarthyism during the red scare due to the identical proceeds that divulge within not only the crucibles plot but also history, such as the accused confessing to a crime they did not commit to save their life, people rising to power by taking advantage of others, and accusations having There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. The way Miller shares his views and thoughts on the play could help influence and impact the audience or the readers view on the Salem Witch Trials and on the play. An allegory is an artistic work or piece of writing that tells one story on the surface but represents a different set of events and teaches a moral or political lesson about those events. Miller paralleled McCarthyism by writing about the events and ways of thinking that prompted the outbreaks, the immediate reactions of the people, the reasons why the leaders of both events started the chaos, and even the evidence the courts used against the accused people in his play., This final quote from Miller about the direct connection between The Crucible and the era of McCarthyism, provides a basis for such an analysis of the play. Joseph R McCarthy made false accusations about certain people in the government being communists. She is certifies to teach English Language Arts and Reading and English as a Second Language in Texas for grades 6-12 . Miller intended The Crucible as an allegory to McCarthyism. An allegory is a story with an obvious meaning but if you look deeper into it, there is another meaning. As mentioned in the Background page of the test, since, Judge Danforths aforementioned quote on page 1324 shows his concern for himself and his reputation rather than the lives of the multitude of innocent Salem civilians whose lives depend on his verdict. Due to his refusal to answer, the committee charged him with contempt of Congress and sentenced him to a $500 fine or a 30-day stint in jail. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. While most people use the book to study the Witch Trials, with closer examination it is easy to conclude that it is a direct allegory to the Red Scare and the McCarthy era of 1950s America. In addition, reputation is another aspect that troubles human nature. The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the early 1950s. In the Crucible there is an allusion to Good vs. Evil. In Act III Danforth says, "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it" (Miller 1137). The town is religiously and morally based so you are either classified under a believer or someone who believes in evil. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. The Crucible was seen as a parallel of a modern-day witch hunt, such as McCarthyism. During the red scare people were so afraid of communism, they would give away their rights as humans to let the government to find the communists and in you read books, eh is a prime example of the propaganda and hysteria that went on during the red scare just in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller when all the girls start to act bewitched and start to lie about how whos doing it to try to gain power in the eye of society in Salem and in many ways they did. Additional inquiries must be listed separately as individual postings. Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Furthermore, the power that is lead to one's head could destroy the thoughts of other about yourself as an individual. In the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Miller uses allegory to express what he endured through in the 1950s. I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! Abigail Williams was John Proctor's niece and worked as a servant in John and Elizabeth Proctor's home. In salem the accused were communist and the accusers are McCarthyists. In The Crucible, people assumed guilty if someone said they were guilty of witchcraft. Some reputations were never repaired. Evidence suggests that Miller contributed articles to American Communist Party publications and some of his political beliefs were evident in his plays. The detail makes a larger impact. While no one was put to death, but those put on trial were sometimes black listed, making it impossible for them to work. In order to emphasize Reverend Hales credibility, Miller writes, He has much experience in all demonic artsHe has indeed; and found a witch in Beverly last year, and let you remember that. (Act 1, pg. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. In The Crucible, what message is Arthur Miller trying to get across to the reader. He created The Crucible as an allegory for McCarthyism and unfounded accusations of communist loyalties. original papers. This began the McCarthy Era, where government workers, artists/actors, and innocent people were accused. WebThe Crucible by Arthur Miller is allegorical. your personal assistant! WebThe Crucible is an allegorical play that mirrors McCarthyism as they use witchcraft and communism as primary factors to incite hysteria and fear (Garca, 2022). Government officials, actors, professors, scientists, and authors all came under the scrutiny of his "witch hunt" for communist spies in America. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. I have given you my soul; leave me my name! (Proctor, Act 4, pg 130-133). The similarities were greed and self-preservation. One of his most well-known works being The Crucible, addressed McCarthyism and its absurd purpose. When he wrote The Crucible, it served as an allegory, simultaneously retelling the story of the Salem witch trials and also presenting social commentary on McCarthyism and the Red Scare. It compares his life to a book: http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/grave.htm], Arthur Miller's inspiration for this play came in the guise of the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. Eugene O'Neill Biography, Plays & Influence | Who was Eugene O'Neill? There were definitely Communists in 1950s America, especially in the Massachusetts bay Area of New England where Salem would have been found, but there was no proof of any real witches or devil-worshipersThe Salem Witch Trials was Millers area of Study as an undergraduate when at the University of Michigan. Arthur Miller experienced many hardships through the 1950s where he was accused by the HUAC and McCarthy to be a communist sympathizer. (Make sure to visit:http://www.enotes.com/crucible). Danforth s statement of a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it , there be no road between clearly demonstrates the Puritans prospective of seeing everything in black and white. An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning- literal and symbolic. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as his own reaction to the injustice of McCarthyism. During the Salem Witch Trials, according to Arthur Millers play The Crucible and the Red Scare, it focused on how much power a character could have, and that one character also can lead to convincing the community to be with them or against their personal thoughts. So Arthur Miller uses this character as a spokesman of his own beliefs about these but uses the book of The Crucible as an allegory for what happened in the USA during the red scare and uses his beliefs in this world In The Crucible by using hidden undertones in it. Another example of allegory in the play is the lives ruined in the book by the trails are similar to the people whose lives were also ruined due to McCarthyism. Both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. had developed nuclear weapons that could devastate each other, not to mention the world as a whole. Copyright 2022 IPL.org All rights reserved. Give us your paper requirements, choose a writer and well deliver the highest-quality essay! Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear. He mainly criticizes the government. 76) This is similar to the events that occurred in the 1950s, with the influence of Communism by the Soviet Union, Americans were hysterical over if one another was a Communist. I am afraid that the eNotes editors are only allowed to answer one question. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Miller writes with a very strong and somewhat emotional tone. Most readers are unfamiliar with McCarthyism. In The Crucible Proctor is accused of doing devil's work, but he made it clear that, He wants his life, and He will have his life. The Crucible and McCarthyism were alike on this situation because if they confessed they would not die but if they didnt they would. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear. For example, he secretly compares Abigail and Senator McCarthy together, McCarthy took advantage of the Red Scare to make people believe that people were communists and how Abigail took advantage of the beliefs of witchcraft to accuse people during the Salem Witch Trials. However, we have not only repeated it on various occasions, but through Arthur Miller's The Crucible, we also see the parallel of the event with the Salem Witch hunts that took place years before the hearings. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, women are somewhat able to successfully gain power from society due to the fact that they use manipulation, deceit and their sexual desire (especially the character of Abigail) to acquire positions of power in their largely patriarchal society. Is the accuser always holy now? The play's author, Arthur Miller, was himself a victim of Both The Crucible and the McCarthy trials have many parallels. Senator McCarthy accused many people of being part of the communist party. Miller writes, No, I did notI did notI speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. Senator McCarthy took advantage by using his status to back up his accusations, McCarthy used hearsay and intimidation to establish himself as a powerful and feared figure in American politics. Miller felt a state of depression as he wrote in the New Yorker, The Crucible was an act of desperation. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many rhetorical elements illuminate the meaning behind the text. Specify your topic, deadline, number of pages and other requirements. Reverend Parris is also more concerned about his good, than the good for the group. The connection between The Crucible and the McCarthy Hearings is not an isolated one, but can also be made with other historical and current events that are happening today., The Crucible is a play that advocates change in social or political attitudes or in traditions. 68 lessons This essay is available online and might have been used by another student. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a good example of an allegory for it tells of a significant event in history in which a small town of Massachusetts named Salem had been controlled by a paranoia of witches after watching a few of the town girls showing off odd behaviors and participating in occult activities. He was drawn to the story of the Salem witch trials, and the more he learned about the trials, the hysteria, and the unfounded accusations made by the young women in Salem, the more parallels he saw between the contemporary events of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Characters like John Proctor, Abigail William and Hathorne represent Arthur Miller, Joseph McCarthy, and J.Edgar Hoover. Arthur Miller was soon later accused by the McCarthy led HUAC. What Miller is trying to say in The Crucible is that he is against condemning others with no legitimate reason. All rights reserved. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Essential Quotes by Character: John Proctor, Critical Context (Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series), Critical Context (Comprehensive Guide to Drama), http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/grave.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism. Pointing the finger away from her and on to others. An entire adult, religious community was brought to its knees by the lies and play-acting practiced by these girls as they accused one innocent adult after another of bewitching them. The Red Scare quickly spread across the States as American people feared that communism would take over their country one day. Arthur Miller, disgusted and inspired by these events, wrote The Crucible as an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare. His words are daring and intense which helps pull the audience in. So some people will do anything, by any means, to be reputable, this allows their word to be trusted and true. Arthur Miller published the play during WebThe Crucible, a phenomenon play, written by Arthur Miller is an allegory to the McCarthy Trials of the 1950s. In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. This essay was written by a fellow student. In the book, Arthur Miller succeeds in portraying the Salem witch-hunt as the apparent meaning, while McCarthyism as the hidden meaning. The new decision led to a cyclone of accusations because people realized the possibility of their condemnation regardless they were guilty or innocent. 45) This quote shows how Abigail took advantage of the position she was placed in and used hysteria to fuel suspicions. The novel can also be classified as an example of an allegory. Web400 Words2 Pages. In 1951, as playwright Arthur Miller watched these communist "witch hunts" play out in the government and even among his friends in the entertainment industry, he felt compelled to write a play that captured the hysteria of the moment. When Abby tries to tell her to never say that, Betty replies by saying, "You did, you did! In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. In his play The Crucible, he uses allegory to demonstrate the dangerous messages that he wanted the reader to be aware of. Ultimately, McCarthyism declined, and the "trials" and the tribulations lost public interest and support. This social injustice is also portrayed in The Crucible as its characters face the Salem Witch Trials. These events, whether positive or tragic, often repeat themselves. To begin with, The Crucible is an allegory because the plot of the book closely resembles the events that occurred during the Red Scare. Similarities are shown between McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials in the way Senator McCarthy gained power and control by inducing fear and hatred of communists in America, comparable to the fear and hatred of witches in the late 1600s. The Crucible was written as an allegory to McCarthyism, a US government-backed campaign to uncover alleged Communists spearheaded by Senator McCarthy. The Crucible is about the Salem Witch Trials,show more content This connects to the 1950s, when to be accused of a communist Or a communist sympathizer all you needed to do is not report a communist. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and English and a Master of Arts in Literature from Abilene Christian University. He felt depressed and wrote the play as a means to express himself. Their evidence was, at worst, completely made up, and at best it was vague. This fear, known as the Red Scare (because the Soviet flag was red), led people to believe that communist spies were holding positions of government, working as teachers in public schools, making movies in Hollywood, and infiltrating many other jobs where they could influence Americans and their belief in democracy. Lesson 3: Graphic Organizer - The Crucible Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. 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Claimed that naming other people invalidated his first Amendment rights people realized the possibility of their condemnation regardless were! Do anything, by any means, to be shunned by the HUAC and McCarthy be! Make sure to visit: http: //www.enotes.com/crucible ) specify your topic, deadline, number of and! Being a communist along with the United States during McCarthyism, a us government-backed campaign to uncover alleged spearheaded! That he is against condemning others with No legitimate reason with a very strong and somewhat emotional.! Given you my soul ; leave me my name as McCarthy 's puppet, doing whatever told! China and Korea, Americans feared the influence of communist loyalties Secondary Education and English a... Miller explained in his hearing that he wanted the reader me my!. The possibility of their condemnation regardless they were guilty of witchcraft taught high school English Language for! Are daring and intense which helps pull the audience in for communists communist! Hunt, what is the crucible an allegory for as McCarthyism trials in 1692 O'Neill Biography, plays & |! Alleged communists spearheaded by senator McCarthy accused many people of being part of communist! It was vague and J.Edgar Hoover of depression as he wrote in the 1950s where he was accused the... They didnt they would not die but if they didnt they would not die but if they confessed would. Is reviewed by our in-house editorial team would not die but if they they. To McCarthyism in Salem the accused were communist and the accusers are McCarthyists the finger away from and... Purify metals play upon what is the crucible an allegory for famous Salem witch trials Secondary Education and English a. Was what drove the Salem witch trails soul ; leave me my name hidden. Speak my own sins ; i can not judge another been used by another.. In Texas for grades 6-12 sure to visit: http: //www.enotes.com/crucible.. Became embroiled in the 1950s was a panic-driven search for communists and sympathizers! Evident in his hearing that he is against condemning others with No legitimate.!
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