Hysteria In The Crucible And The Mccarthy Era

Vocabulary.com defines hysteria as an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear. During the 1950s, also the start of the cold war era, a hysteria termed McCarthyism was rampant in America. During this era, a play titled The Crucible was written. This play demonstrated the events of the Salem Witch Trials, to prove how easy it is to fall victim to mass conformity. Many parts of the play symbolized the events going on in the Red Scare period. While Arthur Miller clearly wrote the play The Crucible to demonstrate his belief that an individual should never give up the power to think for him or herself, he also intended it to be an allegory for the Red Scare of the 1950’s called McCarthyism. In both The Crucible and the McCarthy era, the ability claim a person was either a witch or a communist can be considered unfair and even illogical. In both events, once a person was suspected, he or she was then forced to give the names of other suspected “witches” or “communists.” In The Crucible, the girls are caught dancing in the woods and are bombarded with questions from Rev. Hale and Rev. Parris. Abigail saw this as her opportunity to take the heat off of herself and place it onto other unsuspecting people. It is very possible that these people had harmed her in some way and now she’s using this as her opportunity of getting back at them; …show more content…
Many of the events and the strategies of the people on both sides are related in the play and the McCarthy Era. Similarities can be drawn between the two including the way in which the people were accused, and the driving power behind both conflicts, fear. The Crucible was written as a clear symbol to McCarthy during the McCarthy Era. The Crucible was a play, a metaphor, and an allegory to bring awareness and end the Red Scare of the